Washita oilstone care ?

WesPete66

WesPete66

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I was in the flea markets today and found a nice little Washita oilstone still in its wooden tray. It still looks pretty nice except for one chipped corner, very little wear on it. I was surprised when I turned it over the bottom side is original rough stone surface, unfinished. I'm wondering if there is a way to get back its original tan/honey color? Is it kosher to rub an oilstone against another larger sharpening stone to scrub the surface? to 'true' it up?
Thanks!
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looks like they didn't spend any time flattening the back side of the stone, but that shouldn't really matter anyway you'll be using the flat side.
as far as flattening stones is concerned, you could rub 3 stones of the same type together and create a perfectly flat set of stones

you only appear to have one stone, so you'll need a correction stone like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUEHIRO-whe...634117?hash=item1a22b801c5:g:dRwAAOxyBPZThs-8

i hope the info is helpful
 
I had flattened several stones by working against another stone. The flattening part went well, if somewhat tedious. The problem that I encountered, however, was that the new surface appeared to be glazed and did not cut as well as before the flattening.
 
I've used wet sanding on silicon carbide sandpaper (from coarse to fine) on a flat surface to flatten arkansas and washita stones. It doesn't leave the stone glazed at all.
 
Ulma, yes I was surprised to see an unfinished surface (looks like broken concrete). But then this is the first 'natural' stone I've owned. And wow, correction stones!!
I've read of truing two stones together but haven't tried it yet. I like the correction stone idea, but I have sandpaper & glass sheet so think I will try that route first.
Thanks for the replies! and please do post any more suggestions..
 
For those with access to a surface grinder it's a quick clean up process. Just make sure you block it in well
 
A good cleaning agent and renew the surface with wet emery or a diamond lap.
Was the stone wetted with water or oil? I prefer dry for most scraping but wet is sometimes best. Mineral spirits is probably best for cleaning the stone.
Water is so much easyer to clean up and any spill is less of a problem. I think a clean stone is best used with water though, oderless mineral spirits may help the stone cut just a bit better, water is still my choice.
Dont use too fine a grit to clean it. Start with wet 240grit and adjust from there.
Too fine and it wont cut" fast " though a fine stone is best as you get into spotting so maybe you want this stone fine and will use a courser
stone for cleaning the rougher surfaces. It's a nice stone" congratulations" and I would prefer it fine.
 
WesPete66 said:
Ulma, yes I was surprised to see an unfinished surface (looks like broken concrete). But then this is the first 'natural' stone I've owned. And wow, correction stones!!
I've read of truing two stones together but haven't tried it yet. I like the correction stone idea, but I have sandpaper & glass sheet so think I will try that route first.
Thanks for the replies! and please do post any more suggestions..
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From what I have read, the stone against stone approach requires three stones to get true flatness. For my purposes the sand paper on glass approach works fine.
 
You don't need absolute flatness for a stone like that. Just flat enough.

Take a surface plate or sheet of glass or a ceramic tile from the big box store and put some wet/dry sandpaper on it. Knock it down until it's smooth enough.

This is not a Japanese water stone and is not going to wear down quickly. Don't even think of doing any 3 surface flatness procedure. You're not scraping a lathe bed or making a surface plate.

That corner that's knocked off is no problem at all. Just avoid it and hope that you live long enough to wear the whole surface even with normal use.

Old natural stones can get really dished out if not occasionally flattened but they can still sharpen quite nicely.
 
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One thing I've learned over the years is that you cannot get a true flat surface on a fine cutting tool if the stone is dished. The reason is pretty simple; we're using our hands to sharpen with and this involves locking our wrists and pivoting on the forearm/elbow. If the stone is dished then the face of the tool will not be flat.

I use a 3/8" thick piece of tempered glass that is very flat and use wet/dry sandpaper, too. I start with 60 grit, though and progress to 120 grit, with water and a drop or two of Dawn as a lubricant. That is enough to get everything flat. I use a 6" straightedge to be sure I get it flat. Works for me, anyway.
 
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