Thread: Windex on C12K and Coticule

Intuition had me believing that soap would slow down a natural stone. It seems to me that windex speeds up both of these hones. Straight water has a lot of surface tension, especially on a hard flat C12k. For me Windex provides a very different feel than water. Has anyone else tried Windex.

A search for Windex yielded no results on this honing forum.

I use both of those stones & have never experienced the "surface tension" that you speek of.
I would never put Windex on my C12K or any of my stones.

If you are having success honing with Windex, then I'm happy for you.

I have never tried either form of Windex, with or without ammonia, on a hone. If you are concerned about breaking up water surface tension, this can be accomplished with a very minimal and imperceptible amount of soap. You certainly can use a small enough of an amount that there will be no slowing down of the hone.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I use both of those stones & have never experienced the "surface tension" that you speek of.

I have on both. Neither are porous to any significant degree so water tends to bead up on both of them.

I'm a little confused as to the issue of surface tension with water?

I actually find the changes in water's behavior - i.e. how its interaction with the edge changes - to be a very useful guide on certain hones that it's getting close to time to move on to the next stone. Not sure I'd want to mess with that or, for that matter, put anything other than water on any of my stones.

But as John said, if it works for you, then run with it.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I have on both. Neither are porous to any significant degree so water tends to bead up on both of them.

O.K.,,so school me on this please.
Would not the edge undercut any beading on the stone & since they are not porous to any degree, what is causing the stone to need added water throughout the honing cycle? Evaporation of the surface water not pushed by the edge? Absorption by the stone? A combination of both?

Hello,
I've used soap on my coticule, for the final couple of passes to see if it refined the edge. Hard for me to tell at that level, but I sure it didn't hurt. Given how it felt while honing I think it did help, it's just my face couldn't tell with certainty. (Goats milk Soap I think)

I know a Wood worker Paul Sellers, you can find him on youtube, old fashioned, and knows his field very well. He uses windex or window cleaner on his hones all the time and recommends it.

I have never found this to be an issue on either of these stones but I was addressing the concerns of the OP. Some versions of both of these stones can be quite non-porous so there can be some tendency for the water to be pushed off of the stone. That's all.

I think I would be willing to try Windex on my C12K if it speeds it up...

Originally Posted by 111Nathaniel

Hello,
I've used soap on my coticule, for the final couple of passes to see if it refined the edge. Hard for me to tell at that level, but I sure it didn't hurt. Given how it felt while honing I think it did help, it's just my face couldn't tell with certainty. (Goats milk Soap I think)

I know a Wood worker Paul Sellers, you can find him on youtube, old fashioned, and knows his field very well. He uses windex or window cleaner on his hones all the time and recommends it.

I see that he uses diamond plates though. That is good but they are not naturals.