Dull ceramic rods

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Barmaley

Joined
Dec 31, 2016
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I thought that ceramic stones last forever. I got 4 idahone ceramic rods (2 white and 2 red). I think red was a joke but I love white. I hone a lot, use them instead of steel as well as I use them to sharpen in place of 1500 stone. After about 6 months of use I found that they are getting dull, the ends which I rare use stay obviously sharper than the middle part. Is it normal? I bought and still are waiting for delivery of a 3000 ceramic rod with idea to use it as a steel and as a replacement of 3000 stone. Two questions: should I expect is to stay sharp for a long time and if I use a rod instead of a stone will I get the same performance or is it less of better than a stone of the same grit?
 
If they're really clogged, one can also put them into a 1-gallon Zip-Loc bag, covering them with a wet mix of Barkeeper's Friend powder & water. Just leave it for a while, from an hour or two & maybe up to a day or so. Then take them out and rinse & scrub them down. The oxalic acid in BKF will dissolve the iron swarf, which is why this works well. I did this with a couple of Lansky Crock Stick rods a while back, which were heavily imbedded with swarf streaks. The usual cleaning methods didn't quite get it done, in that case.
 
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A pencil eraser works well also. A quick scrub before they get really clogged and they are right back to cutting again.
 
Thank you guys! I was always cleaning with BKF but just rubbing it with the powder with small amount of water. I will try to soak it for a day. Since you thing that it may clog I may suspect that mineral oil could be part of the problem. I often used the rods after sharpening on oil stones and I found that some tiny bits of oil were still on the blade and got on the rods. Does BKF remove mineral oil?
 
Barmaley said:
Thank you guys! I was always cleaning with BKF but just rubbing it with the powder with small amount of water. I will try to soak it for a day. Since you thing that it may clog I may suspect that mineral oil could be part of the problem. I often used the rods after sharpening on oil stones and I found that some tiny bits of oil were still on the blade and got on the rods. Does BKF remove mineral oil?
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Might wash the rods with some dish detergent & water first, for the worst of the mineral oil. Otherwise, if the rods are pretty oily on the surface, it might inhibit the effectiveness of the BKF.

Also, you might not need to leave them in the BKF for a whole day. Might check on them after an hour or two - if the BKF is working well, you should notice the dark stuff wiping or rinsing away pretty easily. The point being, they won't be harmed by leaving them in it for longer, IF it's needed.
 
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