Why does Lansky say not to use oil with diamond hones?

L

lerner

Joined
Sep 1, 2008
Messages
125
From lansky.com/index.php/products/4-stone-deluxe-diamond-system/:
"No lubricant is recommended for use with any Diamond Sharpeners."
"NEVER use honing oil on the diamond hones as it may clog the diamond, resulting in a smooth surface."
"Do not apply oil to the diamond hones: clean diamond hones instead with water and wipe shavings away with a rag. Diamond hones should be completely dry before next usage."

They used to sell the diamond kits with bottle of honing oil included; now they include a toothbrush instead. Did the structure or bonding of the diamonds change? I dont like clogging.

I'll email Lansky on Monday, but couldn't wait for an answer.
 
They always included oil, but it was only necessary for the Arkansas stone kit. One of the pros of diamonds are you don't need a lubricant, but some people use one anyway. I never had a problem with using the diamonds dry, and use my diamond stones dry as well. Just use water, a little dish soap, and maybe a toothbrush to clean them up.

I prefer as little mess as possible.
 
The breakdown in logic, with some mfrs recommendation not to use oil on diamond hones, comes with the assumption it'll clog the hone. That might only happen if the hone is seldom cleaned after use, so the oil left on the surface becomes gummy/sticky. Common sense dictates that cleaning the hone after it's used, with or without oil, will do all that's needed to keep it from clogging. Such hones are very easy to clean with dish soap & water and an old toothbrush. Mineral oil-based honing oils will cleanup very easily that way, and the oil will go a long way to prevent the hone from clogging in use, by preventing swarf from sticking to it. I've been using mineral oil on my diamond hones for a while now (couple years at least), cleaning them with dish soap & water after each use (Windex also works well). My hones continue to work as well as ever, used & maintained this way.

There can be an issue sometimes, with the glues/adhesives used to adhere diamond hones to plastic holders/backing plates. Oils can sometimes break down that bond between the two, and the diamond hone separates from the holder. But that's more an issue with poor choice of adhesive from the mfr. Something like epoxy would fix it, so it never separates.
 
Last edited:
Because "oil" can mean so many different things to different people. As a retired gunsmith I saw guys using wheel bearing grease and gear oil on firearms and causing all sorts of problems from doing so. I would tell them just use a few drops of any light machine oil. They would insist on using 50 weight racing oil because "that's what I use in my Harley". Well your finely tuned target pistol ain't a Harley. Most guys seem to believe that when it comes to "oil" the thicker the better. Wrong. Also in my experience water works MUCH better on a diamond stone than ANY type of oil. But I have also used them dry and rinsed them off with water and that works fine as long as you clean them when they need it. But some people actually believe that stones NEVER need to be cleaned. Most of the used stones you see on Ebay have never ever been cleaned and the seller will tell you it's in "perfect condition" ever though it's all glazed over and blackened.
 
Last edited:
I've spent some time researching the role of lubricant, and have not found anything related to the low-speed, low-pressure "hand grinding" that we would do when sharpening with a diamond plate. So it's not surprising that it's also a mystery to manufacturers like Lansky.

It seems that when grinding, there are basically two possibilities - a grit particles exposes a sharp edge or corner and cuts metal, or it exposes a smooth face/surface and burnishes. Light machine oil lubricant shouldn't affect cutting, but should reduce friction in the burnishing case. So for high speed grinding, the lubricant reduces heating and impedes galling - both caused by burnishing. I can't see heating being important for hand grinding, but galling metal on to the abrasive surface will definitely reducing cutting efficacy. At the same time, I don't imagine metal adhering to diamond so well that it couldn't be removed with something like barkeeper's friend and a toothbrush.
 
With the Lansky diamond hones I used to use (before I started freehanding), the association with the 'galling' effect frequently came to mind for me. With Lansky's coarser diamond hones especially, they seemed to tenaciously hold onto metal swarf as if it was actually galled to the nickel surface (I don't know that it was, but it sure seemed to behave like it). The surface of the hone would get very slick-feeling under the blade, as if the blade was just sliding over another piece of bumpy stainless steel. That's when I was using only water with those hones; if the surface got a little too dry for just a few minutes, the hone seemed to load up very fast.

Since I've been using mineral oil on my diamond hones (nowadays, those are either DMT or EZE-Lap), I've never again seen anything like that 'galling' effect in use. So long as the hone is still oiled, it keeps cutting efficiently and consistently.
 
Last edited:
lerner said:
Is there any reason I should use mineral oil on diamond, instead of the light oil the Lansky regular hones came with?
Click to expand...

The oil in the Lansky kit may likely be mineral oil anyway. I have an older bottle that came with one of my Lansky kits, which is likely just mineral oil. I've occasionally tapped into that when using my own diamond hones, and it works fine.

Most 'honing oils', regardless of branding, will actually be just mineral oil.
 
Isn't mineral oil clear? My Lansky oil is golden-brown. Just checking, you've been a big help.
 
Last edited:
lerner said:
Isn't mineral oil clear? MyLansky oil is golden-brown. Just checking, you've been a big help.
Click to expand...

My Lansky oil is also a little yellow. Some 'mineral oils' are more refined than others. I've noticed the more refined ones, especially those classified as food-safe, will seem to stay perfectly clear indefinitely. One example of that is Norton's Sharpening Stone Oil, which is classified as food-safe and marked as such on the can it comes in. It's my favorite of all. Other mineral oils will color with age; but they still work just fine for the purposes of sharpening. May not be food-safe, but that's easily addressed by washing everything with dish soap & water after sharpening.
 
For me a drop or two of their honing oil makes the diamond stone cut better. I rub the oil in. After sharpening the stone gets cleaned with soap and water.
 
lerner said:
From lansky.com/index.php/products/4-stone-deluxe-diamond-system/:
"No lubricant is recommended for use with any Diamond Sharpeners."
"NEVER use honing oil on the diamond hones as it may clog the diamond, resulting in a smooth surface."
"Do not apply oil to the diamond hones: clean diamond hones instead with water and wipe shavings away with a rag. Diamond hones should be completely dry before next usage."
Click to expand...

This seems to be pretty self explanatory to me. They have already given you their explanation, calling them will get nothing new. I have always used mine dry and work great. Why mess with what works.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top