keep tips clean?

[agaboric]

I am wood carver and I bought a wood burner to enhance my carvings and so with some santa money I bought a nice Detail Master from Woodcraft and a pen that I can change tips in. I love it, it is so much better than any fixed tempature burners. The control and the lines I can make are just awsome. Anyway I was playing with it and the tip got kind of dirty and made it harder to make good lines so I figured I wood consult the experts and see what you guys used to keep your tips clean? any input would be great. I am burning mostly basswood so I don't know if that makes a difference.

[TreeWizard]

Steel wool.

[Eddy-Smiles]

I strop mine just as I strop my carving tools on leather with compound and if they really get fouled I'll hone them with 2000 sandpaper.

[slivers&dust]

I haven't used mine in years but did basically the same as Eddy only I used 400 grit fixed to a flat block to keep the tip clean and sharp.

[teeburn]

Sorry guys but you should never use sandpaper on your tips especially if they are polished tips which most tips are now a days. If you do use sandpaper at least 1500 grit. But I would not.

I was taught improperly at first and by a pyrographic instructor no less but the manufacturers say to NEVER use sandpaper. They say to use an aluminum oxide polishing compound with your strop. You can also use jeweler's rouge or as was mentioned the compound that you use for your tools, strop is fine. I mostly use my strop and jeweler's rouge. But I also have my yellow compound with my flex cut slip strop, whichever is handy closer and most handy at the time. A soft cloth would probably work too, scrap leather for sure.

The compound should take care of even the most carboned, dirty tips but if they are being a little stubborn just take a straight edge razor blade and knock it off and then strop them. Just be careful and don't hone them to much. And make sure it is actually carbon and not Chromium Oxide which is a blackish colour the tips become from normal use. This is a protective layer that keeps the tips from oxidizing further and tends to keep the carbon from sticking to your tips. So you want that.

Sorry to disagree but I got it right from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Hope this helps. Hope I didn't offend anyone or step on any toes. But I had conflicting information so I checked it out myself with the manufacturer.

[slivers&dust]

I'm Glad you did disagree teeburn, I sure wouldn't want to mislead anyone and I learned something new.

I only use my burner with a signature tip anymore...

[Eddy-Smiles]

Good point and same here although I'll probably not change my method because the 2000 grit being so fine is most likely not to do any more damage than that straight razor. Besides, like you said, it's only when it really gets a good layer of hard carbon and that should be telling me that I'm probably running my tip too hot to begin with!

[Al_Hillis]

teeburn thankyou , I just learned some thing new . thanks for taking the time to teach us

[Pyrographer]

Tina is absolutely correct not to use sandpaper on tips...especially polished tips.

Tina, I was very surprised when I first met that pyro instructor and she was telling people to use sand paper and Steve (then Pat), owner of Optima were always adament about how to clean their tips when I was using/selling them.

Based on recommendations by several manufacturers that I have dealt with over the years I have always recommended a straight edge razor for getting off serious gunk (such as when burning on gourds) and then using a strop and aluminum oxide (nothing more abrasive) to finish cleaning and polishing.

I've used this method for 10 years now and have my original Optima pen that I got in 99 and the Razertip bent spear shader (I have 2 of the original ones made for me) that I started using about 8 years ago and they look as good as new (except for the color). I use that shader for 95% of my work so they have been used constantly for all that time and like a Timex, it keeps on ticking.

I even loan those two out to students in my classes and they still look and perform great although some students tend to have a heavier hand than I do so it's been bent a bit but the surface of the tips are in top condition after all this time.

Nedra