What Oil When Using a Sharpmaker?

[SparkyMark86]

Hello,
I'm Mark and i am new to this forum but not to knives. You may have seen me on Bladeforums.(i know i recognize some of you. lol) I just recieved a new Sharpmaker and was wondering what kind of oil you guys use when sharpening on it. I have heard mineral oil is decent but i just want to make sure i don't mess up the edge. Any suggestions are welcome and thanks in advance.

[nicholaspoole]

no need for oil, it will only clog the rods

[SparkyMark86]

Thanks!

[Marion David Poff]

But, it would not be a bad idea to use water, as in keep your rods moist, when using the diamond rods.

With water, that is....

[JD Spydo]

I've personally never used the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker with oil or water but I have heard that using them wet with water did make them do better. Albeit I've always had sterling results using them dry.


But I'm always open to other ideas.

[vic2367]

water or dry,,,both give excellent results

[gull wing]

I must use dry, as I clean them with an eraser.

[JD Spydo]

I must use dry, as I clean them with an eraser.

I tried the eraser trick on my 204 Sharpmaker stones and on a couple of my Spyderco benchstones as well. I was amazed at how it seemed to remove a lot of embedded metal particles but I wasn't impressed with how it left the stone.

I have found that by cleaning your stones with a Scotch-Brite pad with a heavy dose of scouring powder i.e. Comet, Ajax and better yet Bar Keeper's Friend did better because it maximized the abrasive properties. It seemed that the rubber eraser left the stones cloged up with the rubber it self. I do still use the erasers to clean before I use the abrasive cleansers.

So far I personally haven't found any short cuts on cleaning Spyderco ceramic stones. I find that the old fashioned way works best