Norton crystolon jb8 oil stone care and maintenance

how to care for and maintain one of my all time favorite stones, the Norton combination crystolon oil stone.
caltoncutlery.com

[@jamesstroud1302]

I've got this same stone. I'm 46 now and it was my dad's from as far back as I can remember. It's dished our but now thanks to you video, I know how to keep using it for years to come.

[@joecalton1449]

Very cool! those stones will last a long long time with a bit of care.

[@lisaberryman63]

Thanks for sharing, I’ve had my crystolon stone for a few years now and love it!

[@TheKellisunshyne]

Thank you for making this video...I looked everywhere to try to find out how to clean oil stones after use...you should make some more videos man your a natural.

[@tsharpnuff4143]

Excellent video as always. My diamond stones living a lot longer these days after discovering Sic/Crystolon stones. I normally buy 2 stones at the same time and rub them against each other with some Sic powder to recondition. Norton Crystolon hard to find here in Europe but other brands such as Tyrolit available.

[@m00nsplitter72]

I was about to make a similar comment, only mine was to advise also buying a small pocket combination stone (very inexpensive and often useful in its own right) to use as a conditioning stone. For most casual knife sharpeners this is a very cost effective alternative to buying float glass and loose SiC powders.

[@joecalton1449]

now that is a heck of an idea, to use another oil stone as a cleaning/reconditioning stone, I will put that on my list of stuff to try right now. it works on water stones and high end razor hones, it may work on oil stones just as well :}

[@CamberLucyBella]

@@joecalton1449 I've always had bad luck using other stones Crystolon like stones to recondition a Crystolon stone...a lot of times (but not all the time, it does depend on the specific stones) they just seemed to rub each other flat bc they were so similar in grit / binder strength. I also realized one time with a water stone that I regularly conditioned / maintained with a smaller Crystolon stone that while I was renewing the surface, I was not keeping it flat. Since the stone was smaller than the water stone I was working some areas more than others w/o even realizing it.

[@TillRe]

Hey T Sharpnuff, I'm still arguing with myself if I want to buy a Norton crystolon for about 40 bucks while I can easily get a tyrolit 150/400 Sica for about 15. Have you tried them, if yes, how did you like them and are they too porous to use with oil?

[@tsharpnuff4143]

@@TillRe A little late…. I have found that the fine side of aTyrolit stone works well with oil. Less luck with the coarse side - very smooth like glass with oil or water - even from new. Ochsenkopf has a great stone where both sides cut well with water. Cost about 22 eur

[@jovonntrujillo1143]

Mr Calton can u do a video on rolls vs chips? There’s a bunch of us yt guys having a debate on rolled edges vs chipped edges. I know u have a higher hrc than most with your 1095. What damage do u think is worse? And I’ve seen your brass rod test, but does the steel weaken when u do that test? In the sense of when u bend a paper clip eventually it will break, or even if u bend it 3 or 4 times it’s compromised?

[@joecalton1449]

I can put it on my video to do list. chips are worse in my mind as they completely remove that steel. it depends on the geometry of the edge if the brass rod test will damage the edge or not. you take a thick edge and flex it and it will weaken it, but you take a thin edge, like on a straight razor, and it doesn't seem to hurt it as long as you don't go past the elastic limit

[@rickwhitson2804]

I really like mine. The only time I use it is when a knife is extremely dull

[@joecalton1449]

they are a great stone both for repair, reshaping, and general sharpening with a light touch.

[@vdog570]

How do you know your done conditioning the stone with the file method? I've tried it and not sure if it really did anything feels the same, I cleaned it with dawn and a fine steel wool first.

[@joecalton1449]

you are done when the surface of the stone is mostly level and the top layer of stone that is glazed or plugged up is gone and there is a fresh layer of sharp abrasive.

[@wis1024]

Can you use a regular lapping stone to flatten this stone?

[@joecalton1449]

I have not tried that. I will put it on my notes to see the next time I have a flattening stone out.

[@bbsodjshsjsjsneueje]

Just wondering how long one of theses jb8 stone would last you as a knife maker, if you weren't rotating with other stones. A year?

[@joecalton1449]

me personally? if I was just making knives all year, and not working on new knives, like new patterns or types of knives, the most knives I have ever made in one year was about 350. add my personal knives, shop tools, friends knives, ect... id guess maybe a decade on one stone before it got thin enough that i would epoxy it to a granite tile or something and just use one side from then on.

[@bbsodjshsjsjsneueje]

@@joecalton1449 wow , that goes to shows how good value for money these stones are.

[@jovonntrujillo1143]

Hey mr calton I’ve found that any glass will work for flattening!!!! U don’t need special glass old discarded glass works just fine because eventually the glass becomes out of flat. And old discarded glass is flatter than speacial glass you’ve used 50 times!

[@joecalton1449]

I don't doubt any old glass would work, but I would still stick with a thicker glass like plate glass, as since its thicker, it should be a bit tougher, and less chance of breaking it and getting shards of glass all over you and your shop.

[@jovonntrujillo1143]

Yes sir ! just keep an eye out I’ve found nice large pieces on old furniture by dumpsters etc. and I’ve found that after 30 or to 40 flattening sessions the glass will dish. I’ve spent the money and got the glass that is as flat as the earths curvature and also used old coffee table glass both worked and the thickness mattters but only slightly. You’ll know what. Pieces are gonna work instantly. Thank you again mr calton these vids are just perfect.

[@carlosmatos9848]

Yeah glass will wear out, really quick if you try flattening resin bonded diamond stones lol... I'm going to try some plate glass from the local window place next time

[@andymsmith]

I've used WD40 to clean oily stones what is your opinion on it.

[@joecalton1449]

i have used it a couple times and it works well from what I remember.

[@JeffSmith-eq3kc]

Just doesn't make a ton of sense to me to use a stone like this with what else is available. For the average person, any decent synetic water stone will last years and years and years. Much easier to deal with, flatten, clean, etc., and provides a cleaner edge.

[@joecalton1449]

for me the biggest advantage these oil stones have over water stones is setting edge geometry and repair work, which lets face it ALOT of knives need. the coarser water stones that I have are too soft for working out chips and rolls and wear away too fast. and for the average person, with average knives, that is what they need the most as they are sharpening aunt mays kitchen knives that get thrown into a drawer and beat against each other, or they are used in the garden or who knows what else, or learning to sharpen knives that havent seen a decent edge in a decade.

[@JeffSmith-eq3kc]

@@joecalton1449 I suppose for repairs and correcting abused edges. I sharpen knives on stones at a farmers market almost every Saturday and you're 110% right that tons of people need an entirely new edge ground. Most of the time I use a Shapton Pro 120 unless I need to do some major work and I'll use an Atoma 140. I could do any repair on the 120, but the diamond is quicker. I just think these stones are a serious pain. They can do the job but they're messy, get gunked up super quick, are an absolute pain to flatten. I've seen seriously screwed up knives and never once have I thought "shoot I wish I'd brought my Crystolon today". I do own one because I think they're kind of timeless but as a tool it's not for me. To each their own though, I tell customers all the time to use what they're confident in.