# Norton Fine India Clogged with Swarf



## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

I have a Norton fine India bench stone that's eleven inches in length and I went thru a brief period using nothing or just a little water to 'float' the particles off the stone.  And now I'm back to using oil.  It seems that where 'grey' matter has built up on the surface there's a little less feedback, I feel less grinding as it were and therefore that's where the swarf has clogged the stone.

To remedy the situation I've cleaned the stone with kerosene and aggressively brushed the surface with a brass 'toothbrush'.  That procedure seems to have removed some of the swarf.

Any comments, anyone?  BDL?


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Switching between oil and water on the same stone is a recipe for clogging. Once you've used one or the other on a stone, that's what you stick with on that stone.

You might try a run through the dishwasher as well. That can help with a lot of synthetic stones but I've not heard of results good or bad on an india.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

phatch said:


> ..........You might try a run through the dishwasher as well. That can help with a lot of synthetic stones but I've not heard of results good or bad on an india.


FWIW India is a synthetic material, man-made. And I appreciate the comment.


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## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

Simple green hand cleaner will do the trick. I read about this on another forum and have been useing it for years as I sharpen dry. Simple green with a Scotch brite and a rinse and dry and you are good to go.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Boil it.  Just like with soup bones, star it off cold, bring it to a boil, fish it out, and drop it into clean kitty litter to slowly cool down.


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## scubadoo97 (Nov 7, 2011)

Wouldn't flattening with a coarse stone remove the swarf?


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Scubadoo97 said:


> Wouldn't flattening with a coarse stone remove the swarf?


I'm wondering about that, myself. What about using wet-or-dry paper, probably medium to coarse, on a perfectly flat surface like a thick piece of glass to restore? Wow, these posts are mind expanding.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

You can do this, but remember a stone is an abrasive, and you are removing abrasives--in other words you are "Shrinking" your stone to remove this glazed over surface.

Still, it is a quick method to restore a stone.  Best abrasive for this purpose is not wet-dry paper, but rather 120 grit "open weave" mesh drywall sanding screen.  You'll find this at big-box home centers next to the drywall tools,it is cheap.  Use thick glass underneath.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

foodpump said:


> You can do this, but remember a stone is an abrasive, and you are removing abrasives--in other words you are "Shrinking" your stone to remove this glazed over surface...


With a combination stone where the thickness of the fine india side is half an inch, the removal of merely 1/32 or even a sixteenth is a non-issue for me. Probably the stone will outlive and outlast me anyway!


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

If the stone is really clogged with old oil, you might want to soak it in a grease cutter first.  Any of the orange products are good, grill cleaners work fine, Simple Green is an exercise in frustration.  Let it soak for fifteen minutes or so, then brush the heck out of it with the sort of brass brush you use for cleaning the grill.  Rinse and repeat.  No kidding.

Then soak the stone in water and dish soap, and scrub the heck out of it some more scouring powder.  Rinse and repeat.  Again, not kidding.  Don't worry, I'm not going to suggest conditioner next.

After you've got it as clean as you can get it, give it a couple of trips in the dishwasher with the usual amount of detergent.  Don't worry about sending it through solo, it won't hurt the dishes.

As already noted, you can boil it. 

Keep your oil stones clean by running them through the dishwasher fairly often -- I wash mine after every session.

BDL 

PS.  Thanks for the h/t in the other thread!


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

I may have bowed or dished out the stone because halfway down the surface it feels unusually smooth and doesn't give me feedback like scraping.  Anyway what's with the trip to the dishwasher???  An extra abrasive???

Can't wait for my translucent hard black Arkansas to arrive.

Best,

-T


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Hot water under pressure, grease cutting detergent, the stones dry evenly. 

I love my Hall's surgical black.

BDL


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## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

Yes BDL you are right about simple green for a very clogged stone used with oil but then I clean my stones after every sharpening session so probably this is why it works for me. I did clean an old norton tri stone which was gummed up with vegetable oil a few years back with the tile and floor cleaner the outlet had and had great results with a soak in the pure cleaner(no dilution) and a 20 minute boil, a couple hours cool down and a good scrubbing with several trips through the dish machine. It came out beautiful but upon my next visit to this kitchen it had been again flooded with veg oil and reduced to a rancid stinky skid instead of a sharpening tool. I can not tell you how many kitchens I have visited with good norton tri stones totally unusable due to that friggen veg oil.

You can lead a horse to water but.............


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Okay this morning I purchased and used a Jumbo Sanding Sponge manufactured by Gator Finishing Products. The grit was medium and did a fairly okay job in restoring the surface of my fine india. Hoswever, I may decide in the near future to try two other of their spong products, either the coarse or the coarse-medium sponge.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

BTW BDL the actual stone I got from Halls isn't the surgical stone, rather it's the combination soft and hard-black arkansas.  What an edge that the HBA provides!


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Arks are awesome. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/peace.gif

BDL


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

> I can not tell you how many kitchens I have visited with good norton tri stones totally unusable due to that friggen veg oil. You can lead a horse to water but....


The amazing thing is that the people who do it mean well.

BDL


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

boar_d_laze said:


> Arks are awesome. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/peace.gif
> 
> BDL


 As I'm learning, in order to get the best results it certainly takes some practice to learn how to hold the blade at a steady angle to the stone's surface (more so than crystalons). Cato pen is my best friend! 8^P


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

This morning I employed the 120 open weave...and what a difference it makes, better than the aforementioned sanding sponge. IMHO a flat piece of glass for reinforcement isn't neccessary. I simply set the stone on my counter top and inside of the Norton case made of pot metal and 'had at it' with the 120 clamped into a sanding flat with handle. Great stuff, FP. And thanks.


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## johnr (Aug 5, 2011)

I believe the Simple Green comes from an article that Wayne Goodard wrote in Blade Magazine. He stated that the Simple Green as a lubricant (instead of oil) worked more effectively with oil stones specifically Norton India stones.

http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php/16070-Simple-Green


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

I've never used SG for anything other than a cleaner/antiseptic on my portable chiropractic adjusting table.

What I'm learning is that oil stones don't need a puddle of liquid to float off the particles.  Rather, it's a thin film that they require and with just that little film I get really good feedback from the oil stone.  Myself I use mineral oil that I purchase at the tack and feed store for under $15 a gallon.

And should I want a sun tan all over my lucious body, I add a touch of men's cologne to a bit of the mineral oil and that way it can be called baby oil!!!!!!!!!!!!   HA HA.


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