Sharpmaker rod maintenance

[crazywednesday]

Lots of advice has been posted in a range of threads. Let's put it all in a single thread.

I use a pink eraser to clean my Sharpmaker rods.

[vivi]

barkeepers friend and a scouring pad treat mine well.

[Wartstein]

Cleaner for ceran ( = ceramic glass) cooktops (and some dishware sponge or the like) works better than anything else I´ve tried.

(And let me repeat once more a very usefull advice from Vivi: Really clean your rods frequently, especially if you´re only using the corners when sharpening SE blades)

[Cambertree]

Ajax powdered cleanser leaves mine looking pristine.

[Sharp Guy]

Another BKF fan here. Works great.

I've heard Mr Clean Magic Eraser works well too.

[A.S.O.K.A]

I use a little bit of 3 in 1 oil. Removes virtually all the loaded metal.

[p_atrick]

Another BKF fan here. Works great.

I've heard Mr Clean Magic Eraser works well too.

I've heard BKF works well. At my local grocery store, it only came in liquid form. Does that work just as well?

[JD Spydo]

barkeepers friend and a scouring pad treat mine well.

This to me is another case of "If It Isn't Broke Then Don't Try To Fix It">> until someone shows me a cleaning product that works better than Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser then I will continue to use that product. Oh I've tried the "eraser" method and it's OK but I find that a thorough cleaning with BKF gets the stones much cleaner to the point where they bite and abrade in a very uniform and consistent manner.
I've tried a wide array of different products over the years and I've yet to find anything as of now that works better than BKF.

Now there is one little extra I've added to that method>> I now soak the stones ( sometimes overnight) in that really strong version of DAWN dish soap ( the Platinium 4X) and it seems like they clean up a lot faster and makes the overall cleaning a lot easier.

But I'm still going to watch this thread intently because I'm always up for anything that works better.

[JD Spydo]

Another BKF fan here. Works great.

I've heard Mr Clean Magic Eraser works well too.

I've heard BKF works well. At my local grocery store, it only came in liquid form. Does that work just as well?

Now I've found that the Liquid version of BKF is great to soak them in before your final cleaning. But that liquid doesn't have the punch that the powdered cleaner version of BKF has for scrubbing out the filings and build up. BKF also has a newer product that is mainly made for polishing and I just got introduced to it>> and that product removes rust better than about anything I've used up till now. But I'm just going to stick to the regular BKF cleanser. Get the powdered version of BKF with the gold label and you'll be fine.

You can find big cans of BKF at most of those "Dollar" stores really cheap comparatively. Even Rip-Mart carries a good variety of BKF products if you don't have anywhere else to go. We've got Dollar General and Dollar Tree stores here in our area and they both carry BKF products.

[JD Spydo]

Ajax powdered cleanser leaves mine looking pristine.

Now I have used the "commercial/institutional" version of Ajax with the "oxygen bleach" with some good results but I still don't find it as good as the regular BKF. And as cheap as you can get BKF at discount stores to me it's just a "no-brainer".

[Evil D]

Comet/Scotchbrite pad. I've also used BKF, SOS pads and Magic Eraser. Lots of things will work but a Scotchbrite pad seems to be the common denominator, you could probably use any soap on a Scotchbrite and get it done. I do find that powder cleaners work better than liquid or gel, I tried the gel BKF and it wasn't anywhere near as effective as the powder version or Comet.

[JD Spydo]

Comet/Scotchbrite pad. I've also used BKF, SOS pads and Magic Eraser. Lots of things will work but a Scotchbrite pad seems to be the common denominator, you could probably use any soap on a Scotchbrite and get it done. I do find that powder cleaners work better than liquid or gel, I tried the gel BKF and it wasn't anywhere near as effective as the powder version or Comet.

Oh I also use several of the 3M ScotchBrite products along with the BKF. I've even got some of the industrial grade ScotchBrite pads we got from a professional Janitor Supply house and they are really aggressive>> however don't use those on anything that could be sensitive to scratches because those have some type of really harsh abrasive on them>> but they work great on the stones. Another pad a good friend of mine turned me onto was a section of one of those pads that is used on those commercial grade floor waxer/polishers.
They are similar to many of the ScotchBrite products and I even found one that works really good for extremely plugged up stones. Thanks for bringing that up David :)

[JD Spydo]

I use a little bit of 3 in 1 oil. Removes virtually all the loaded metal.

Now I find this really interesting. I don't doubt you because you sound like your sold on it. But I'm wondering how that would work :confused: ??

Now a few years back there was an old machinist I used to work with that showed me a product called "Soluable D Oil">> this oil would actually mix with water and other liquids>> they used it in machine tool work as a coolant on some machining jobs. But it was also great for soaking overnight and I also found it good for certain cleaning jobs. The only drawback to that is I really don't like the idea of my ceramic stones being soaked in oil if I don't have to. But I'm still wondering how that "3 in 1" oil works :confused: ???

[TkoK83Spy]

Some hot water, Dawn soap and a scouring pad for me.

[Hopweaver]

Some warm water and an old toothbrush works well for me. K.I.S.S.

[Bill1170]

Barkeeper’s Friend (powder) and green Scotchbrite abrasive pads here. The Scotchbrite pads have aluminum oxide abrasive particles bonded to the nylon matrix. Brown and white Sharpmaker rods are made of essentially the same stuff as the grit on Scotchbrite pads.

[vivi]

Another BKF fan here. Works great.

I've heard Mr Clean Magic Eraser works well too.

I've heard BKF works well. At my local grocery store, it only came in liquid form. Does that work just as well?

That's what I use.

[PeaceInOurTime]

I haven't needed to use a wet cleaner on my Spyderco ceramics or even my DMT diamond plates since someone recommended using one of these erasers.

[soc_monki]

I've used the white eraser and bkf with scotchbrite pads. The eraser works in a pinch, but I feel the bar keepers friend works just a little better and gets them completely clean.

I heard the magic erasers work as well, never tried it though.

[JD Spydo]

I've used the white eraser and bkf with scotchbrite pads. The eraser works in a pinch, but I feel the bar keepers friend works just a little better and gets them completely clean.

I heard the magic erasers work as well, never tried it though.

I 100% agree with everything you said. Now those "Magic Erasers" work good in certain situations but you can't go wrong at all with Bar Keeper's Friend.

I do like the Scothbrite and that's what I mostly use as a scrubbing pad. I've also had some luck using old discarded toothbrushes as well. But those commercial/professional grade ScotchBrite pads really do the job fast and efficient.