sm
member
Old boy has had a Norton India coarse/fine IB8 stone forever he keeps in the maintenance shed down on the farm.
It has been so long, he nor I can recall how old this stone is.
He bought it along with others for the house, and duck/deer/fishing cabin and some pocket ones just like it.
This stone has sharpened knives from old Imperials to some $300 tactical something or another some fella had with him one day and could not sharpen using some expensive set up he bought, but this old boy just freehand , sharpened it right up.
"Steel is sorta whomper-jawed, you paid how much for this knife without stag handles again? - old boy asked *lol*
We are not bad - just consistent is all.
Anywho it seems his John Deere snagged this stone and dropped it.
OK, there is something about sitting on a John Deere, in a shed, and free hand sharpening a knfe.
Just after all these years, this stone being set down where he does on the tractor , had never fallen off onto the concrete floor.
It did.
It landed flat and two pcs, busted half into and damn near a perfect straight line across the width.
This is really a heartbreak moment.
He does not use oil on a stone, none of us do, just dry and wash from time to time with something and old toothbrush.
"You are supposed to have that PhD in Epoxy, what do you think doc?" he asked me.
"Done it before, just won't take cleaning by fire is all" I replied.
Cleaning by fire: If you ever get oil on a stone, or buy a good used one from a yard sale, put the stone where you are going to made a fire, start the fire, let the stone be in the fire, and when the fire dies, that stone will be clean as a whistle!
Trick is letting it heat up slow, and cool down slow, hence the reason we don't just toss them into a fire.
Oil will burn right out, you can see it coming out.
So, the stone is burned, cleaned.
Then I clean it to degrease it with Parsons Ammonia, rinsed in hot water, and allowed to dry.
A few days later, back down that way, stone is ready and I have Epoxy.
Now I am picky on what brands I use.
I have clean paper, clean toothpicks and all set.
I get this stone really warm ( hot) using a hair dryer , this draws in epoxy into pores.
-Mix equal parts of Epoxy, really good on clean paper, and toss that toothpick aside.
-Apply with fresh toothpick this Epoxy.
-Leave that toothpick in Epoxy.
I do this because that toothpick in epoxy will tell me when whatever is expoxied is set - or - if I check it and it has not, I goofed up mixing it.
(which I don't do, since I have done this so much , still best to check)
I checked the toothpick and getting "set" to where I want it.
With it taking a set, I can remove any epoxy that smushes out.
As it set more, and still not hard, a knife removed more.
I am still apply some warm hair set on low to assist with all this.
Toothpick is hard as a rock in the epoxy.
I choose to leave it be, and set.
On the coarse side, one cannot see where the break is.
Fine side, there is real fine line.
Sharpened a Old Hickory Kitchen knife as we can feel the metal and stone, and know what this supposed to feel like.
At first, I could feel the line, in short order, that stone was back to old self!!
Sentimental that stone is, and back to shed duty, it is old, but has a lot of life left.
Been a year since I did that, and the old boy's wife had made a note on the calendar.
"Might need to celebrate, you ever had a fried apple pie?" -she asked.
"Does the old boy know he married a gal that asks really dumb questions?" - I replied.
I stay in trouble, I still manage to get homemade fried apple pies though.
*grin*
It has been so long, he nor I can recall how old this stone is.
He bought it along with others for the house, and duck/deer/fishing cabin and some pocket ones just like it.
This stone has sharpened knives from old Imperials to some $300 tactical something or another some fella had with him one day and could not sharpen using some expensive set up he bought, but this old boy just freehand , sharpened it right up.
"Steel is sorta whomper-jawed, you paid how much for this knife without stag handles again? - old boy asked *lol*
We are not bad - just consistent is all.
Anywho it seems his John Deere snagged this stone and dropped it.
OK, there is something about sitting on a John Deere, in a shed, and free hand sharpening a knfe.
Just after all these years, this stone being set down where he does on the tractor , had never fallen off onto the concrete floor.
It did.
It landed flat and two pcs, busted half into and damn near a perfect straight line across the width.
This is really a heartbreak moment.
He does not use oil on a stone, none of us do, just dry and wash from time to time with something and old toothbrush.
"You are supposed to have that PhD in Epoxy, what do you think doc?" he asked me.
"Done it before, just won't take cleaning by fire is all" I replied.
Cleaning by fire: If you ever get oil on a stone, or buy a good used one from a yard sale, put the stone where you are going to made a fire, start the fire, let the stone be in the fire, and when the fire dies, that stone will be clean as a whistle!
Trick is letting it heat up slow, and cool down slow, hence the reason we don't just toss them into a fire.
Oil will burn right out, you can see it coming out.
So, the stone is burned, cleaned.
Then I clean it to degrease it with Parsons Ammonia, rinsed in hot water, and allowed to dry.
A few days later, back down that way, stone is ready and I have Epoxy.
Now I am picky on what brands I use.
I have clean paper, clean toothpicks and all set.
I get this stone really warm ( hot) using a hair dryer , this draws in epoxy into pores.
-Mix equal parts of Epoxy, really good on clean paper, and toss that toothpick aside.
-Apply with fresh toothpick this Epoxy.
-Leave that toothpick in Epoxy.
I do this because that toothpick in epoxy will tell me when whatever is expoxied is set - or - if I check it and it has not, I goofed up mixing it.
(which I don't do, since I have done this so much , still best to check)
I checked the toothpick and getting "set" to where I want it.
With it taking a set, I can remove any epoxy that smushes out.
As it set more, and still not hard, a knife removed more.
I am still apply some warm hair set on low to assist with all this.
Toothpick is hard as a rock in the epoxy.
I choose to leave it be, and set.
On the coarse side, one cannot see where the break is.
Fine side, there is real fine line.
Sharpened a Old Hickory Kitchen knife as we can feel the metal and stone, and know what this supposed to feel like.
At first, I could feel the line, in short order, that stone was back to old self!!
Sentimental that stone is, and back to shed duty, it is old, but has a lot of life left.
Been a year since I did that, and the old boy's wife had made a note on the calendar.
"Might need to celebrate, you ever had a fried apple pie?" -she asked.
"Does the old boy know he married a gal that asks really dumb questions?" - I replied.
I stay in trouble, I still manage to get homemade fried apple pies though.
*grin*
