Oil stone: How do you clean them up?

[Fromey]

After a bit of use, oil stones get, well, oily and black with swarf. Do you;

Ignore this and just load on more oil letting the gungy bits eventually dribble off down the side? (Oooo Matron!)

Wipe the stone clean after you've finished using it?

Wipe the stone clean regularly during use and recharge it with fresh oil?

Furthermore, what do you wipe your stones down with? (i.e., is there something that will minimise leaving fragments of itself behind on the stone (e.g., wiping down with paper towel leaves a mess)).

Lastly, do you store your oil stones 'dry' or do you give them a coating of fresh oil?

Thanks, as always, in advance.

 

[Cold_Fire]

After use I take them out of the wooden support I make for them, and I clean them and the support as much as I can with kitchen paper.

If anytime it gets really dirty you can boil them in water to remove most part the oil and clean it with a strong brush.

This is the way I make it. I would like to read more opinions too

 

[Jacob]

After a bit of use, oil stones get, well, oily and black with swarf.

I use a magnet to lift off the swarf and wipe the stone clean and put the lid back on straight after using it.

.... recharge it with fresh oil?

Not until I use it again

..what do you wipe your stones down with? (i.e., is there something that will minimise leaving fragments of itself behind on the stone.........

Old cotton rags, usually old sheets etc. But you also need to refresh the surface occasionally to remove the polish or embedded debris. I use a 3M diapad (because I've got one) but anything similar might do, even coarse emery paper.
Store them how you like!

If you do as above you will never need to do anything else, such as boiling them! :lol: :roll:

 

[hanser]

I stick them in the dishwasher when SWMBO goes out. :mrgreen:

 

[Chippygeoff]

Soak the stone over night in white spirit.

 

[bugbear]

One of the important roles of the oil is to suspend the swarf, and prevent it entering the stone.

As long as you're using an oil of the right viscosity to achieve this, simply wiping off the oil removes the swarf and does all that's needed.

BugBear

 

[Richard T]

What BB says.

I have lots of oil stones accumulated over the years but only use two - a tear drop slip and an old 2" er in a box found at a boot sale. These are the only two that the oil alone will clean. As a result of this property they are consistently keen too.
I've got a posh Norton that we must have had since new and I'm sure was very expensive but it will develop a steel dust shine very quickly and require scrubbing ... so I don't use it.

 

[AndyT]

Some good advice there from Jacob and BB.

If you have acquired an old stone which is thoroughly gummed up with old oil and steel, a scrub or soak with white spirit will probably lift the gunk off.
In an extreme case, you could try rubbing it on the toughest, coarsest abrasive paper you can find, to expose a new surface.

 

[Jacob]

One of the important roles of the oil is to suspend the swarf, and prevent it entering the stone.

As long as you're using an oil of the right viscosity to achieve this, simply wiping off the oil removes the swarf and does all that's needed.

BugBear

Lifting off the swarf with a magnet, saves on oil! It is left on the stone. Important if you happen to be using Honerite honing oil - one of the most expensive liquids you are ever likely to encounter on this planet. Even WC40 is worth saving.

 

[Woody Alan]

I have "restored" old stones that are gungy and not flat by rubbing them on a concrete slab with water and sand using large figure of eight and circular motions. This very effective but beware it willl also polish the concrete.

Alan

 

[andersonec]

Coarse wet & dry on a something flat eg. granite tile, mdf, ply, glass on a flat surface etc, pour on some white spirit and rub until clean. Done on a regular basis will also help to keep your stones flat.

 

[John. B]

I think I would just throw it away and buy a Japanese water stone, diamond or a Ceramic stone,

all of which. IMHO, are far far better than any oil stone with perhaps the odd exception ie. Washita or Arkansas stones.

Which are now fairly rare to find.

John. B