Honing methods

[Survivorman]

Ok. I hear the pros and cons regarding using oil or not when honing. What do you guys do and why?

[slowz1k]

I hone dry with a diamond rod

Reasons: I'm lazy, and it's less mess.

[nakadnu]

I currently use diamond stones or rods. A super fine diamond stone will work better than any old rock in my opinion. Back in the day when I used an arkansa stone I would use water. Oil will eventually harden and clog up your stone unless you keep it in an oil bath all the time, which is a messy pain in the butt.

[rsanders]

I've used an Arkansas stones with Olive Oil to sharpen all of my knives since 1992. I worked in Alaska in a fish cannery and my job for eight hours every day was to sharpen knives , They provided the stone and the health department required that the oil used had to be food grade oil since the knives would be used in the butchering of fish for food consumption and the oil used was Olive Oil. The plant ran continuous 24 hours, so the knives were being sharpened around the clock also the same stones were used for three months (that's how long the Cod season lasted ) and they never clogged up . When I came back to Ky. I bought new stones and started using Olive Oil myself and haven't had any clog up I've worn a couple out but no clogging,I usually wash it in warm soapy water after each use to keep the oil from getting rancid.

[Survivorman]

The main contorversy seems to revolve around whether the oil drags along grit. Thus the resulting edge is not as sharp.

[rsanders]

You can shave with any knife I have in the house.I can take any " normal dull knife" and have it shaving sharp in a matter of minutes with my stones and Olive Oil.

The main contorversy seems to revolve around whether the oil drags along grit. Thus the resulting edge is not as sharp.

[kentuckyshiner85]

Ok I use both dry and oiled stones if you oiled stone is getting clogged just drop it in boiling water then lay it paperr towels to drain the water off. I hope this helps. I will be trying the olive oil for my fishing knives and kitchen knives. Thanks for the idea.