Sharpening Question - Stainless & Carbon steel

[MartiniDave]

One for the knife gurus.

Will I do any harm to my japanese waterstone if I sharpen both carbon steel and stainless/laminated stainless blades on the same stone?
Should I follow a cleaning regime when switching between knives of different steels?

Thanks in anticipation,

Dave

 

[Gary]

I have sharpened all three types of steel on my stones and the only cleaning regime I follow is to wash them off after use and it has not effected the stones. Of course if you were to follow the advice of those how use the stones dry this may be different - but use the stones lubricated with water as they are meant to be used and you should be ok.

One interesting thing I have noticed is different metals cause different levels of wear with Laminate seeming to do the most damage.

 

[MartiniDave]

Thanks Gary.

The only laminate I have is a Helle Eggen, which is sort of first reserve to my Woodlore, so doesn't get used that much. Should be fine.

Dave

 

[boaty]

Like Gary I just clean the stone off after use, whether or not I'm going to sharpen a different steel, so there's no issue with cross-contamination

Just an observation, but the residue left on the stone by a stainless knife does look different to me than that left by a carbon knife :?:

 

[Gary]

Ya I have a Helle Eggen too and a Mora laminated both sharpen ok.

And your welcome.

 

[Adi007]

The only thing I'd add is that I found that if I'd sharpened a stainless blade and then did a carbon steel blade without cleaning it, the stone was fiercer because of the hard metal particles. I assume that'll wear out the stone quicker ...

 

[sbutler1]

Some ancient wisdom that has been imparted to me: be careful about having flecks of carbon steel come into contact with stainless steel - if left on there they will start to make the stainless corrode.

This may not be an issue with respect to a one off sharpening but if you leave several lying around together in the same place it may be an issue.

Stephen.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I am not sure if that can be right :-?

That effect sounds like some kind of galvanic corrosion, but in that case the carbon steel would rust faster and protect the stainless from corrosion, and that would only happen if there was an electrolyte between the metals to curry current.
:-? ??

http://www.mcnallyinstitute.com/04-html/4-1.html

Where did you hear about the effect you describe?

Corrosion science is a pretty complex study and "stainless steel" covers a pretty wide range of metals with widely differing properties. As a result, I am not saying you are wrong, just that it sounds odd. Admittedly, I never got much past the use of cathodic protection for structural engineering, and avoiding galvanic cells in pump equipment :roll: That was more than enough for me!!

 

[sbutler1]

In a past life I was an Engineering Technician for one of our great Water Companies. We were having some stainless steel aerators built for a sewage treatment works upgrade project I was managing.

Before the works inspection the veteran Site Engineer I was working with on the project explained that you had to be careful in shops that did mixed stainless and carbon steel work in the same shop due to the potential for flecks of the carbon steel causing the stainless steels to rust.

Admittedly steel technology has probably advanced in the last 10 or 11 years so this may not be quite the same equation anymore. If you have something particularly nice however it doesn't hurt to be careful!

Stephen.

 

[C_Claycomb]

COOL :ekt: hehe

I can't begin to contest that info source :-D, I'll just add it to the long list of stuff I don't understand :roll:

Sorry to have sounded dubious , there is just so much...duff...info about stainless steels put about by old timers who last met it 30 years ago.

Personally I don't have anywhere near enough knives for that to be a problem. I have more worries keeping my sheaths away from my carbon blades. Now those cause pits for sure! :***:

 

[sbutler1]

Apparently, very high quality manufacturers used to have separate shops for their stainless work and carbon steel work. Don't know if this is still though.

I suspect what happens is that the flecks of carbon steel start rusting due to the water in the atmosphere. Because they are small and have a large surface area this happens quite quickly. The rusting fleck causes a layer of oxide to the deposited onto the stainless steel and this ends up growing like a nasty cancer...

I always used to think it was a bit like old car panels - they were great until they got the slightest hint of rust then they perforated in weeks!

Stephen.

 

[Martyn]

Admittedly steel technology has probably advanced in the last 10 or 11 years so this may not be quite the same equation anymore. If you have something particularly nice however it doesn't hurt to be careful!

Stephen.

Chris is right, in your example, the carbon would be the anode and therefore the one to rust because it's lower down the cathodic table than satinless steel alloys - in so doing, it would actually protect the stainless to some extent. The battery effect, or galvanic corrosion is actually used as a rust inhibitor by the use of a sacrificial anode.

Now if you were to say, having flecks of stainless in contact with your carbon steels, would accelerate corrosion in the carbon, I'd completely agree.

 

[Hoodoo]

Rest easy mate. I doubt that it will make one iota of a difference. Waterstones do not work like oil stones. The pores on oil stones can become plugged with fine metal shavings and reduce their effectiveness. Water stones are designed so that the material they are made of breaks loose. This is how you get that fine slurry of particles that characterize waterstones. When you are done and clean the stone, I doubt there is enough metal residue left that will affect anything, let alone there being a difference between carbon or stainless residue.

 

[The General]

Clean the stone with a green pad and abrasive pan cleaner. No worries then!