Thread: Charnley Forest/Charnwood Hone - water, oil, soap?

I've got a Charnley Forest on the way to me. I read through a lot of old threads here and on B&B and elsewhere, and there seems to be quite a range of thoughts on whether to use them with water, oil, soap, simple green &c.

CF users - what have you found works well. Other advice?

Very shortly...oil worked the best for me. I mostly use a thin oil to do quite a lot of laps in the finishing stage.

Originally Posted by doorsch

Very shortly...oil worked the best for me. I mostly use a thin oil to do quite a lot of laps in the finishing stage.

Any particular oil? I saw a recommendation of Ballistol since it seems it can be mixed with water to thin out.

Originally Posted by benhunt

Any particular oil? I saw a recommendation of Ballistol since it seems it can be mixed with water to thin out.

I mostly use WD40, just because its a thinner then Ballistol. Never thinnned ballistol with water...

On the other hand ballistol really smells very bad so i prefer the WD40.

I use Smith's Honing Solution, which also can be thinned with water.

I know a lot of people say oil. I don't agree or disagree with this. I think it will depend on your particular stone. There is a range for these stones not all are equal. Some may need oil to get you where you want and some may not. Personal preference may come into play here too. I don't like oil. I got a charnwood that I don't think was used with oil and seems very fine and glassy. I use water, but I like to add some hand soap in with the water for an extra bump that may not have even been needed, but I love the edge from mine.

from Grinding and honing pt.3
Some CFs can provide a very sharp edge. They can be used for grinding or polishing of a cut with a light oil, but preferably with water.

I think the softer ones may need the oil more, and the very hard ones not so much. I am not an expert on these stone. I do love them though so I read a lot online when I got my first one. Not really that much info on them compared to a lot of other stones.

I would give it a soak in simple green wash with soap and water. Then try it on a good shaving edge with water as a finisher and see if you like it or if it improves the edge. If not try with hand soap and work your way to an oil and decide for yourself. This is all part of the fun. Each stone and person is different so it can be a lot of trial never an error.
Enjoy. Oh and once you get it show us some pics.

I tried water with a drop of dishwashing soap, WD40 and baby oil, and it all worked fine, but the best result I get on my Charnley Forest is with Herbertz Schleifol (honing oil), about 100 laps, absolute no pressure, and a good stropping on linnen and leather.

For finishing it's mainly about the viscosity of the medium used and how much it "floats" the blade while honing. It's a hydrodynamic bearing/fluid mechanics thing. When using a very fine finishing stone there is so very little steel removed that the lubrication properties are secondary to that "float" of the blade and the corresponding reduction in scratch depth IMO. For each individual stone and it's level of surface polish there will be a best viscosity to achieve the right "float" that gives the best edges - experimentation will find it.

Personally, I like to use oil on fine very hard stones - in my experience it keeps the stone from getting glazed/polished too much. From there I just vary the viscosity - from WD40 or even mineral spirits on up.

Thanks, all, for the feedback.

A slightly different, but related, question:-- what did SR honers using CFs do back in the 19th c.? That is, are these actually traditionally oilstones (as I often see them claimed to be), or did 19th SR honers, or was there lots of variation? I've seen suggestions, for instance, that it was woodworkers who used these as oilstones, and that SR honers traditionally used water.

Maarten - do you know what the Herbertz Schärföl is made from? Is it just another honing oil like Smith's? (I had a look at it on Amazon.de, but I couldn't see any ingredient list.... that is, I'm assuming "von Kindern fernhalten" means 'keep away from children', though I momentarily wondered if it might mean 'made from children', but then reflected that Amazon.de probably doesn't sell products out of tales of the Brothers Grimm).

The CF is one of my main finishing stones, I use water then go onto smith's honing solution it seems to work well for me that way, congrats on getting the stone, I hope its lapped flat and ready to use I had one once that was quite dished and it was a fair bit or work to level out.