There are a lot of threads out there for Glycerine being used for blade protection or otherwise and the one-off people bringing it up for use as a honing solution. I stick pretty to water until I feel I have fully explored the hones capabilities with water only. I've also tried oil (both mineral and Tsubaki) and it is clear that they can kick a stone to the next level, but obviously the cleanup is more than I care to do (and all my stones smell like dawn afterwards).
So today I finally decided to get Glycerine and give it a whirl. For those of you who aren't familiar, it is derived from vegetable stock (and doesn't explode) as well as being water soluble. Out of the jar it is way thicker than I imagined it would be, but I combined it with water in a 50/50 mix in a container and put it on the stone. It has been a great experience so far with the first runs using it, I would say it feels 85% the benefit of oil - cleanup is a breeze with just a rinse of water and it has no smell - it certainly swings above the water only mark for a compatible stone. I'm curious if messing around with a different ratio could get it even close to a practical oil-like finish.
Anyway, for how well it performed and how easy it was to use I was surprised at the lack of threads online about this topic. So, I wanted to post my findings and encourage anyone who has not done so to give it a try. I think you will not be disappointed.
So today I finally decided to get Glycerine and give it a whirl. For those of you who aren't familiar, it is derived from vegetable stock (and doesn't explode) as well as being water soluble. Out of the jar it is way thicker than I imagined it would be, but I combined it with water in a 50/50 mix in a container and put it on the stone. It has been a great experience so far with the first runs using it, I would say it feels 85% the benefit of oil - cleanup is a breeze with just a rinse of water and it has no smell - it certainly swings above the water only mark for a compatible stone. I'm curious if messing around with a different ratio could get it even close to a practical oil-like finish.
Anyway, for how well it performed and how easy it was to use I was surprised at the lack of threads online about this topic. So, I wanted to post my findings and encourage anyone who has not done so to give it a try. I think you will not be disappointed.