Cleaning honing and sharpening stones?

[JRouche]

Ok, prolly not important for the stones use but, Id like to clean them, all at once in my ultrasonic cleaner with some mild cleaner. Why? Cause they are all pretty old and look to be dirty if not "packed up" with old filings and oil. Im thinking if they were "de-oiled" and cleaned with the bubble machine it would open up the pores to allow for a better cutting action.

I bought some stones from an auction lot (lots more to come from that auction lot also, some good stuff) and they aren't the large knife type stones but more of the small variety used for touching up the edges of cutting tools, like lathe bits. This lot came from a machine shop.

I have a small box of them and they all look pretty used. Not wore out (misshapen) used but dirty and Im just thinking that they might cut a lil nicer without all the old gummy oil and debris thats on them.

There are some water stones, oil stones and some factory oil impregnated stones in the batch.

And here is my concern. Will the ultrasonic cleaner hurt the stones? Ill keep them separated so they dont touch. They wont break up with the ultrasonic abrasion will they? And the oil impregnated stones might get dried out right? I dont mind that.

I dont know!!! ERRR! Id just like to have them nice and clean for my use and no telling what materials they were used on. There is about 30 or so various stones. Id like to clean them and set them in a nice drawer ready for use.

Any and ALL opinions are welcome folks. Thanks, JR

[Frank Ford]

One way to break that glaze and flatten the stones is to rub them on a scrap of plate glass sprinkled with silicon carbide grit. Water stones can be lubricated with water or left dry, while oil stones should be lubricated with kerosene during this process. I like to use 80 grit silicon carbide for this job, and if I run out of loose grit, I'll substitute whatever coarse silicon grit sanding sheets I can find around the shop.

[boslab]

I just use emery cloth or paper on a flat plate, rub til the craps gone.
regards
mark
ps tried a diamond sharpening stone last night, bloody awful finish, i think i,m dooing it wrong!

[Black_Moons]

I just use emery cloth or paper on a flat plate, rub til the craps gone.
regards
mark
ps tried a diamond sharpening stone last night, bloody awful finish, i think i,m dooing it wrong!

'a' stone is why
You need many grits to properly sharpen a knife to a fine finish quickly.

[boslab]

'a' stone is why
You need many grits to properly sharpen a knife to a fine finish quickly.

i concur sir, my mottly collection of stones is not going in the bin yet! [i have just tried a felt wheel and diamond paste, now yer talking, can shave the fur of your arm with ease!, i'm liking this
regards
mark

[JoeLee]

To clean mine I just spray them with starting fluid. It washes out all the oil and material that gets packed into the pores and it drys fast.
I think there are other spray cleaners you can buy for this purpose like carb cleaner, but I've had good luck with the starting fluid.

JL................

[Mcgyver]

you guys are so hi tech.....I use a concrete step outside of my shop. does a nice job of flattening them. its more a matter of the high spots breaking off from the lateral action than what you're using needing to be harder than the stone (ie its softness of the bond that makes this work not the hardness of the step). I'm looking to remove the worst of the grooves and curves, and expose some fresh sharp abrasives....stones aren't what I use to create flatness so the concrete slab method works quite well and is more than accurate enough.

[kevindsingleton]

I've cleaned oil stones (Arkansas, too), in the ultrasonic using kerosene as a cleaning agent. I can't say I've noticed any damage to the stones. I put them in a Ziploc bag, or two, with plenty of kero, and submerge that in very hot water in the ultrasonic cleaner. Afterwards, I spray them down with some brake cleaner or carb cleaner. I don't know if they're "good as new", but they look good.

When I do some cleaning, like this, I usually end up disassembling a few fishing reels, or handguns, and make a session out of it on a rainy day. Fire up a couple of tumblers of brass, and have a spring cleaning day!

[JRouche]

Great responses guys!!!! But....

These are really small stones. Not the knife sized ones... Here are some pics of them with a 1/2 dollar (bout 1.25") for ref... You can see they are in good shape dimensionally, for the most part

But they are pretty dirty and packed with who knows what type of metals. I just want to bubble them in some solvent to float away all the crap that has accumulated.. Should be ok????? How bout turning on the heat on the US cleaner? Thanks again, JR

[JRouche]

And lastly some "other" abrasives.. The tooth brush looking sticks have a magnifying optic on the handle. I thought that was pretty cool..

[mars-red]

That is a great collection of small stones and slips! They look to have come from a shop that did a lot of smaller precision work (like clocks, instrumentation, etc). I think I spot a piece of Beryl there too... that's pricey stuff.

[Blackadder]

dont take this the wrong way due to the english language

but soak your stones in bio washing powder and warm water

it cleans them up a treat gets all the old oil and gunk out of them,
I have done a few before they would not cut now they make that nice cutting sound


Stuart

[Toolguy]

Soak Stones

What is bio washing powder?

[George Bulliss]

Nice score on the stones; that should last you a while, with plenty of variety. The small Gesswein stones are typically used for polishing molds. The softer ones can be easily shaped on a grinder to match contours in the workpiece.

George

[kevindsingleton]

I think Blackadder means "biodegradable washing powder". I would also suggest dish soap, like Dawn, as a cleaning agent. Perhaps with a little hot water, with one stone per bag, or separated by sturdy paper towels, in a nice, hot US bath.

I don't think you're going to damage the stones, although you may reveal some existing damage by cleaning them, thoroughly.

I clean my diamond "stones" with WD-40 and paper towels.

That's a nice set of stones you've got there!