Cleaning the sharpening rods

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
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Ramonade
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#21

Post by Ramonade »

In my house, everything that is ceramic or diamond is being cleaned like @FaithfulPastor said. I do this as soon as I have finished/moved to another stone. Always worked well.

For the residues left by the eraser, my hand can get them off easy, I sometimes use tap water if I feel like it's useful (doesn't mean that it ever is).
:respect In the collection :respect : Lots of different steels, in lots of different (and same) Spydercos.

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Evil D
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#22

Post by Evil D »

For diamond and CBN rods I'm finding that just licking my finger and running it along the corner of the rod cleans it really well. I keep a micro fiber towel close by to clean my finger off. It's really convenient because I don't have to get up and take my rods to rinse them off, I just wipe them off and keep sharpening.
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JD Spydo
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#23

Post by JD Spydo »

FaithfulPastor wrote:
Fri Oct 01, 2021 10:41 am
BKF does a great job, that's for sure.
I found that when I use the white eraser, the rods were never dirty enough to warrant a bar keepers friend scrubbing.

Maybe give it a try and tell me what you think. Thanks!!

Michael

Hey I realize those artist's erasers do indeed remove quite a bit of the metal filings that accumulate in those ceramic sharpening stones ( especially the ceramic stones like Spyderco's). But I've looked at those ceramic stones under a microscope and found rubber off of the erasers embedded into the stones before.

Now that's not saying that I don't use erasers at all>> because I do use them in a pinch or in a restricted time allotment when time is of the essence. But I've found that to get a maximum performance from my Spyderco Ceramic stones the Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser does a more thorough cleaning overall and restores that crisp bite that new stones have. I've also used the commercial grade "Ajax" with "oxygen bleach" with some great results as well when cleaning most sharpening stones.

But when I'm done using BKF I find the stones have the same abrasive bite to them than when they were new from the factory.

However if I ever find any product that cleans sharpening stones better than Bar Keeper's Friend I will switch to that product immediately!
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#24

Post by JD Spydo »

ZrowsN1s wrote:
Sat Oct 09, 2021 12:11 pm
I use BKF for my sharpmaker stones, and you wont believe this, but it will clean your sink in no time at all too!
Bar Keeper's Friend is just an excellent product. They have other products in their line as well. They have a version of BKF that also contains a polish and is great for putting a great shine on stainless and or copper cookware ( especially Revere Ware).

BKF has a wide range of uses and they have a nice website where they have a long list of things you can use their products for.

I just recently discovered that they used to make a cleaner/polish with "Revere Ware's" name on it. You can get the big cans of BKF at Dollar General and those other Dollar stores for less than $2 in some cases. I usually keep a half a dozen cans on hand because I use it for a lot of cleaning jobs.
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Ramonade
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#25

Post by Ramonade »

JD Spydo wrote:
Wed Oct 13, 2021 9:15 am
FaithfulPastor wrote:
Fri Oct 01, 2021 10:41 am
BKF does a great job, that's for sure.
I found that when I use the white eraser, the rods were never dirty enough to warrant a bar keepers friend scrubbing.

Maybe give it a try and tell me what you think. Thanks!!

Michael

Hey I realize those artist's erasers do indeed remove quite a bit of the metal filings that accumulate in those ceramic sharpening stones ( especially the ceramic stones like Spyderco's). But I've looked at those ceramic stones under a microscope and found rubber off of the erasers embedded into the stones before.

Now that's not saying that I don't use erasers at all>> because I do use them in a pinch or in a restricted time allotment when time is of the essence. But I've found that to get a maximum performance from my Spyderco Ceramic stones the Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser does a more thorough cleaning overall and restores that crisp bite that new stones have. I've also used the commercial grade "Ajax" with "oxygen bleach" with some great results as well when cleaning most sharpening stones.

But when I'm done using BKF I find the stones have the same abrasive bite to them than when they were new from the factory.

However if I ever find any product that cleans sharpening stones better than Bar Keeper's Friend I will switch to that product immediately!
Good thing to know... I tried to search for BKF on amazon france. I found that there is several products, but I do not know wich is the "original" that people are using. Is it :
- Multi-surface cleaner
- Power cream         or
- Stain remover       or
- Power spray          ?
:respect In the collection :respect : Lots of different steels, in lots of different (and same) Spydercos.

Robin. Finally made an IG : ramo_knives

MNOSD member 004* aka Mr. N5s :face-clouds
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#26

Post by JD Spydo »

FK wrote:
Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:44 am
JD Spydo,

Thanks for the tip on Dawn 4x on ceramic stones,,,, I have used the standard Dawn with toothbrush for years to clean grime from old pocket knives and tools purchased used.

Regards,
FK
Well Brother I'm here to tell you that the newer Dawn 4X is a completely different animal all together in the "dish soap" category. I've had such great results using that 4X Dawn for all kinds of cleaning jobs and in just about every case it works great. And it's not much higher cost-wise than the original blue Dawn is.

Take your really clogged up stones and soak them overnight in a solution heavy with that 4X Dawn and you'll be amazed at how easy they will clean up afterward with Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser. It makes the work 5 times as easy.

I've used all kinds of solutions and chemicals to pre-soak my used sharpening stones before cleaning but so far the Dawn 4X has been the best pre-soak I've ever used up till now. I believe I can clean virtually anything with BKF and 4X Dawn together.
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#27

Post by bjz »

I just dropped in on this thread because I have some Diamond rods showing up today/tomorrow. I’m wondering if folks have seen these wear out in an accelerated manner by using erasers/clothes/scotchbrite/etc?

I’ve long since been a fan of BKF at home and work, and it’s my go-to for cleaning up ceramic.

As for dawn 4x, I can vouch for this stuff being great! I use it infrequently as I prefer unscented products for regular use, but it really saves time and energy on tough cleanup jobs especially when water/hot water is in short supply. As such, the task I use it for the most is as a technu substitute when myself or my dog gets into poison oak! Off-topic, I apologize.
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#28

Post by StuntZombie »

A buddy of mine uses Windex to clean his stones. He said it appears to work better than the household abrasives for whatever reason.
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Evil D
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#29

Post by Evil D »

bjz wrote:
Sun Nov 21, 2021 12:58 pm
I just dropped in on this thread because I have some Diamond rods showing up today/tomorrow. I’m wondering if folks have seen these wear out in an accelerated manner by using erasers/clothes/scotchbrite/etc?

I’ve long since been a fan of BKF at home and work, and it’s my go-to for cleaning up ceramic.

As for dawn 4x, I can vouch for this stuff being great! I use it infrequently as I prefer unscented products for regular use, but it really saves time and energy on tough cleanup jobs especially when water/hot water is in short supply. As such, the task I use it for the most is as a technu substitute when myself or my dog gets into poison oak! Off-topic, I apologize.




Like I mentioned a few posts up, when I'm reprofiling serrations the diamond or CBN rods do clog pretty fast, and I've just been licking or wetting my finger and running it along the corner a few times, and then clean my finger off on micro fiber towel. I don't like trying to wipe them with the towel because they'll rip off little bits of fuzz. You can also just use soap and water and a nail brush but that requires that I leave my desk and go to the sink or sharpen next to the sink, so I like the finger wipe method for convenience.
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Bemo
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#30

Post by Bemo »

My go to is BKF, found some liquid version that's good. But give the Dawn x5 spray and a toothbrush a try, I was amazed.
Bill1170
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#31

Post by Bill1170 »

I use BKF on my ceramic rods. I don’t find the diamond or CBN rods loading up.
DrHE
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Re: Cleaning the sharpening rods

#32

Post by DrHE »

BKF and a green scrub pad. I then do a final wash with some dawn dish soap. Diamond or ceramic will look and perform just like new.
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