What Oil stone to get?

[Jacob]

This oil on wood thing is interesting.

I bought a set of six Wickes chisels in a plastic case a few months ago - plenty good enough for a novice like me. I oiled them to keep rust at bay, and found the oil was staining wood that I was working on. I found out from youtube how to make my own wax. For parts of tools that come into contact with wood I now use only wax, with oil for the rest. This has cured the staining problem and still prevents rust well.

I don't know why only the oil caused staining. Perhaps somebody can explain?

Oil can restore colour to some hardwoods. Your prob was too much oil! If you must keep them oily then just a quick wipe before you use the chisel is all you need. What about the wax problem - it can act as a resist to later finishes?
Just noticed Classic Hand Tools do oil stones including Arkansas - cheaper than I expected Oil Stones

 

[grumpycorn]

Just noticed Classic Hand Tools do oil stones including Arkansas - cheaper than I expected Oil Stones

I have the hard black Arkansas from CHT and it’s a really nice stone. Probably unnecessary for general use but nice for paring chisels etc.

My set up is a 3x8 fine Norton, the hard black and then a strop for when I want to get ultra sharp, just using the fine Norton is plenty sharp enough for general use though, I made do with just that stone for honing for donkeys years...

 

[TRITON]

Oil can restore colour to some hardwoods. Your prob was too much oil! If you must keep them oily then just a quick wipe before you use the chisel is all you need. What about the wax problem - it can act as a resist to later finishes?
Just noticed Classic Hand Tools do oil stones including Arkansas - cheaper than I expected Oil Stones

So you recommend 3 in 1 oil as a finish do you ?

 

[Jacob]

So you recommend 3 in 1 oil as a finish do you ?

Never tried it, have you?

 

[samhay]

I'm going to throw the curve-ball into this.
Oil/Wood BAD COMBINATION

I just won't have oil in my woodshop(I've another room where my bikes live, so oil stays there) It's easily spilled, and a single drop left on a surface can ruin any bit of timber, so I reckon it's just not worth taking the risk.
Waterstones, be they ceramic or diamond or a wheelstone etc you will never have a problem with. It cuts just the same, and maybe the only difference is you need to splash a bit on more often, but it also means cleaning the stone of particles can be done in a sink. Oil saturates the stone container, gets on your hands, contaminates everything it comes into contact with and isnt easily removed.

I'll second or third what others have said. I'll raise them too and say that I use diamond stones (cheapish Ultex ones) and I switched from using water with these to oil - usually WD40. I found my tool blades were much more prone to rusting when sharpening them with water. No such problems now.

 

[TRITON]

Never tried it, have you?

No sorry, I though thats what you were recommending.
Could give it a go, but might smell a bit and never dry .
On the subject of odd finishes, I believe ox blood was used at one time as a stainer.

I'll second or third what others have said. I'll raise them too and say that I use diamond stones (cheapish Ultex ones) and I switched from using water with these to oil - usually WD40. I found my tool blades were much more prone to rusting when sharpening them with water. No such problems now.

I find drying them helps prevent rusting
I did once work with a chef who swore by using fairy liquid. Again for the same reason to prevent rusting of a diamond stone.

 

[Cabinetman]

Odd finishes, where I live here in Caistor there used to be flourishing "Windsor style "chair businesses, their thing was to rub brick dust on the chairs to turn them an orangey red colour and then apply a finish on top. Ian

 

[George_N]

So you recommend 3 in 1 oil as a finish do you ?

I use a “rag-in-a-can” oiler, essentially a rolled up rag in a tin can, saturated with 3-in-one oil (see Paul Sellers on YouTube for how to make one). A quick swipe over a plane sole or saw blade reduces friction and keeps rust at bay. Leaves no residue on the wood and doesn’t have any impact on any finish I have used. I wipe down all my tools regularly and it leaves a VERY thin film of oil, absolutely essential in an unheated garage workshop.