Can I Use Water With a Silicon Carbide Sharpening Stone?

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knivesngear

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Nov 23, 2010
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Hey guys I have an old silicon carbide sharpening stone that was originally used with oil. I was wondering if I can use water with these kind of stones and can you switch between using water and oil with this stone. Thanks.


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Yes you can use water, though it helps to have some dishsoap mixed with it or it'll just soak into the pores almost immediately. If it's already been used with oil you'll have to boil the oil out, or douse it with dishsoap and lap it on some sandpaper or better yet with another silicone carbide stone. Do this a couple of times and run it under hot water in between - it should turn out OK. Or just keep using it with oil, but a periodic lapping is not a bad thing for these stones anyway.
 
yes you can use water but you cant switch between the two. if you want to try the old stone with water before you buy a new one, boil the living sh*t out of the old stone in water and dawn dish soap then follow with a boil of plain water to get all the old oil out of the stone. then try the stone with plain water. if you dont like it you can go back to oil in a snap.
 
you want the water to be able to float away the metal particles instead of building up and clogging the pores of the stone. google "murray carter" and check out his videos on jap. waterstone sharpening. you want to try to do the same thing. keep the stone soaking wet. oil lets the particles adhere to the stone which clogs the pores and reduces the cutting efficeincy of the stone. but there are, at my last count, 3 schools of thought about stones. 1-use oil,2-use water and 3-use dry. you have to try all 3 to see what you like. me, im a paper wheel guy after years of trial and error.
 
the stone itself is porus. it will allow water to enter and flow as long as it is not blocked by the viscosity of oil. washing will delay the clogging effect. but at some time the particles you are shaving off the blade will begin to build up. but a quick boil will free them. oil will clog a stone quicker. for a test,squirt a line of oil on a rock. on the next rock, soak with water. now cover both rocks with sand and come back the next day and see which rock holds the most grit after a gentle shaking. im not being a smart *ss just trying to help you. but can you now envision the water vs. oil debate? if you can than ive helped a fellow forum member.
 
If it's been oiled many times it would probably be less of a headache to buy a new one for $20 and use soapy water from the start.

The stone can be used in many different ways as described by bkzk100. I have a norton aluminum oxide stone so I don't know how similar they are but, If you use it with water or soapy water it tends to work a little like a water stone in that it will build a slurry that aids in cutting action. Though this method seems to work faster and yield a better finish I still prefer dry above all else for edge quality and sharpness. If I used oil with it I would probably keep it in a bucket of oil and pull it out when needed. When I started sharpening I used a Arkansas stone with 3 in 1 oil then one day heard from someone wiser than I that it would be better if I didn't. I tried it and for me the results were always better when I used the stone dry, oil was fun but I switched to dry and never went back.
 
knifenut1013 said:
If it's been oiled many times it would probably be less of a headache to buy a new one for $20 and use soapy water from the start.

The stone can be used in many different ways as described by bkzk100. I have a norton aluminum oxide stone so I don't know how similar they are but, If you use it with water or soapy water it tends to work a little like a water stone in that it will build a slurry that aids in cutting action. Though this method seems to work faster and yield a better finish I still prefer dry above all else for edge quality and sharpness. If I used oil with it I would probably keep it in a bucket of oil and pull it out when needed. When I started sharpening I used a Arkansas stone with 3 in 1 oil then one day heard from someone wiser than I that it would be better if I didn't. I tried it and for me the results were always better when I used the stone dry, oil was fun but I switched to dry and never went back.
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I don't like using a drystone and I really like the size and quality of the stone I have now. :)
 
I've got two older Norton silicon carbide stones and the box for both of them says oil filled. Phil Wilson uses these stones and says to use windex or equivalent on them. That makes me wonder if boiling will resolve anything. I can't see how you can get all the oil out if they are oil filled straight from Norton. I guess this is more of a question than comment. You guys know alot more than me.
 
sykes3170 said:
I've got two older Norton silicon carbide stones and the box for both of them says oil filled. Phil Wilson uses these stones and says to use windex or equivalent on them. That makes me wonder if boiling will resolve anything. I can't see how you can get all the oil out if they are oil filled straight from Norton. I guess this is more of a question than comment. You guys know alot more than me.
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They don't have much from the factory, I used mine with water from day one and it soaked it up like a sponge.
 
if it was your grandfathers stone than i would say it is of a finer quality than the ones you can buy today. so boiling it should be fine. and knifenut... yes common dish soap does break down the surface tension of water which adds to the cutting capacity of the liquid. but all soaps when they are broken down are based on natural oils. believe it or not, soap=grease. ever wonder why your bathroom sink can get clogged with face shavings. when you shave your face with foamy soap? basic soap is rendered from animal fat. sorry for geeking out on the subject but i think the dry method with the routine boil is the way to go.
 
yea it is a really nice stone. Do you think if I soak it in water for a while it would get some of the oil out of the stone, so I could use water when I sharpen?
 
soak it in hot tap water with dawn dish soap and rinse with plain hot tap water and scrub with a brush between the soap and the clean rinse. but try the stone before and after the cleaning to see which you prefer. but imho i think there is more a danger of it getting dropped on a tile floor and breaking than there is with boiling it. but the stone has a place in your heart so be as careful as you see fit.
 
I just flattened my two Norton silicon carbide stones on a piece of floor tile and then boiled them in soapy water. I kept the stones off the bottom of the pot with a round tray. I first put them in hot tap water and then slowly brought them to a boil. It worked well and there was a nice puddle of oil on top of the water. Stones look great and no harm done.
 
sykes3170 said:
I just flattened my two Norton silicon carbide stones on a piece of floor tile and then boiled them in soapy water. I kept the stones off the bottom of the pot with a round tray. I first put them in hot tap water and then slowly brought them to a boil. It worked well and there was a nice puddle of oil on top of the water. Stones look great and no harm done.
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Thanks for testing that for me! Honestly, I did not want to do that myself.....
 
I get the best results using a 50/50 mix of Simple Green (from Home Depot) and water. Also good as a drill bit cooler.
 
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