Cleaning Diamond Plates

[wickededge]

Organic wrote:

Oxalic acid is about four orders of magnitude more acidic than the acetic acid in vinegar, so if you’ve had no issues using barkeeper’s friend, then vinegar should also be safe for the platens.

I’ve been studying the effects of vinegar and haven’t seen any loss of diamonds so far, though I need to do a little sharpening after the cleaning to be absolutely sure the bond holding the diamonds in place is still strong.

-Clay

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Snecx, CliffCurry, Frans, Alan

[Jacques]

As a new owner of a WEPS I find this forum interesting, yet (sometimes) confusing. For example, there seems to be several options for cleaning my diamond plates, however, I am finding it difficult to identified the recommended method by the manufacturer.

If possible can someone point me to the how to or perhaps summarise (think beginner here) the process?

Regards, J

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M1rrorEdge

[Mark76]

Organic wrote:

Oxalic acid is about four orders of magnitude more acidic than the acetic acid in vinegar, so if you’ve had no issues using barkeeper’s friend, then vinegar should also be safe for the platens.

Good point. However, I don’t know how much oxalic acid Barkeeper’s Friend contains. I googled it, but couldn’t find it. According to Wikipedia, vinegar contains 5-20% acetic acid.

On a related note, most aggressive cleaning products use (unlike Barkeeper’s Friend) bleach as their active ingredient. Does anyone of other cleaning products that use an acid as their active ingredient? I’ve got some particularly aggressive BBQ cleaner by Weber in the house, but I don’t know the ingredients.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Mark76]

Jacques wrote:

As a new owner of a WEPS I find this forum interesting, yet (sometimes) confusing. For example, there seems to be several options for cleaning my diamond plates, however, I am finding it difficult to identified the recommended method by the manufacturer. If possible can someone point me to the how to or perhaps summarise (think beginner here) the process? Regards, J

I cannot speak for the manufacturer, of course, but I think the most common method for a thorough cleaning uses a toothbrush and some soapy water. I also tried putting my stones in the dishwasher. That worked well, but is definitely not recommended by the manufacturer 😉 .

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[John Derry]

I have had good luck with the liquid version of Barkeeper’s Friend and an old stiff toothbrush.
I usually wet my stones during use, so I go 20-30 sharpening sessions between cleanings.

[wickededge]

John Derry wrote:

I have had good luck with the liquid version of Barkeeper’s Friend and an old stiff toothbrush. I usually wet my stones during use, so I go 20-30 sharpening sessions between cleanings.

This is a good practice. Soapy water and a nylon brush work great. Windex, rubbing alcohol, dish soap are all very mild, so they’re all recommended. I think vinegar will be fine, as well as barkeeper’s friend, though I’m still testing them before rendering a verdict. I don’t believe either contain concentrated enough acid to harm the plating, especially if it’s rinsed off fairly quickly and not allowed to sit.

-Clay

[Dennis Hibar]

Okay .. I don’t know whether I am obsessive, lazy, or obsessively lazy!  I don’t think I have actually cleaned my stones in, well, maybe a year!   However, I do brush each one off after use.  That seems to keep them pretty clean and they work well.  I use a firm toothbrush (one for each grit) and just give them a quick brushing over a waste can when I remove them from the WE.  When I do (or last time I did) give them a good cleaning … I used barkeeper’s friend, as many do.

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[jimbo45]

How often should the diamond stones be cleaned?

[otaku19]

I clean mine after every 4 or 5 knives. Windex works well and then I rinse them under running water.

[jimbo45]

I haven’t cleaned mine at all and I’ve done 50 or 60 knives at least. Maybe it’s time.

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Mark76

[Dano]

I cant help but wonder about the chemicals commonly used to clean A/C coils…..I know some are acidic and some are alkali.  They are normally diluted with water so varying strengths would be possible.

[phillyjudge]

So, any definitive results on this interesting study?

[wickededge]

I’ve remained very happy with using Windex, rubbing alcohol or white vinegar depending on what’s at hand. All three seem to do a very good job at cleaning up the plates.

-Clay

[Hapslappy]

I read somewhere on the WE web page that our diamond plates are manufactured by DMT which I think is an excellent choice. I have been using DMT products for over twenty years.

The DMT web page recommends common kitchen cleanser like Comet and a stiff bristled nylon brush.

I believe some of the cleansers contain oxalic acid.

 

 

 

 

 

[wickededge]

Hapslappy wrote:

I read somewhere on the WE web page that our diamond plates are manufactured by DMT which I think is an excellent choice. I have been using DMT products for over twenty years. The DMT web page recommends common kitchen cleanser like Comet and a stiff bristled nylon brush. I believe some of the cleansers contain oxalic acid.

We only offer one stone by DMT which is our 3µ stone. The rest are from a different supplier and I think they are far superior to anything else I’ve ever tested.

-Clay

[Author]

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