Eraser Block

Aerosmith101 said:
Thanks. Does the fine work well for coarse rods
Click to expand...

I just went and tried it on a med. Spyderco ceramic... fine worked better on it also. (I don't have a coarse ceramic rod).

p.s. You can buy a med /fine "two pack" for not much more than the single one.
 
cbwx34 said:
I just went and tried it on a med. Spyderco ceramic... fine worked better on it also. (I don't have a coarse ceramic rod).

p.s. You can buy a med /fine "two pack" for not much more than the single one.
Click to expand...
Thanks my ceramic is more like a medium anyways
 
These work great also:

lnt_7164-500x500.jpg

I use them on Spyderco ceramic rods and bench stones, Venev and Edge Pro Diamond Matrix hones.
 
Mr.Wizard said:
Is this preferred over Bar Keepers Friend and a brush?
Click to expand...

I keep and use Bar Keepers for the shop sink and many other uses...but I generally only use it on the hones if I see lingering signs that a deeper clean is called for. Most times the blocks do yeoman's work.
 
cbwx34 said:
p.s. You can buy a med /fine "two pack" for not much more than the single one.
Click to expand...
I just bought that pair at Burrfection's recommendation for water stones. (I'm tired of wasting my good natural nagura).
I haven't tried them on the ceramic rods but I was less than impressed using them on my Shapton Glass or my Gritomatic G8.
I need to do more testing on other stones but they were not near as good as my natural nagura.
 
I have given this recommendation some thought and I have a concern. Will the abrasive block polish the ceramic over time, causing it to lose effectiveness? For a flat ceramic that I could easily resurface, sure, whatever is expedient, but I'd like to keep the fine matte finish on my Idahone rod as long as possible, and dissolving rather than abrading away swarf seems conducive to this goal. Since it is a finishing hone I rarely need to clean it and I am OK with it being a bit more work and fuss.
 
Most of the 'rust erasers' use silicon carbide grit embedded in the rubber matrix. SiC is actually hard enough to polish or burnish the alumina in the ceramic rods. That's the one thing that makes me hesitate and reach for something else, like a simple pencil eraser for lighter cleanup after each use, or the BKF treatment for more stubborn jobs.
 
I've seen absolutely no evidence of damage to the medium or fine ceramic hones when I've used the eraser blocks. Nor have I felt any, and I'm somewhat finicky about maintenance of my gear.

The finish on edges worked with them are just as good as ever.

I always brush or rinse off any detritus following their use. The same rule applies when I use an artist / gum eraser instead of an eraser block.

YMMV.
 
I used the eraser blocks for a while. They work about as well as a pencil eraser has, for me. As with the pencil eraser, sometimes the eraser blocks fall short, in not removing all of the embedded swarf on the rods; I notice this more with with the white ceramics, usually Fine/UF grit. So, being that it works about the same as the pencil eraser, I opt to use the one with less aggressive abrasive. I'm just conservative, in using something with less/no potential to alter the ceramic itself. For times when that won't remove all the swarf, I'll then resort to BKF to take care of the rest.

I used one set of V-crock brown rods, which I later discovered were actually steel rods coated with ceramic abrasive. At the time I was using those, I also cleaned them with the eraser blocks for a while. As it turned out, some of the ceramic eventually got scrubbed off the steel core, leaving shiny exposed metal in view. That's what got me thinking about using something that wouldn't overkill the cleaning task on these.
 
Last edited:
All I can say is, I've used one for quite a while now... and see no difference in the ceramic... even comparing it to areas that have probably never been scrubbed much... like near the handle and tip.

Watch this video... A.G. Russell on Ceramic Sharpening Rods
(Go to 6 min. mark on cleaning if the link doesn't take you there).

and take a look at that eraser... I think he's been doing this for a while. (Note what he says at 7:08).

But hey, do whatever you're comfortable with. ;)
 
I learned that Idahone sells a Superaser Fibrous Eraser Block specifically for cleaning ceramics. I don't know if this is the same as the sanding blocks or different, perhaps with a somewhat softer abrasive.
 
I just use barkeepers friend it works great and fast easy clean up and wipe dry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top