Let's see your sharpening stones/gear!

[SAK Guy]

Got a traditional stone in to try.

Nice stone SG have you had a chance to use it much yet?

Nah, dang it! I'm still wondering what oil I'm gonna use.....every time I look it up, I get to looking at something else and ..... well, you know.   

[hiraethus]

Have you used the stones yet H?

Only the little fine slip stone.  Tidied the edge on knife using the diamond plate last night and finished it with the slip.  Very nice.

[Poncho65]

Have you used the stones yet H?

Also just rereading this and good on you Sparky for giving the stones to Hi

[Poncho65]

Got a traditional stone in to try.

Nice stone SG have you had a chance to use it much yet?

Nah, dang it! I'm still wondering what oil I'm gonna use.....every time I look it up, I get to looking at something else and ..... well, you know.   

Yes all to well I internet wander when trying to look for things most any time I try to look for something

Have you narrowed your choices down yet

[Don Pablo]

How well does the lansky turnbox work for you all, those who have it or similar?
I got one today, it has medium and fine ceramic rods, with the option of 20 or 25 degrees per side.
Can you restore an edge with it? I was able to freehand an smooth edge(sorta) on a small folder that had lots of little nicks, but I have no idea what its angle is... 
What about maintaining SAK edges with it solely?

[SAK Guy]

Got a traditional stone in to try.

Nice stone SG have you had a chance to use it much yet?

Nah, dang it! I'm still wondering what oil I'm gonna use.....every time I look it up, I get to looking at something else and ..... well, you know.   

Yes all to well I internet wander when trying to look for things most any time I try to look for something

Have you narrowed your choices down yet

Can't decide.... will probably go with a can of Norton oil. Would try water but that Norton stone is already precharged with oil so don't know if that would work.

[Poncho65]

Got a traditional stone in to try.

Nice stone SG have you had a chance to use it much yet?

Nah, dang it! I'm still wondering what oil I'm gonna use.....every time I look it up, I get to looking at something else and ..... well, you know.   

Yes all to well I internet wander when trying to look for things most any time I try to look for something

Have you narrowed your choices down yet

Can't decide.... will probably go with a can of Norton oil. Would try water but that Norton stone is already precharged with oil so don't know if that would work.

Yeah I don't know much about oilstones   SO don't know how that would work Hopefully whatever you do pick works though

[Sparky415]

Have you used the stones yet H?

Only the little fine slip stone.  Tidied the edge on knife using the diamond plate last night and finished it with the slip.  Very nice.

Those little ones can be very useful 

Have you used the stones yet H?

Also just rereading this and good on you Sparky for giving the stones to Hi

I didn't want to carry them home from the meet as my car was full of axes 

[Dean51]

Got a traditional stone in to try.

Nice stone SG have you had a chance to use it much yet?

Nah, dang it! I'm still wondering what oil I'm gonna use.....every time I look it up, I get to looking at something else and ..... well, you know.   

Yes all to well I internet wander when trying to look for things most any time I try to look for something

Have you narrowed your choices down yet

Can't decide.... will probably go with a can of Norton oil. Would try water but that Norton stone is already precharged with oil so don't know if that would work.

Sounds like Norton oil would be a safe way to go.

[SAK Guy]

Got a traditional stone in to try.

Nice stone SG have you had a chance to use it much yet?

Nah, dang it! I'm still wondering what oil I'm gonna use.....every time I look it up, I get to looking at something else and ..... well, you know.   

Yes all to well I internet wander when trying to look for things most any time I try to look for something

Have you narrowed your choices down yet

Can't decide.... will probably go with a can of Norton oil. Would try water but that Norton stone is already precharged with oil so don't know if that would work.

Yeah I don't know much about oilstones   SO don't know how that would work Hopefully whatever you do pick works though

Thanks Ponch!! 

[SAK Guy]

Got a traditional stone in to try.

Nice stone SG have you had a chance to use it much yet?

Nah, dang it! I'm still wondering what oil I'm gonna use.....every time I look it up, I get to looking at something else and ..... well, you know.   

Yes all to well I internet wander when trying to look for things most any time I try to look for something

Have you narrowed your choices down yet

Can't decide.... will probably go with a can of Norton oil. Would try water but that Norton stone is already precharged with oil so don't know if that would work.

Sounds like Norton oil would be a safe way to go.

Thanks Dean!! 

[Fortytwo]

How well does the lansky turnbox work for you all, those who have it or similar?
I got one today, it has medium and fine ceramic rods, with the option of 20 or 25 degrees per side.
Can you restore an edge with it? I was able to freehand an smooth edge(sorta) on a small folder that had lots of little nicks, but I have no idea what its angle is... 
What about maintaining SAK edges with it solely?

I have it but wouldn't use it to restore an edge really. It is perfect for maintaining edges and unless you buy mistreated blades that's all you should hopefully ever need to do.

[Don Pablo]

Erm... Hi, my name is Pablo and I buy mostly mistreated blades. 

It seems to work for me anyway, I've "fixed" a bad edge or two so far.
I had one edge on a cheap carbon steel blade that was ragged from me trying to use a kitchen sharpener(   ). I sharpened the nicks out mostly by using the grey rods in a half-smurfed freehand way to remove most of the nicks, then setting the edge with the actual set angles. It slices decently now and looks fine. 
Lesson learned and practice gained.

Good to know from someone else that its great for blade maintenance though, thank you very much.


I assume that this type of sharpener is all you really need for a couple of pocket knives, and better equipment is needed for fancy knives?

Oh, and I will get a strop for touching up.

[Fortytwo]

It shouldn't make much difference whether you have a fancy knife or not, I don't know how well the ceramic rods handle really hard steels (usually found on fancier knives) since I have yet to try that. It will have troubles with bigger knives since it's so short but is not automatically a problem.

I don't know what you count as a mistreated blade but I really admire your perseverance, I would never have the patience to get rid of nicks on the Turnbox.

[Sparky415]

As for your choice of oil
The oil is there to float off the metal particles to stop the stone from getting gunked up
I use car engine oil or car gearbox oil on my stones, 
A lot of Guys on building sites use 3in1oil or WD40, very popular as they are easy to store in the van
In woodworking shops I've seen some use baby oil (mineral oil that smells nice) or 3in1
Oh and a mix of engine oil and diesel

This is speaking as the Guy who (the lads at the meet will tell you) was the only one to turn up with a blunt Puukko 

 

[SAK Guy]

As for your choice of oil
The oil is there to float off the metal particles to stop the stone from getting gunked up
I use car engine oil or car gearbox oil on my stones, 
A lot of Guys on building sites use 3in1oil or WD40, very popular as they are easy to store in the van
In woodworking shops I've seen some use baby oil (mineral oil that smells nice) or 3in1
Oh and a mix of engine oil and diesel

This is speaking as the Guy who (the lads at the meet will tell you) was the only one to turn up with a blunt Puukko 

 

       Thanks for the info and the laugh Sparky!  I remember my Dad used 3 in 1 on his stones.  I have a bottle of USP Mineral oil for oiling knife joints but it seemed kinda heavy to use on that Norton....was still planning on that Norton oil...but after looking at the price, I bought some Lansky honing oil because it was half the price.

[SteelRaven]

I like the big Fallkniven stoen SG That;s a big knife as well

I will see what I can do about getting a pic up in the next few days of my stuff as well

Thanks!  I've been using the smaller Fallkniven stones for a while and love them.

Ponch, the Trail Master is a great knife. It's about an inch shorter than this one, which is my biggest knife.

Blackjack Warner Moran
(Image removed from quote.)

I re-profiled WM last year and it's scary sharp.

Looking at your big blades and having done some reading about "bowie style knives", I ran across an article that said that by the 1840's those big bowies were pretty much outlawed in Southern states.  Seemed everybody liked to fight/duel with them...if you hurt anybody with one, it was considered a capital offense!

And I know that down in Texas, you don't want to be caught off your property with anything over 5.5"...so even a Buck 119 Special is against the law.   

That's ok...Reason and Jim Bowie were from Louisiana anyway....

[SteelRaven]

I know it takes me forever to get around to things but I finally tried my big Fallkniven bench stone and WOW!!!

My Trail Master is the sharpest it's ever been which in the past, has been no easy feat. Originally a convex edge and along with it's extremely thick grind, it been a chore to get even close to a really fine edge. I spent about 15 mins freehanding it and bang! Now the old gal is slicing paper pretty well....if I spend a little more time on it, and actually lay the stone on a table (instead of palming it), it might end up close to properly sharp.

A (crummy) pic....
(Image removed from quote.)

I was kicking around the idea of buying a Razor Edge guide to use on this very knife but will wait and see now.

I'll add other stones later but if you have a stone or system you use on your knives (esp on your bigger Camping/Bushcraft/Hunting knives), post a pic and tell us how you like it.

Indeed the big CSTM is not something one lets get past the point of nearly dull, because if you do you will understand the meaning of the words Patience is a virtue.

If I drug it all out and photographed it my wife would KEEL me,

But I use the Worksharp knife and tool sharpener ken onion for hog work (rare)

DMT BLUE AND RED variants for sharpening a dull blade

Spyderco TSM and various ceramic rods for general upkeep and honing.

Strops for polish honing with mothers aluminum and mag polish, and bare leather too.

Some steels respond to river rocks, some don't. They all respond to diamonds.

[Sparky415]

This might be useful to someone...

How to clean bench stones

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,57965.msg1048466.html#msg1048466

 

[SteelRaven]

I do have one question for those who used DMT OVER the years. The sharpeners I bought from them 20 years ago seemed to be more durable, or held diamonds better than the new ones or some such.

Anybody else notice this? Not trying to hijack...thanks RAVEN

[SteelRaven]

As for your choice of oil
The oil is there to float off the metal particles to stop the stone from getting gunked up
I use car engine oil or car gearbox oil on my stones, 
A lot of Guys on building sites use 3in1oil or WD40, very popular as they are easy to store in the van
In woodworking shops I've seen some use baby oil (mineral oil that smells nice) or 3in1
Oh and a mix of engine oil and diesel

This is speaking as the Guy who (the lads at the meet will tell you) was the only one to turn up with a blunt Puukko 

 

       Thanks for the info and the laugh Sparky!  I remember my Dad used 3 in 1 on his stones.  I have a bottle of USP Mineral oil for oiling knife joints but it seemed kinda heavy to use on that Norton....was still planning on that Norton oil...but after looking at the price, I bought some Lansky honing oil because it was half the price.

you run the lightest food grade right SAK??

[Poncho65]

I do have one question for those who used DMT OVER the years. The sharpeners I bought from them 20 years ago seemed to be more durable, or held diamonds better than the new ones or some such.

Anybody else notice this? Not trying to hijack...thanks RAVEN

I wished Ihad some from 20 years ago   I would sure help you with the comparison Most of mine are from the last 7-8 years so can't really comment   I have had really good usage from my 6 inch diasharps though and the credit card sized diasharps

The Bucktek dual sided sharpener I have now seems to be holding it's diamonds rather well but I haven't had it an extremely long amount of time either

[SAK Guy]

As for your choice of oil
The oil is there to float off the metal particles to stop the stone from getting gunked up
I use car engine oil or car gearbox oil on my stones, 
A lot of Guys on building sites use 3in1oil or WD40, very popular as they are easy to store in the van
In woodworking shops I've seen some use baby oil (mineral oil that smells nice) or 3in1
Oh and a mix of engine oil and diesel

This is speaking as the Guy who (the lads at the meet will tell you) was the only one to turn up with a blunt Puukko 

 

       Thanks for the info and the laugh Sparky!  I remember my Dad used 3 in 1 on his stones.  I have a bottle of USP Mineral oil for oiling knife joints but it seemed kinda heavy to use on that Norton....was still planning on that Norton oil...but after looking at the price, I bought some Lansky honing oil because it was half the price.

you run the lightest food grade right SAK??

Heck, I don't know...I think it says USP on the bottle. I like it because it stays in the joints really well and does not migrate all over the place.....

I have some Rem-Oil that is so dang light that one drop coats the knife, my hands, me and whatever I'm sitting on....shoot, it's so thin, that people I talk to on the phone report hanging up feeling oily!   

   

[SAK Guy]

This might be useful to someone...

How to clean bench stones

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,57965.msg1048466.html#msg1048466

 

Thx Sparky!!! 

[Poncho65]

As for your choice of oil
The oil is there to float off the metal particles to stop the stone from getting gunked up
I use car engine oil or car gearbox oil on my stones, 
A lot of Guys on building sites use 3in1oil or WD40, very popular as they are easy to store in the van
In woodworking shops I've seen some use baby oil (mineral oil that smells nice) or 3in1
Oh and a mix of engine oil and diesel

This is speaking as the Guy who (the lads at the meet will tell you) was the only one to turn up with a blunt Puukko 

 

       Thanks for the info and the laugh Sparky!  I remember my Dad used 3 in 1 on his stones.  I have a bottle of USP Mineral oil for oiling knife joints but it seemed kinda heavy to use on that Norton....was still planning on that Norton oil...but after looking at the price, I bought some Lansky honing oil because it was half the price.

you run the lightest food grade right SAK??

Heck, I don't know...I think it says USP on the bottle. I like it because it stays in the joints really well and does not migrate all over the place.....

I have some Rem-Oil that is so dang light that one drop coats the knife, my hands, me and whatever I'm sitting on....shoot, it's so thin, that people I talk to on the phone report hanging up feeling oily!   

 

[SAK Guy]

I know it takes me forever to get around to things but I finally tried my big Fallkniven bench stone and WOW!!!

My Trail Master is the sharpest it's ever been which in the past, has been no easy feat. Originally a convex edge and along with it's extremely thick grind, it been a chore to get even close to a really fine edge. I spent about 15 mins freehanding it and bang! Now the old gal is slicing paper pretty well....if I spend a little more time on it, and actually lay the stone on a table (instead of palming it), it might end up close to properly sharp.

A (crummy) pic....
(Image removed from quote.)

I was kicking around the idea of buying a Razor Edge guide to use on this very knife but will wait and see now.

I'll add other stones later but if you have a stone or system you use on your knives (esp on your bigger Camping/Bushcraft/Hunting knives), post a pic and tell us how you like it.

Indeed the big CSTM is not something one lets get past the point of nearly dull, because if you do you will understand the meaning of the words Patience is a virtue.

If I drug it all out and photographed it my wife would KEEL me,

But I use the Worksharp knife and tool sharpener ken onion for hog work (rare)

DMT BLUE AND RED variants for sharpening a dull blade

Spyderco TSM and various ceramic rods for general upkeep and honing.

Strops for polish honing with mothers aluminum and mag polish, and bare leather too.

Some steels respond to river rocks, some don't. They all respond to diamonds.

Diamonds work best I think. On the CSTM, I bought it used and the former owner let it go too long.     It's been a work in progress for about 5 years.

On the DMT, I like that red/blue Duofold pretty well. I used to use one in X-Coarse to sharpen axes/lawnmower blades....it finally wore a smooth spot in the middle but I probably push too hard anyway because I can start wearing one in about 2 years of use. You're suppose to let the diamonds do the work but I still catch myself acting like it's an old carborundum stone. 

[SteveC]

Heck, I don't know...I think it says USP on the bottle. I like it because it stays in the joints really well and does not migrate all over the place.....

I have some Rem-Oil that is so dang light that one drop coats the knife, my hands, me and whatever I'm sitting on....shoot, it's so thin, that people I talk to on the phone report hanging up feeling oily!   

 

[Poncho65]

I know it takes me forever to get around to things but I finally tried my big Fallkniven bench stone and WOW!!!

My Trail Master is the sharpest it's ever been which in the past, has been no easy feat. Originally a convex edge and along with it's extremely thick grind, it been a chore to get even close to a really fine edge. I spent about 15 mins freehanding it and bang! Now the old gal is slicing paper pretty well....if I spend a little more time on it, and actually lay the stone on a table (instead of palming it), it might end up close to properly sharp.

A (crummy) pic....
(Image removed from quote.)

I was kicking around the idea of buying a Razor Edge guide to use on this very knife but will wait and see now.

I'll add other stones later but if you have a stone or system you use on your knives (esp on your bigger Camping/Bushcraft/Hunting knives), post a pic and tell us how you like it.

Indeed the big CSTM is not something one lets get past the point of nearly dull, because if you do you will understand the meaning of the words Patience is a virtue.

If I drug it all out and photographed it my wife would KEEL me,

But I use the Worksharp knife and tool sharpener ken onion for hog work (rare)

DMT BLUE AND RED variants for sharpening a dull blade

Spyderco TSM and various ceramic rods for general upkeep and honing.

Strops for polish honing with mothers aluminum and mag polish, and bare leather too.

Some steels respond to river rocks, some don't. They all respond to diamonds.

Diamonds work best I think. On the CSTM, I bought it used and the former owner let it go too long.     It's been a work in progress for about 5 years.

On the DMT, I like that red/blue Duofold pretty well. I used to use one in X-Coarse to sharpen axes/lawnmower blades....it finally wore a smooth spot in the middle but I probably push too hard anyway because I can start wearing one in about 2 years of use. You're suppose to let the diamonds do the work but I still catch myself acting like it's an old carborundum stone. 

It is not hard to push to hard sharpening with a diamond stone Hard habit to break if you learnt on regular stones

[SAK Guy]

I know it takes me forever to get around to things but I finally tried my big Fallkniven bench stone and WOW!!!

My Trail Master is the sharpest it's ever been which in the past, has been no easy feat. Originally a convex edge and along with it's extremely thick grind, it been a chore to get even close to a really fine edge. I spent about 15 mins freehanding it and bang! Now the old gal is slicing paper pretty well....if I spend a little more time on it, and actually lay the stone on a table (instead of palming it), it might end up close to properly sharp.

A (crummy) pic....
(Image removed from quote.)

I was kicking around the idea of buying a Razor Edge guide to use on this very knife but will wait and see now.

I'll add other stones later but if you have a stone or system you use on your knives (esp on your bigger Camping/Bushcraft/Hunting knives), post a pic and tell us how you like it.

Indeed the big CSTM is not something one lets get past the point of nearly dull, because if you do you will understand the meaning of the words Patience is a virtue.

If I drug it all out and photographed it my wife would KEEL me,

But I use the Worksharp knife and tool sharpener ken onion for hog work (rare)

DMT BLUE AND RED variants for sharpening a dull blade

Spyderco TSM and various ceramic rods for general upkeep and honing.

Strops for polish honing with mothers aluminum and mag polish, and bare leather too.

Some steels respond to river rocks, some don't. They all respond to diamonds.

Diamonds work best I think. On the CSTM, I bought it used and the former owner let it go too long.     It's been a work in progress for about 5 years.

On the DMT, I like that red/blue Duofold pretty well. I used to use one in X-Coarse to sharpen axes/lawnmower blades....it finally wore a smooth spot in the middle but I probably push too hard anyway because I can start wearing one in about 2 years of use. You're suppose to let the diamonds do the work but I still catch myself acting like it's an old carborundum stone. 

It is not hard to push to hard sharpening with a diamond stone Hard habit to break if you learnt on regular stones

 

[kl27x]

Can't decide.... will probably go with a can of Norton oil. Would try water but that Norton stone is already precharged with oil so don't know if that would work.

Both work fine for me. Trick is to use a drop of dish soap with water. For larger jobs I find water AND oil work great with the dish soap. Oil alone can get a little too thick for lapping large surfaces. Considering Norton oil is food safe, I would bet it's food grade mineral oil. My can ran out last month, but I never could see any difference between it and mineral oil from the drugstore.

To lap other stones or large areas of steel, I rub the corner of a coarse silicon carbide stone onto the coarse India. The AlOx of the india stone isn't as hard as SiC, but it's much tougher than SiC and much harder than glass or granite, so it makes a good, durable, aggressive lapping surface. The SiC stone easily fractures/dislodges particles onto the tougher Norton india. Freshen up, frequently, with more SiC, and it cuts like a demon.

Some steels respond to river rocks, some don't. They all respond to diamonds

. A little SiC stone fixes that, too. But your average river rock is going to wear a lot faster than Norton india stone when used that way. SiC and india stone makes a pretty decent alternative to diamond lapping plates, without some of the disadvantages of diamond. Main pro.... you can't permanently mess up or wear out an india stone.. well you could wear one out, but you would have gotten more than your money's worth, lol. 

My Norton Combo india is one of my most useful stones, even if a finished knife edge rarely touches it. It does larger profiling/lapping jobs on hardened steel and lapping shaping of my other stones. not to say the fine side doesn't give a great edge.