Thread: Cleaning oil off a hone

You mentioned this in your post;

",,, From the looks and feel of it, this is made from the same sort of stuff as the Carborundum razor hones. Finer than the 118s hones, about as smooth as the old 101 variety. "

If this is true, then its man-made & why would you want to de-grease it? It was made that way for a reason.

Not so Hirlau,

Its a form of Barbers Hone. And those were usually advertised as "Hone dry, or with lather"

If somebody else has a Lipshaw hone that includes the instructions, and can say otherwise, please chime in!


not to mention, who would want to deal with the stench of rancid oil? Cleaning out the old and replacing with something not made of stink, tar, and goo seems like a good idea to me.

Originally Posted by Magpie

Not so Hirlau,

Its a form of Barbers Hone. And those were usually advertised as "Hone dry, or with lather"

If somebody else has a Lipshaw hone that includes the instructions, and can say otherwise, please chime in!

You are the one saying its possilbly made of the same material as a #118.
Do you have a box or instructions with the hone you are trying to de-grease?
How & why have you indentify the hone in the picture as a Lipshaw Hone?

Originally Posted by Hirlau

You are the one saying its possilbly made of the same material as a #118.
Do you have a box or instructions with the hone you are trying to de-grease?
How & why have you indentify the hone in the picture as a Lipshaw Hone?

I have the original box that it came in that says "Lipshaw" on it. Is that good enough?

Photo of the box, please.

You might try soaking it a few days in clean Stoddard Solvent. That's what I do with the stones in my machine shop when they get clogged with swarf, cutting oil, and grease from my hands.

Originally Posted by Benz

You might try soaking it a few days in clean Stoddard Solvent. That's what I do with the stones in my machine shop when they get clogged with swarf, cutting oil, and grease from my hands.

Benz, I have not worked a machine shop in 30 years, I'm unfamiliar with Stoddard Solvent. Is that a name brand or a type?

Originally Posted by Magpie

Benz, I have not worked a machine shop in 30 years, I'm unfamiliar with Stoddard Solvent. Is that a name brand or a type?

Around here we call it Stoddard or Stanisol. http://www.cenex.com/~/media/cenex/f...ds-g23-02.ashx
Hope this helps.

Well I have had success removing the oil smell using Lestoil.
But then the box stinks of that scent.
Walmart cleaning supplies, oil and grease remover for clothes.
Got tar out of overalls basement sealing.

I have also posted suggesting the oven cleaner, because a stone guy posted that it worked well. That was years ago. I confess I've never done it myself, since I've never had a stone that needed the treatment.

OTOH, I've had cast iron Griswold pans that had years of caked on oil cooked onto them, and used Easy Off, the stinky kind, to clean them. Rubber gloves & goggles, spray on and stick in a plastic bag. Leave it bagged in the utility room a day or two and then rinse off and inspect. If it isn't all gone, do it again until it is.

Whether the same treatment would work on a stone I don't know. Worth a try in cases where nothing else is working well.