How do I keep Venev diamond stones clean?

Murkr

Murkr

Joined
Jan 23, 2023
Messages
40
I just purchased my first real sharpening system. Hapstone R2 with Venev Orion F240, F400, and F1200 grit stones.
I have three questions.
#1. Can I use these stones right out the box or should I lap them to make sure they are perfectly flat?
#2. Once I am done sharpening a knife, how do I clean the stones?
 
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Venev stones come ready out of the box, so no need to dress them now. As far as cleaning, I use a medium Japanese rust eraser most of the time, and then, maybe every 3-4 cleanings, I'll use a Nagura stone that came with a King combo stone I have. The rust erasers are like $7.50 on Amazon and they last forever. Nagura stones are also pretty cheap. I use it less often because it's a little more aggressive.
 
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B Blade Lab have you ever used the glass and Silicon Carbide powders? For some reason I feel like that would give the best results. I'll look into the Japanese rust eraser now though

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Murkr said:
B Blade Lab have you ever used the glass and Silicon Carbide powders? For some reason I feel like that would give the best results. I'll look into the Japanese rust eraser now though
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Yes, that's the eraser I use (the medium one).

You generally use sic powder and glass to flatten stones, or to dress them if they don't come dressed. Definitely overkill for ordinary cleaning.
 
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You can use a lot of different things to clean them. They tend to load up pretty fast and glaze after a while as well.

I use a rust eraser or magic eraser for quick cleaning load up. A little Bar Keepers Friend or a mild kitchen abrasive every now and then after they start glazing. As mentioned a nagura would work as well.
 
Murkr said:
I just purchased my first real sharpening system. Hapstone R2 with Venev Orion F240, F400, and F1200 grit stones.
I have three questions.
#1. Can I use these stones right out the box or should I lap them to make sure they are perfectly flat?
#2. Once I am done sharpening a knife, how do I clean the stones?

I plan to buy some SiC powder and a flat piece of glass (link removed by staff), unless you can link me to something better)
#3. Which Silicon Carbide powder do I use for each stone? I see on the hapstone website I have an option for these grits of silicon powder
80 grit (200/160 mkm) (+$5.50)
120 grit (125/100 mkm) (+$5.50)
280 grit (60/40mkm) (+$5.50)
500 grit (14/10mkm) (+$5.50)
1000 grit (5/3mkm) (+$5.50)

I'm guessing I have to buy a couple different powders and use different ones for different Venev stones. Can you help me pick which powders to buy?
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Magic erasers are the tits for cleaning any bonded stone. Works unbelievably better than anything else I've tried
 
bhb1034 said:
Magic erasers are the tits for cleaning any bonded stone. Works unbelievably better than anything else I've tried
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I thought this for a long time. It was all I used on my Venevs until I started getting some glazing. TBH, the stones still cut pretty well even after they started to glaze, but once I decided to refresh the surface with a kitchen/bathroom creme cleanser(Bar Keepers Friend does the same thing), they started cutting much better again. YMMV
 
chalby said:
I thought this for a long time. It was all I used on my Venevs until I started getting some glazing. TBH, the stones still cut pretty well even after they started to glaze, but once I decided to refresh the surface with a kitchen/bathroom creme cleanser(Bar Keepers Friend does the same thing), they started cutting much better again. YMMV
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Yeah I think ill go that route since the magic eraser seems to disintegrate as you use it. I'm worried the material may get embedded into the stone. I have Bar Keepers Friend so I'll use that.

Can you explain your process of cleaning with Bar Keepers Friend? Because I've heard if you let it sit too long it can eat away at kitchen sinks. I'm afraid it could damage the metal plate that attached to the stone
 
barkeepers friend - active ingredient is oxalic acid - it will eat away at some stuff but it shouldnt take long to do its job.
i mix it with a little water to make a paste and scrub it in with an old toothbrush. give it a minute or two and rinse thoroughly ,then dry
 
l1ranger said:
barkeepers friend - active ingredient is oxalic acid - it will eat away at some stuff but it shouldnt take long to do its job.
i mix it with a little water to make a paste and scrub it in with an old toothbrush. give it a minute or two and rinse thoroughly ,then dry
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awesome thanks.
They do make barkeepers friend in liquor form. I wonder if that will work better.
How often do you clean your stones? After every use?
 
Murkr said:
Yeah I think ill go that route since the magic eraser seems to disintegrate as you use it. I'm worried the material may get embedded into the stone. I have Bar Keepers Friend so I'll use that.

Can you explain your process of cleaning with Bar Keepers Friend? Because I've heard if you let it sit too long it can eat away at kitchen sinks. I'm afraid it could damage the metal plate that attached to the stone
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Lol. I don't think you have to worry about it embedding in the resin. I don't use them dry, usually simple green or Windex, spray the stone, 1 or 2 wipes, and true to its name, the stone is squeaky clean. Easier than barkeeps friend and was less messy. If they aren't cutting well, then 10 seconds on a flat surface and some loose SiC powder. Or...sandpaper works just as well.
 
Murkr said:
Yeah I think ill go that route since the magic eraser seems to disintegrate as you use it. I'm worried the material may get embedded into the stone. I have Bar Keepers Friend so I'll use that.

Can you explain your process of cleaning with Bar Keepers Friend? Because I've heard if you let it sit too long it can eat away at kitchen sinks. I'm afraid it could damage the metal plate that attached to the stone
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I just wet the stone and put a tiny bit of the powder onto the stone and scrub it for a few seconds with one of those green scourers (for maybe 10 seconds) then rinse off under the tap. I'm sure an old toothbrush or something else would work just as well.

Probably 9 times out of 10 I would just use a magic eraser(which is what I always used previously) or Sabitoru rust eraser (which I got a few months ago, and now use to clean my water stones as well). I would use BKF or other abrasives/nagura only when I start seeing any glazing. I wouldn't worry about anything embedding in the resin. That stuff is very hard.

It's up to you how often you clean them. A little bit of load up or glazing doesn't seem to hurt their performance too much.
 
Venev stones out of the box can be used but perform better with a light lapping both to true them up (some can be really out) and to remove the top layer of resin and expose the diamonds. The diamonds are kind of embedded flat from the molding process so exposing them makes the stone perform like it should. Until you get past that first layer you will find the stone to not cut as fast as it should and will have a bad first impression.

I use a magic eraser to do a gentle clean but I also have a 600 grit nagura stone I use if there is a good amount of build up or I sharpened a lot. It takes off a very tiny amount of resin (and any glazing) to keep the stone fresh between lapping it for flatness. The generic name for magic erasers is melamine sponge if you want to save money on generic vs name brand since they do get used up especially with the coarser stones. There is no need to worry about it embedding in the stone, just use them under running water and rub off any pieces that remain after cleaning.
 
I use sic powder on glass to lap my Venevs. I use 36, 120, and 320 grits. You won't have to lap them often.
 
I use a nagura to clean mine. Works extremely fast plus it keeps them from glazing over. I'll use barkeeper's friend if they aren't that loaded/glazed but my favorite grit , the F400, seem to load very quickly so I use the nagura most of the time.
 
Murkr said:
Thanks. How do I know which grit SiC powder to use on what stone?
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General rule is to take the grit of your stone and divide it in half then use whatever is closest to that. It doesn't need to be super exact but just in the general area.
 
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