Diamond Stones

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Woodcraft is advertising a set of DMT stones. I like my waterstones and they work well, but with the limited space I have the soaking and keeping them wet is kind of a pain, so thinking about options.

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/160006/dmt-diamond-2-pack.aspx

Can you gurus give me an idea how the fine and "extra-fine" would compare to what I use now (Norton 1000/8000 waterstones)?

Do the diamonds just stay flat or is there a way to flatten them? Are these decent quality, or is there another diamond brand that is better?

Thanks in advance.

[ken hatch]

Nicholas,

DMT lists the Extra Fine as 1200 grit (9micron mesh). DMT stones are not my favorite diamond stones and I've never felt comfortable with the DuoSharp line. I think the DMT Dia-Sharp line is a better option. That said, the price is right and even if you do not like them for your primary sharpening system the stones are light and useful for other things.

There is no way to flatten diamond stones, they are what they are. As to better stones, I expect you could get as many answers as there are brands available. My preferences are Atoma or EZLap because I think either will give a better scratch pattern than DMT stones.

For day to day sharpening to a working edge, a 1200 grit diamond stone followed by a strop with compound is hard to beat. Three stones, water or oil, no maintenance, quick with little mess, the messiest part is the strop. In the long run diamonds are very cheap because diamond stones if not abused will last a long time.

My sharpening bench has oil or diamonds on one end for day to day sharpening and Shaptons on the other for when I need a perfect edge. Even though I love the feel and scratch pattern of oil stones the diamonds get most of the work.

ken

[Frederick Skelly]

Don't know how they compare to waterstones Nicholas. But DMT's site says Fine is 600 mesh/25 micron. It says Extra Fine is 1200 mesh/9micron. They list an Extra Extra Fine as 8000 mesh/3microns. (Edit: looks like Ken and I crossed in the mail. :) )

I have a number of their stones - including the Fine/ExtraFine Duosharp and several Diasharps - and like them a lot. (Ordered from Woodcraft too.) They cut very aggressively for the first few minutes and then seem to level out nicely. I'm quite pleased with their products.

I'd also like to say they have really excellent customer service. I had problem well after my Duosharp was out of warranty and they sent me a brand new Duosharp.

Hope this helps.
Fred

[Jason Lester]

I've got the DMT coarse/fine duosharp. It cut really well at first, but almost seems to clog up or something. When it happens, it seems like you're just sliding the blade back and forth without cutting much. I'm not sure if there's a way to clean them really good or not.

[Clay Parrish]

Looking at camelcamelcamel, it seems like the EZE-LAPs, at least, have gone up in price somewhat over the past few years. Any idea why?

[Mike Cherry]

Looking at camelcamelcamel, it seems like the EZE-LAPs, at least, have gone up in price somewhat over the past few years. Any idea why?
Probably due mainly to Paul Sellers, honestly.

[Stephen Clement]

I have all 6 DMT diaSharp stones and love them. I don have room for a permanent sharpening station so I appreciate just wipin them with a towel and putting them back in a case. I would not recommend that Woodcraft deal because it is for 6x2" stones. I have the 8x3 and they are so much better. For starters most plane irons are 2" or wider so it is much harder to sharpen them on a 6x2 unless you are free handing at an angle. I use the Veritas Mk II guide and couldn't sharpen my irons on 2" stones. The 8" stones can also be used to flatten small planes (up to a 4) if you don have something better - it's not ideal, but works.

For refurbishment work, nothing cuts faster than a diamond extra extra coarse.

[Clay Parrish]

I use the Veritas Mk II guide and couldn't sharpen my irons on 2" stones.

This got me to wondering whether running the barrel of a sharpening jig over the diamonds would prematurely wear them down.

[ken hatch]

This got me to wondering whether running the barrel of a sharpening jig over the diamonds would prematurely wear them down.

The barrel or the diamonds?

[ken hatch]

I have all 6 DMT diaSharp stones and love them. I don have room for a permanent sharpening station so I appreciate just wipin them with a towel and putting them back in a case. I would not recommend that Woodcraft deal because it is for 6x2" stones. I have the 8x3 and they are so much better. For starters most plane irons are 2" or wider so it is much harder to sharpen them on a 6x2 unless you are free handing at an angle. I use the Veritas Mk II guide and couldn't sharpen my irons on 2" stones. The 8" stones can also be used to flatten small planes (up to a 4) if you don have something better - it's not ideal, but works.

For refurbishment work, nothing cuts faster than a diamond extra extra coarse.


Maybe, I find a 120 Shapton works much faster and leaves a better scratch pattern that is easier to clean up. My only complaint with DMT stones is the scratch pattern and random deep scratches that are hare to remove. Other diamond plates have better scratch patterns and fewer random deep scratches.

ken.

[Stephen Clement]

I've never tried a 120 Shapton, so I cannot argue Ken's point.

For Clay's question, the Veritas barrel is brass so it just gets some texture from rolling on the coarse diamonds. If you use the jig right, there shouldn't be any rubbing of the barrel against the stone.

If you meant the question the other way, brass is so soft that it would be pretty inconsequential relative to the tempered steel of the tool.

One more thoughts on diamond stones. Ken mentioned that you can't flatten the diamond stone, which is true but not too important. A lot of people use diamond plates to flatten water or oul stones. So at their best water and oil stones match the small non-flatness of the diamond plate and degrade from there. The diamond plate maintains its level of flatness permanently.

[ian maybury]

They are a bit messy, but i like the control of flatness delivered by a waterstone. Also the relatively rapid and consistent cutting for a given grit.

I have the larger version of those diamonds in coarse medium and fine, and use them for knock about stuff like flattening brackets, sharpening knives or whatever. My take is that i'm not 100% confident about flatness to the sort of levels needed for e.g. back flattening a plane iron given the plastic base. They cut very aggressively and scratch deeply when new, but fade to something much less so. Their version of fine is very coarse compared to a waterstone, although i've never seen an extra extra fine….

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Thanks all for the comments. Very helpful.

[Stephen Clement]

Ian, I agree on the duo sharps not trusting the plastic to stay flat. The Diasharps though are ~5/16" nickle plated steel and should give a flatter surfac than a waterstone.

[ian maybury]

No prob Stephen, i've not handled them.