Thread: 2 old oilstones

I picked up two older Norton combo grit oilstones today. They are crystolon and novoculite 100/280 grit. The newer stone is unused and the older one has some light use and is lapped on the coarse side.



Ive never used an oilstone and Im wondering if there would be any point to soaking the oil out of these and using them as water stones. I was looking for information on how to clean them and saw a few methods for removing the oil. According to the information ive found, these come 'oil-filled' from the factory.

Please note i don't plan on using these for razors. I have a few axes id like to use these on instead of my DMT diamond plates. If i should use them as oilstones im ok with that. Oil is cheap and ill only be using them a few times a year. Let me know sirs.

On a coarse stone, why would you bother trying to remove the oil? Not to be argumentative but I have used water on an oil soaked stone in the field to touch up an axe the and had no problems. Just trying to keep the stone from loading right?

Originally Posted by crazy4str8tsinnc

On a coarse stone, why would you bother trying to remove the oil? Not to be argumentative but I have used water on an oil soaked stone in the field to touch up an axe the and had no problems. Just trying to keep the stone from loading right?

That being said, I'm pretty tough on my equipment so maybe I'm wrong.

They are manufactured that way & the only oil/lubricant you might pull out of them, is whatever was added by the prior owner. they are not meant to be rid of lubricant.

You can easily flush the surfaces with WD-40,, this will push out the swarf & any other surface garbage,,,, leaving a nice surface.

You can push some of the swarf/garbage off the surface with some dish soap & nylon brush.

Don't bother lapping them & hone with a light oil, soapy water, WD-40,,,,many things.

Ok ill will leave them as they are. I only got the idea in my head to remove the oil after i saw an old thread here about it. They are in good shape and the less i have to mess with them the better.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Don't both lapping them

Ever? I was wondering what to even use to lap these. I didnt think using my DMT plates on silicon carbide was a good idea.. if they dont need lapping even better. I will strictly be using them on axes.

I did brush the heck out of them with a toothbrush and Palmolive. They cleaned up nice. The older one came in a nice little wooden box as well which i removed quite a bit of grime from. I might sand it down and throw a finish on it eventually.

Your not using them for razors or fine wood work, ,, so if they look flat & they appear to be from the photos don't lap them.
The threads you probably read on removing oil from them; probably dealt with the excessive buildup of surface crud accumulated from years of use & not regular maintenance.

Yeah i think that was the confusion. I thought there was some benefit to trying to dry them out.

Well i needed to know how to clean them anyway and i appreciate the help. They are stashed with the camping equipment and ready to roll.

Thank you!!

Those are two old stones that will last a lifetime. They can be used on many edges tools. Get us a pic if you re-do the box.

I certainly will. Here's a 'before' shot.