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Knife glossary

Honing Oil.

Definition

Honing oil is a lubricant for sharpening stones. Case says its honing oil "is designed for use with sharpening stones when sharpening your knife" and lists it as "Light weight mineral oil", and Buck's how-to page lists petroleum-based honing oil, with water and water-based honing fluid, as a lubricant for natural sharpening stones.

Case's page and Case's safety data sheet

Case words its honing oil in two documents. Case's product page lists it as "Used for sharpening knives with sharpening stones", and Case's 2018 safety data sheet for Case Honing Oil gives the application as "Lubricating oil" and names the substance "Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light naphthenic". The oil also comes in kits: Case's Sportsman's Honing Kit page lists a bottle beside the kit's soft and hard Arkansas stones.

Which stones each maker says can take honing oil, water or nothing is sorted stone by stone in do you need oil on a sharpening stone.

Honing oil beside knife oil

Knife oil is sold for a different job. Kershaw says Kershaw Knife Oil "is engineered to protect and enhance your knife's folding mechanism", and Buck's knife care page says to lubricate a knife after cleaning and recommends Buck's Wax Lubricant. Case points its honing oil at the stone and Kershaw points its knife oil at the mechanism; neither company's pages say whether one can stand in for the other, so that question goes to the oil's maker. Kershaw's Knife Oil page gives its application instructions. Follow the instructions for your knife and lubricant rather than treating either product name as permission to substitute it.

Frequently asked questions

Does Case's honing oil page give an amount to use?
Case's page puts it in words, not a measure: "Only a very little dab is needed when sharpening so the oil will last you a while."
Which Case document carries the safety details for its honing oil?
Case's safety data sheet for Case Honing Oil, dated March 2, 2018, is that document, and Case links it from a knowledge-base page dated July 14, 2026. Read its hazard and storage statements there rather than in a summary.
  1. Case: Honing Oil
  2. Case: Sportsman's Honing Kit
  3. Case: Safety Data Sheet, Case Honing Oil
  4. Case: Safety Data Sheet page, Honing Oil
  5. Buck: How to Sharpen Your Knife
  6. Buck: Knife Care
  7. Kershaw: Kershaw Knife Oil
Updated 2026-10-22 · Knives Now, Woodlawn, Virginia
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