Fluid for waterstones - what do you use??

[RossM]

I'm looking for a better option than plain old tap water for sharpening on water stones (the non-soaking variety) & diamond plates.

It seems that HoneRite Gold (https://boratool.com/hone-right-gold-250ml) is no longer available in Oz - PWS used to sell it, but no longer in their store. Advantage of this product is supposedly the rust inhibitors, surfactants to better carry away the swarf & it being widely used on water stones with no reported ill effects.

Paul Sellers seems to favour using Auto Glass cleaner (as opposed to ammonia based household glass cleaners). This seems to be mainly isopropyl alcohol & water, with a very small amount of detergent.

Some people seem to concoct their own mixtures - for example metho & a few drops of dishwash detergent dissolved in water.

The metalworking fraternity have a variety of water based coolant additives for mills & lathes, but I can't see any reports of people using these with water stones.

Ideally I would like something that has rust inhibitor properties.

What (if anything) do you guys use other than plain water?

[Chris Parks]

To ask the obvious, what do you see a different fluid's advantage over water? Diamond you can use just about anything because they are impervious to water and do not absorb fluid at all, water stones are another thing altogether, natural stones absorbing lots of water, ceramic I have seen described as splash and go.

[poundy]

Evian for my waterstones.
Jokes !

Waterstones only get water, even my expensive ceramic stones just get a splash but it's pure Sydney Tap, so we know it's good (except for that one time when the dead animals in Woronora Dam and cryptosporidium, but I digress).

I've just been using windex on my new but cheap diamond sheets on glass, as per Sellers, not tried anything else...

[Robson Valley]

Just plain water up here.
After 4K, I hone on AlOx/CrOx which has some sort of a waxy carrier.
That's plenty for rust inhibition.
Mind you, I've never has issues with high humidity, either.

[elanjacobs]

:aro-u: I'm with them, nothing wrong with standard water.

[China]

They are called "water stones" for a reason

[Kuffy]

I have a spray bottle of water with a bit of dish washing soap in it to stop the water from growing algae. My chisels don't rust, except for when I use them as wet glue removers. My plane irons are dried off on my tshirt and allowed to rest on the bench for a second while I put stuff away. I would imagine that if I put the plane irons back into the plane with drops of water on them still, they would certainly rust.

[Colin62]

I’ve been known to mix a few drops of blood with the water, usually when the blade is getting nice and sharp. :)

[derekcohen]

My vote is WA tap water, room temperature, with a dash of liquid soap, and served in a small spray bottle.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[RossM]

Thanks for the replies. I'll add a few drops of detergent to my spray bottle & see if I notice better swarf removal.