Spyderco Forums

Is anyone using a Norton India stone with Simple Green and has used it with oil, I am getting some non obvious results and would be curious as to anyones experience who has used both lubricants.

Ask away sir.

Do you see any difference in the cutting speed of the stone if you use Simple Green vs oil?

Yes, the stone cuts much faster with SG than oil. And even though I don't use a loupe, I can see a finish difference on the edge, finer (higher polished) than with the oil as lubricant.

To clarify :

-simple green cuts faster, more coarse finish

-oil is slower, higher polish

Do you notice a difference in loading, how do you maintain the stones (dishwasher, regular lapping, etc.) .

Incorrect... SG cuts faster and puts a higher polish....oil is slower with coarser finish. (Due, I believe, to more abrasive particulate suspended in the oil. The SG washes the abrasive particulate away instead of accumulating it.)

Stones are cleaned by hand with bon ami or barkeepers friend cleanser and a stiff nylon bristle brush as needed. (When it stops cutting as efficiently as I think it should be.)

Stones are flattened by lapping with diamond plate as needed.

How much Simple Green are you using, is it actually dripping off the stone in use? Do you use it full strength or diluted? How often are you cleaning / lapping the stones?

How much oil are you using? Is it cleaned after use?

I cut the SG 50/50 with water and I keep the stone fairly wet to keep the swarf moving, figure 1 or 2 squirts from a spray bottle every 5 or so passes with the blade.

Honestly, since switching to SG I don't really have to clean my stones very often...maybe once 2x month on the most heavily used ones. The SG helps slow the loading on the stones. Maybe the surfactants?? I am not a chemist though, so ???

I sharpen a lot of knives in the course of an average month, figure 100+ in normal months and closer to 175-200 during hunting season with hunters and seasonal venison butchers in the area. I'm a small time, word-of-mouth kind of guy.

For oil, I use GM Dextron 2 ATF as I have found thru trial and error it works fastest and keeps my oil stones cleaner. The oil only stones get cleaned after each use and flattened as needed with the diamond plate.

As an aside- I have gotten similar results as the SG with 409 and a couple other household cleaners but they had a tendency to attack handle material where SG never has, so SG is my fluid of choice.

OldHoosier62 wrote:I cut the SG 50/50 with water and I keep the stone fairly wet to keep the swarf moving, figure 1 or 2 squirts from a spray bottle every 5 or so passes with the blade.

Thanks for the details, I have been using Green Works (surfactant and degreaser, it is a no-name version of Simple Green). I find it better than water in terms of cutting speed, but far worse than mineral oil. The difference is very dramatic physically on the stone as well as just cutting. Here is the stone after extensive use with water :



Green Works :



and mineral oil :



If I use mineral oil after Green Works I can actually undo the loading and bring the abrasive grains right back out.

However I have only been using much less of the Green Works, I don't flood the stone with it, just keep enough on it to keep it lubricated, maybe one spray every 100 or so passes on the stone. I will try using a lot more of it and see if I notice a difference.

Glad I could be of service.

I'm actually toying with the idea of making a continuous flood-type bath for my stones...like the one on my mill for cutting/cooling fluid...to test a couple of ideas I have. Once I get it set up I'll open it up for any experiments you'd like ran.

Have you used any other stones, I would be interested in the relative finish or cutting speed compared to diamond plates or waterstones.

I am so disappointed! I thought this was going to be a thread about Norton Motorcycles which are now made in India! :D

OldHoosier62 wrote: Honestly, since switching to SG I don't really have to clean my stones very often...maybe once 2x month on the most heavily used ones. The SG helps slow the loading on the stones.

Is this cleaning after ~100 passes on the stone or more like ~1000 passes or more?

Just came in from sharpening around 40 knifes for 3 local deer processors and I tried keeping count of my steps with the help of friend/hang arounder.

I wet the stones with 2 to 3 squirts of SG from my spray bottle approximately every 5 passes of the blade. It was also noted that when I finish a blade I spray the stone again and blot it clean/dry with paper towel. (Didn't actually realize I did this, may account for fewer "scrub down" cleanings.)

I know that the stones were all scrubbed clean prior to November 15 (start of deer season) and have not been scrubbed since. I have sharpened approx. 100 knives since that day at anywhere from 5 to 25 passes per side...per knife. And only one 8x3x1 stone is showing any sign of streaking/smearing from residue.

The knives themselves were a broad grouping- 1080/1095/51200/VG-10...plus whatever Global,Henkels and Victorinox use. Plus a smattering of Walmarts finest crapola knifes.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, I appreciate the details.

Is your stone fairly new or old?

Is the stone(s) behaving pretty much the same way in terms of cutting speed/finish? When you do scrub/clean it, do you notice a dramatic difference in cutting speed/finish?

All of my stones are at least 10 years old.

I do notice a bit more "bite" on a freshly cleaned stone but nothing that doesn't level out after a knife or two. After that cutting speed is pretty constant, as are results.

OldHoosier62 wrote:All of my stones are at least 10 years old.

I do notice a bit more "bite" on a freshly cleaned stone but nothing that doesn't level out after a knife or two. After that cutting speed is pretty constant, as are results.

All of which leads me to ask: would some sprays of Simple Green make the SharpMaker's rods more effective cutters for at least a knife. I wash my rods in SG so sharpening a knife with SG and the resulting slurry would amount to a pre-wash.