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8th November 2012, 07:32 PM #16Boucher de Bois
- Join Date
- May 2010
- Location
- Wellington, NZ
- Posts
- 396
I used to use neatsfoot oil for sharpening on my dad's oilstones - great stuff, and it's utter fantastic on your hands: keeps your skin nice and moisturised!
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8th November 2012, 07:59 PM #17
I started my Carpentry Apprenticeship in 1970. At Tech (TAFE) we were taught to use ALL the stone to sharpen tools and to use neatsfoot oil on them because the oil did not evaporate as motor oils would. We also had to, for an exercise, make a box for our oilstones. Mine is still going strong after all this time but it's patina is somewhat dark and a little oily. I think too that if using motor oil and you get some of it on your job,it is hard to cover with paint. On that same vein....we were told to NEVER mark out a job in biro because it will "bleed" through paint. {Its all coming back to me now.....}
Its one thing to be taught "a way" to do something but you also need "the why" you do it that way. Those horrible DIY shows on TV give a hasty demo, I cringe because they aren't giving ALL the information.....may be because they don't know ITJust do it!
Kind regards Rod
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8th November 2012, 09:28 PM #18Jim
- Join Date
- Feb 2008
- Location
- Victoria
- Posts
- 2,144
A very long time ago I learned that there was one oil not to use on an oilstone - linseed. It clogs the stone but more importantly gets you a clip round the ear.
Cheers,
Jim
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8th November 2012, 10:21 PM #19
funny you should say this
as recently as two years ago, the furnature & cabinet making apprentices at Lidcombe TAFE were still making oil stone boxes
Its one thing to be taught "a way" to do something but you also need "the why" you do it that way. Those horrible DIY shows on TV give a hasty demo, I cringe because they aren't giving ALL the information.....may be because they don't know ITregards from Alberta, Canada
ian
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9th November 2012, 05:38 PM #20GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Apr 2011
- Location
- McBride BC Canada
- Posts
- 2,999
I've made shallow boxes for each of my stones, oil and water.
Don't forget what the purpose of the oil/water is= to carry away the swarf.
Automotive motor oil doesn't oxidize and set up, that is why it is motor oil.
Stone quality and grit particle size matter far more than the lubricant/carrier.
I use oil stones on the rare occasions when a carving gouge has been badly banged up
and I need to joint the edge and start over. No big deal, just work. I can get the rough shaping
of the new bevel done a lot faster.
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11th November 2012, 08:51 PM #21GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jun 2005
- Location
- Helensburgh
- Posts
- 6,891
I have used auto transmission oil for oil stones in the past, nice viscosity and cheap.
CHRIS
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29th May 2016, 10:14 AM #22New Member
- Join Date
- Jul 2015
- Location
- Glass House Mountains
- Posts
- 3
Hi Derek, Just looking round for uses of neatsfoot oil and came across your reply re HSS and oilstones. What are the problems? Are whetstones or diamond better?
Regards from Glass House Mountains
Glueman2
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29th May 2016, 12:20 PM #23
My friend David (DW) may come along and answer as he is a more experienced user of oilstones. My experience is limited. "Oilstones" cover a wide range of stones used with oil. Generally, they are not as abrasive as waterstones or diamond stones (probably due to their hardness limiting fresh sharpening edges opening up), and HSS (M2) is an abrasion-resistant steel compared with O1, which is a softer steel and typical of vintage blades.
As I wrote 4 years ago, use oilstones for O1 and vintage steel. Use waterstones or ceramic stones for the harder, more abrasion-resistance modern alloys.
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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18th June 2016, 09:33 PM #24
Back in school the tech teacher had a can of neatsfoot oil we would use on the oilstone in the shop. I'm fairly certain he bought it from the estate sale when the ark was decommissioned given its age. It worked well, but I wouldn't rave about it compared to any other oil of a similar viscosity. What I find to be more important with oilstones is to wipe any leftover grunge off the stone after use - if you use them infrequently, the oils tend to become fairly thick and sticky over time and will make future sharpenings more laboursome.
I'm intrigued by the consensus that the liquid medium does not lubricate as such. Each particle is a cutting edge, and edges cutting steel tend to benefit from a bit of lube for reasons various, including the removal of swarf/waste particles. But that's just me.
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18th June 2016, 10:48 PM #25GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Apr 2014
- Location
- Little River
- Age
- 78
- Posts
- 1,157
The benifit of using a mixture of neatsfoot oil and kero is that the Neatsfoot oil doesn't dry out leaving a residue that clogs your stone and limits its ability to cut the steel. The kero does dry out but it thins the neatsfoot and aids in the removal of the steel particles.
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21st June 2016, 07:27 AM #26GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Mar 2010
- Location
- US
- Posts
- 3,109
Goodness, how did I miss this? I wish I was a focused person who could make a reasonable response!! I see this question like a tree trunk with branches that depend on circumstance.
The abrasive in the natural stones is about as hard as iron carbides. If a steel is fine and someone is skilled with a grinder, it's not a real big deal to use oilstones to sharpen (I didn't have any problem getting a fine edge on V11 with even a washita, but the carbides in the V11 even though they are tiny, they do grade a washita stone a little and the wire edge is pretty persistent).
The comment above about guides is a good one - if someone is going to use guides, a stone that has harder particles is probably in order.
If someone wants to do a range of steels and is insistent on oilstones (can sharpen anything on mine, the tougher the steel, the smaller the bevel needs to be), then an india stone is a better medium stone than a soft arkansas, and a medium crystolon makes a great bevel stone as long as it's new (they get hard when old). A crystolon stone with mineral oil on it is still the best coarse stone I've seen anywhere, but they don't stay flat. The rest of the stones are easy to keep flat with a little bit of experience (and no lapping).
I've got some other old oilstones that are oddballs that release particles easily (they are synthetic), and some razor-intended stones, but it's a better practical move to use something with harder particles or that refresh more often if the subject material is very hard with a lot of carbides that are harder than iron carbides.
Neatsfoot oil is fine, but a bit too thick in my estimation for the finest stones unless the stones are used with very little oil on them. And it smells funny. It smells like lard-fried potato chips.