Thread: Three old hones, and three old questions.

Hi all! I found these hones today at an antique shop. I'm really happy about it, cause I wasn't having any luck at all with Ebay. Not really sure why I bought all three...I'm assuming it's the beginnings of HAD. Anyways, I checked the wiki and didn't see any that were similar enough for me to draw my own conclusions. Ok..3 questions: Is lapping on 600 grit a good idea in order to bring the big one back to flat, and the little red one back to smooth? Would using a Norton lapping stone be a better idea? Is this yellow one made out of real stone? It's got layers, and looks like wood up close. Also, if anybody knows what they are exactly, and has an opinion on them, I'd appreciate your input. There aren't any markings on them that I could find.

Promising haul.... but we probably need better pictures for ID. Either way, it looks have you have some scrubbing to do to try to get some oil out of those stones.

Yeah I've been working on getting the boxed one cleaned up. I got most of the crud out, and it's looking like a mahoganey box. You got any suggestions for the best cleaning solution to use?

If you've got oil impregnated in the stone I hear oven cleaner is the best bet. A member once posted that the 'easy off' with the blue cap is odor free.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If you've got oil impregnated in the stone I hear oven cleaner is the best bet.
A member once posted that the 'easy off' with the blue cap is odor free.

+1

Of interest oil on oil stone hones is not a bad thing.
You can clean the stones with anything handy so you
can find out what they are. Oven cleaner is a good solution
as is brake cleaner. If you have clean parts cleaner that
can work. Oil on a DMT can be removed with a solvent.
As always watch out for solvents -- fumes and solvent soaked
rags are a fire hazzard.

It is a hone so a steel Brillo soap pad should be
OK to scourer the surface to inspect the rock.

I would be inclined to just apply the DMT with water
rich in detergent or TSP (paint shops have TSP)
to see what it is under the grime.

The one that looks like wood is likely wood
with emery paper and crocus cloth glued to it.
Solvent might kill the glue more often than not.
Emery paper and crocus cloth are the old school
versions of 3M wet dry paper. Gymnasts
will often have it to polish a high bar (steel).

Crocus cloth is hard to find...
Emery Paper, Emery Cloth, 3M Rolls, Crocus Cloth, Inside Ring Shells, Emery Paper Mandrels, Emery Paper Arbors, Emery Paper Sticks, Santaper Sticks, Santaper Paper, Micro-finishing Film Strips, Micro-finishing Film PSA Discs, Micro-finishing Film Sh

Just some more detailed pics of the one I'm most curious about.

I pull the oil out with EZ Off, 20 minutes , then scrubb with Simple Green.

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 Ok..3 questions: Is lapping on 600 grit a good idea in order to bring the big one back to flat, and the little red one back to smooth? Would using a Norton lapping stone be a better idea? Is this yellow one made out of real stone?

Somehow we got all wrapped up on cleaning the stones, which I wasn't super concerned about. I want to know the best way to make them useable again. Thanks for everyone's tips on cleaning them but I'm more concerned about the questions I posted. Thanks again to all!

Another thing to try is, go to the good-will and buy a cheap pan, fill it 1/2 with water and put in some Dawn dish soap, boil the stone for an hour or so, you'll be surprised how much junk will boil out.

If you don't have a DMT, I suggest using the wet/dry sandpaper. The Norton lapping stones are designed for the synthetic waterstones. Harder natural stones have a tendency to ruin them(speaking from experiance).