All About Pocket Knives

Would KROIL be suitable on a Washita or Arkansas stone for sharpening knives?

The only thing I wouldn't like about the KROIL is the odor. When I bought my large sharpening stone it smelled of lard oil which has got to rate as one of the most horrible smells around.I found out when I picked it up and turned it over that there was a reservoir in the bottom and it was full of lard oil! I had to throw away my clothes;I couldn't get the smell out.Even though I cleaned the reservoir repeatedly I cannot get the smell out. I use food grade mineral oil on it now.No odor.

What little I know about Kroil I read here on the forum. It seems you would have to fill the stone with Kroil and then hope it didn't leak out. That could be an exaggeration but it seems like Kroil was capable of that.
Personally I use water and have for years. I never found the need for a lubricant while trying to remove metal from the edge.
And water doesn't smell, ....... unless its man made.

I oil my Tri-Hone and various loose Arkansas stones with mineral oil. Good viscosity for a nice slurry, no odor, easy clean-up and it doesn't need to be reapplied too often. I often find myself soaping down oilstones with only one or two applications of oil. I was going to sit down later with a fine stone and use the Smith's oil that came with the Tri-Hone stones to see if it's any better but I'm frankly not expecting any eye-opening changes from good ol' grocery store mineral oil.

tongueriver wrote:Would KROIL be suitable on a Washita or Arkansas stone for sharpening knives?

I would think that the tiny molecules of Kroil would be too thin and would completely soak into the stone and out the bottom, in addition to the smell problem. I have been using a bottle of mineral oil from the local Wal Mart pharmacy. You want something that will be thick enough to lay on the surface of the stone and make a "slurry" on the surface, without soaking completely into the stone.

I don’t even use oil, just plain ol water. I’m not saying it’s the best thing to use on oilstones but it’s convenient for me and is not messy. I also clean my stones pretty often so they don’t get clogged up, they will clog faster if you use water.

I use baby oil (a bit easier to find (oddly, every time I've found mineral oil, it's been with the laxatives, baby oil I've found with the lotions and such), on natural stones (mostly just Arkansas) and ceramics (only to wipe off theb metal that sticks to them), and water on synthetic stones (i.e. Carborundum). Diamond stones I usually don't use anything with (and they're field stones anyway--they can't get broken).

Thanks all for the inputs!

I’ve used Kroil before. Like others said, you have to reapply it pretty often, but it will work.

cody6268 wrote:I use baby oil (a bit easier to find (oddly, every time I've found mineral oil, it's been with the laxatives, baby oil I've found with the lotions and such), on natural stones (mostly just Arkansas) and ceramics (only to wipe off theb metal that sticks to them), and water on synthetic stones (i.e. Carborundum). Diamond stones I usually don't use anything with (and they're field stones anyway--they can't get broken).

Baby oil is mineral oil with perfume added.Food grade mineral oil is more expensive because it is food grade.I used to use mineral oil on leather seats in my car.Kept the leather nice and soft and didn't stain clothing. Wouldn't recommend it for knife sheaths though as it will darken the leather.

Might sound gross to some but many old timers just use spit.

Woodly wrote:Might sound gross to some but many old timers just use spit.

I would probably do that but my saliva gland was fried a long time ago with radiation therapy. Have to drink fluids almost constantly and don't get a lot of sleep at night.

Woodly wrote:Might sound gross to some but many old timers just use spit.

That's what my Grampy used.

Steve Warden wrote:

Woodly wrote:Might sound gross to some but many old timers just use spit.

That's what my Grampy used.

That is exactly how I learned!

Kroil is some good stuff for it's intended use but not for arky stones. I have used nothing but mineral oil. back when I attended the Co, School of trades, we stored our stones in a jar with kerosene then applied mineral oil when we used them. Terry

Have never used Kroil and dont know anything about it. Have used lighter fluid for many years.

This.