Using EZELAP sharpeners

This topic has 14 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 23 March 2020 at 12:07 by Oily Rag.

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22 March 2020 at 09:23 #458802
Chris TickTock
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@christicktock
i bought a few months back a couple of the small 4 inch EZELAP diamond sharpeners the ones that come fixed to a wooden block. I have looked online as to whether I should use oil or water or nothing but as yet cannot find anything though one clip had a can of sewing machine oil beside the sharpener.

So anyone know if it is a good thing to use a liquid and if so any recommendations. my main use will be to sharpen small 1/4 inch cutters for the lathe and mill.

Chris
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22 March 2020 at 09:23 #10125
Chris TickTock
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@christicktock
22 March 2020 at 09:31 #458804
Russell Eberhardt
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@russelleberhardt48058
Ive used these for many years. I've found the best thing to use is water with a tiny amount on household handwash to break the surface tension. Wash the sharpener under the tap after each use.

Russell
22 March 2020 at 09:37 #458807
Bo’sun
Participant
@bosun58570
Window cleaner also works well as a cutting fluid on diamond plates. Not the chalky mauve stuff!
22 March 2020 at 09:51 #458813
thaiguzzi
Participant
@thaiguzzi
Honing yes, sharpening 1/4" HSS no, not really.

I find most of these hand held diamond sharpener thingies great for sharpening a knife in the kitchen, but certainly no better than a good honing stone in the workshop.
22 March 2020 at 10:54 #458830
ega
Participant
@ega
I use Trend honing fluid on my (expensive) DMT diamond for fear of rust damaging the stone.
22 March 2020 at 11:02 #458833
Bob Stevenson
Participant
@bobstevenson13909
I have a couple of the red handled 'fine' Eze-Lap tools…one I have had for over 30 years and it's been involved in just about everything I have made in that time…it's in my clock box now. over the years it's become even finer in texture. I don't normally use any media I just use it to fine hone cutters and pivots in the lathe etc. Periodically I 'wash' it in WD40 to remove the surface debris.
22 March 2020 at 12:28 #458859
Chris TickTock
Participant
@christicktock
Thanks guys as always different opinions and experiences.

Anyone care to define honing as when I look it up it says bending back the old edge as opposed to removing material to create a new one in sharpening. The diamond disks are abrasive so seems a tad confusing.

Chris.
22 March 2020 at 12:33 #458863
Bob Stevenson
Participant
@bobstevenson13909
Right,…when you grind/sharpen a fine cutting edge like an open razor the very thin edge gets distorted one way due to the physical act of sharpening…..honing is a method of removing this deformation and lightly restoring the new cutting edge….

………In praxtice there are often ways of avoiding this.
22 March 2020 at 12:58 #458873
ega
Participant
@ega
Posted by Chris TickTock on 22/03/2020 12:28:31:

… bending back the old edge …

sounds like what you do to a cabinet scraper with a burnisher – the scraper having previously been filed/ground and honed.
22 March 2020 at 17:21 #458925
Neil Wyatt
Moderator
@neilwyatt
Posted by Russell Eberhardt on 22/03/2020 09:31:03:

Ive used these for many years. I've found the best thing to use is water with a tiny amount on household handwash to break the surface tension. Wash the sharpener under the tap after each use.

Russell

Handwash probably costs more than the diamonds…
22 March 2020 at 17:23 #458928
Neil Wyatt
Moderator
@neilwyatt
Posted by Chris TickTock on 22/03/2020 12:28:31:

Thanks guys as always different opinions and experiences.

Anyone care to define honing as when I look it up it says bending back the old edge as opposed to removing material to create a new one in sharpening. The diamond disks are abrasive so seems a tad confusing.

Chris.

Honing is finishing by removing very tiny amounts of material. Honing a cuthroat razor on a leather strop works by 'straightening the edge' but you can't hone the bore of a cylinder like that!

Neil
22 March 2020 at 17:39 #458936
Howard Lewis
Participant
@howardlewis46836
I use water, and wash the hone and the work after use.

Honing a freshly ground tool will, if done properly, bring it to optimum condition, and polish it..

Often judicious honing of a tool in use, can avoid a complete regrind.

Although intended for fine tuning rather than full scale sharpening, Diamond hones will remove metal quite rapidly,

Howard
22 March 2020 at 19:12 #458956
Dalboy
Participant
@dalboy
The act of sharpening raises a burr depending on how you sharpen also depends on the size of the burr. By burnishing increases the burr as stated above like on a cabinet scraper. With other items that need sharpening using a leather strop will remove that burr but still leave the edge sharp. For example a woodcarvers chisel may not be put near a stone of any discription for quite some time but will be stroped numerous times and still keep a very keen edge.

However metal turning tools will need to be touched up on a stone or diamond card to keep it's cutting edge
23 March 2020 at 12:07 #459082
Oily Rag
Participant
@oilyrag
Quote:

Honing is finishing by removing very tiny amounts of material. Honing a cuthroat razor on a leather strop works by 'straightening the edge' but you can't hone the bore of a cylinder like that!

Neil

No you can't – but you can 'cork' a cylinder bore as a final action to remove 'spalled' material. I was always led to believe that honing is actually a surface finishing rather than a true machining operation, in that you cannot hone to a form – it will always follow the form of the previous fine boring operation.

A point about cleaning diamond hones is to use a school eraser, the rubber will remove the 'cr&p' out of the hone quite nicely.

Edited By Oily Rag on 23/03/2020 12:09:55
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