Thread: honing oils... are they needed?

Most of the stones we use for straight razors are 'waterstones' and oil will harm many of them. For arkansas, charnley forrest and a few others oil is used. I use Smith's Honing Oil because I have a big bottle I bought years ago. I only use it on my arkansas stones. Some people will substitute water with a couple of drops of dish soap for oil. What oil or water does is lubricate the stone and creates a vehicle for the swarf (debris of metal and stone particles) to be carried away so that it doesn't become embedded in the honing surface and glaze the stone. That would ruin the effectiveness of the stone.