Best way to clean a hone

I am trying to clean a few stones and not sure the best way to go about it. Just want to get all of the grease off of some of the larger ones. I used dish soap water and a dmt diamond sharpening stone on what seems to be a washita stone and now looks dull and dry. Should I not clean with soap and water, and if not what should I use? Even a couple I cleaned a few weeks ago now look the same way. Dull and colorless. Like to bring back the natural luster and not ruin some of the nicer escher stones and coticules.. Also didn't want to put something on them once clean that will potentially harm them..

I haven't tried it myself but I have heard of many people using a bath of simple green to degrease hones. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in soon.

Fume free oven cleaner also works for grease removal.

Will any of these things penetrate the stone?

It's going to depend on the porosity of the hone.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mikeinri

Will any of these things penetrate the stone?

---

Dunno, but as Utopian said, guys have used Easy Off oven cleaner to do oil stones. IIRC the one with the blue label is no odor ? Been years since that was posted by a guy who did it, so I may be (shudder) wrong about the color. Never done it myself.

I don't remember the color but I have used it on several non-porous carborundum barber hones.

Many stones are different in the way you clean them & with what. Post pictures of you hones & we can can your a more accurate reply to each. There are some hone that I would not dare use EZ-Off on & there are others that EZ-Off is the first step I use.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MattCB

I haven't tried it myself but I have heard of many people using a bath of simple green to degrease hones. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in soon.

---

I've used simple green to clean a lot of arks and it works wonders. Just let it soak a couple hours, or even over night and you'll be surprised how much better the stone will look

These are the pictures of the ones I want to clean and have cleaned. Is there something to treat them with to bring back the lustreAttachment 188160Attachment 188159Attachment 188161

In The last picture I have cleaned these with soap
And water and diamond sharpener, and not sure if this is the color or if more needs to be done. I have not cleaned the ones in first pic. Should I have even used the water and soap on the 3 I cleaned already? I don't want to mess up the other stones pictured.. Think one may be thuringian or maybe 2? One is bbw and just got in the mail. One is. Norton hard Arkansas. Not sure if I can clean this one as it has a label on it...once cleaned can I put oil on any or all
Of them to condition?

Soap and water will not hurt any natural stone, IMO. Of the stone is an oil stone and you intend to use it as such you can surely oil it. Most stones are not shiny when dry, that is normal. Usually when dry they only get shiny when either highly polished or glazed.

For Arkansas stones I mix a 50-50 mixture of simple green and water.cover the stones in the mixture for at least three days skimming off the oil slick twice daily . On the forth day replace the mixture with a completely fresh batch and let soak a few more days.also turn the stones every morning and evening. as for man made stones I'd be cautious with anything stronger than the previous mixture. cheers -CAM-

Most of these stones that need cleaning also need to be lapped, this alone will do wonders for the surface.

What is the best thing to lap the stone with? That will work the fastest..

You can start with a coarse grit wet/dry sandpaper around 120 grit.

I use 99 cent store oven cleaner to de-gunk the bad greasy ones on a cookie sheet, like your one ark. It will get most of the grease off.

Stones that have been used with oil are penetrated with oil and you will have to soak them in a degreaser to get all the oil out.

I first spray with oven cleaner let it set 10-15 min spray again and scrub with a Bix paint stripping scrubber, Hm Depot. Then wash in soapy water, Dawn liquid and water to remove the oven cleaner.

Then I soak in 50 percent Simple Green and water, as said after 2-4 days change the solution, wash with soapy water and soak again. Simple Green will get all the oil out but for some stones it can take months. One Hindostan took over 6 months.

You will know when it is free of oil once it stops releasing oil and the color of the solution does not change.

I soak them in glass canning jars with the rubber gasket and hinged lid from the thrift store, a buck or two.

For Thüringen’s and BBW you can lap on Wet and Dry 220, for Arks use loose Silicone Carbide, 60 -80 grit from Gotgrit.com, it is not expensive.

Use a table spoon or Silicone Carbide on a cookie sheet and a squirt of water on a flat cement floor and do figure 8’s. Mark a grid with a sharpie, pencil will wash off on the first lap and is useless.

Be prepared to put in some effort lapping an ark, pick the best side, but you only have to do it once.

Once flat polish with wet and dry on your cookie sheet and some soapy water.


Attachment 188340

I was really pressed For time and wanted To start to get these stones cleaned. I didn't clean forst with oven cleaner or even soap and water. I just added them all in a pile in a container with simple green and water. After 2 days I just washed them off with old toothbrush and dawn and the stones are already much better. I took 3 arks and did them separately as they were not all that bad and this stuff really works. They are like new again. After a few more days I will take out the 10 or so still soaking and upload pics. Had one stone in there that I now see is not a natural stone so took that out.. But that looks new too.. Attachment 189411

They really look nice,,,,:tu

Attachment 189485Attachment 189486Attachment 189487Attachment 189488Attachment 189489So the solution was fairly clean so took the stones all out. Now I have no idea what most are but they are clean and smooth and most very different from when they started in the solution. The smallest square one actually was bubbling air for a while. One seems to be two different colors. 2 seem to be washita maybe even 6 of them.

You can speed up the soaking process by picking up a slow cooker from a thrift store, 10-15 buck, make sure it is long enough to fit your longest stone.

Mix the 50 percent Simple Green solution and cut some chopstick so they lay crosswise in the bottom of the cooker, I have only found oblong or round ones. Buy the oblong.

The chopstick will keep the stones off the bottom allowing the solution to reach all sides of the stones. You can stack 6 or 7 stone on their sides, leave a little space between stones.

Turn the cooker on high to get hot, then leave on low. They will cook the oil out in 8-12 hours. You can skim off the oil as it floats to the surface, with a ladle, to keep your solution clean, buy your own ladle at the thrift or dollar store, do not use your brides…

I personally use auto shop degreaser from the hardware shops.
My Method is wear lytex gloves spray on rub with old tooth brush wash off with lots of
water and i generally use have two buckets of water.