Reload diamond stone with diamond paste

[Benjamin Amadon]

Hello,

My DMT Dia-sharp Extra Coarse has starting wearing enough for me to start worrying about finding a solution.
I use it for flattening the back of my chisels and plane irons and also my naniwa waterstones up to 1000grit. For higher grit, I use the DMT fine stone
I was thinking of buying 90 micron water based diamond paste to keep using it. I think the plate of the dia-sharp is aluminium so why wouldn't diamond paste embed into it.
Do you see any reason for not trying? Could I still use it to flatten back of blades and waterstones ?

Thanks in advance for your inputs.

Regards,

Benjamin

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I have had mine for years and I sharpen knives on the side so I flatten a lot of stones. I also do a lot of backs. It is not cutting as fast as it did new, but nowhere near worn out.

The DMT Dia-Sharp is stainless and the diamonds are embedded in some sort of special substrate. You will not be able to recharge it.

[John Kananis]

Diamond paste on its own spread onto any decent flat substrate, MDF, maple, is awesome for flattening (or sharpening) anything (IMHO of course).

But hey, 90 micron is ridiculous course. 45 micron seems to work just fine even on stubborn A2.

As far as recharging that plate, I don't think so but I'm no expert in whatever bonding process they use.

[Benjamin Amadon]

Hello,

Regarding stone flattening it still does the job. But regarding flattening the back of chisels and plane iron it became really really slow.
Regarding the grit it seems that 90 micron is in the range of the DMT extra-coarse and for high speed steel removal I like this.
I don't know the process of DMT or the nature of the plate. But even if it's stainless steel, why wouldn't diamond paste sit into it. SS is still softer than diamond. no?

Regards,

Benjamin

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I don't know the process of DMT or the nature of the plate. But even if it's stainless steel, why wouldn't diamond paste sit into it. SS is still softer than diamond. no?


The problem is that DMT stones have a baked on coating that they call "Hard Coat Technology (TM)". It is not bare metal, so you would be trying to embed the grit into the coating, which is almost as hard as diamond.

[Benjamin Amadon]

Hello,

I think Hardcoat is only on specific DMT products (https://www.dmtsharp.com/news-events/press-releases/dmt-introduces-hardcoat-surface-sharpening/). Dia-sharp are not part of those. According to LeeValley website : "the diamond particles are fused to a 3/8" thick steel substrate, which is then nickel plated for rust resistance"

[Patrick Chase]

I have had mine for years and I sharpen knives on the side so I flatten a lot of stones. I also do a lot of backs. It is not cutting as fast as it did new, but nowhere near worn out.

The DMT Dia-Sharp is stainless and the diamonds are embedded in some sort of special substrate. You will not be able to recharge it.

The diamonds are set into electroplated nickel on a stainless steel substrate. Diamonds from paste *might* embed to some degree in the nickel but it's far from an ideal surface. You ideally want a surface-ground iron or mild-steel substrate for pastes. MDF works too but isn't as stable over the long term.

[jason thigpen]

DMT plates are guaranteed for life. Contact the company and see what they say about it. My Extra Extra Fine plate had a small burr that appeared right in the center of the plate after about two years of heavy use. I sent it back and they sent me a brand new one, as well as a Fine wallet sized sharpening card. Send them an email and see what they can do for you, that's my advice.

[george wilson]

You won't be able to recharge the nickel plated surface of the DMT. Nickel plate is quite hard,and diamonds aren't going to sink into it easily. Besides,the diamonds are bonded to the steel plate by nickel plating AROUND the diamonds,leaving their sharp peaks exposed. No way is anyone going to duplicate that in a home shop.

P.S.: NOTHING remotely approaches the hardness of diamonds. Nothing,not even those expensive coated wheels everyone seems to be so fond of. If I buy a wheel,it's going to be DIAMOND coated. And,I do have several.

[Benjamin Amadon]

Hello,

Ok I understand so maybe it's best that I leave it as it is and keep it for stone flattening.
I don't think that I can use the warranty. I believe it is normal wear.
But I'm just thinking of another option. I could apply diamond paste on the back face if it is flat enough. I have two dmt today. Like this I could have more grit without the need to buy new substrate.
Last option I have are aluminium 10mm thick laying in my shop as substrate.

Benjamin

[Lenore Epstein]

But I'm just thinking of another option. I could apply diamond paste on the back face if it is flat enough. I have two dmt today. Like this I could have more grit without the need to buy new substrate.
Last option I have are aluminium 10mm thick laying in my shop as substrate.

Benjamin
Maybe you could try to make something like Lee Valley's Veritas Steel Honing Plate (http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=69438&cat=1,43072), which they sell for use with 1 to 6 micron diamond paste:

335331


Precision-ground to a flatness tolerance of 0.005" over the entire surface, this honing plate is an excellent substrate for diamond paste.....The machining process creates a regular surface pattern, imparting a very slight texture to help capture the diamond grit without compromising overall flatness.
I agree with others that the diamond abrasive won't just stick into the smooth surface, but it might be worth running the back of the DMT back and forth a few times on the appropriate grit sandpaper to see if you can create the right kind of grooves to 'capture' the abrasive.

I hope you try it and post the results, because I wouldn't mind finding a use for the dead DMT I've got lying around.

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

Did you try to put diamond paste on the dmt? I have one and consider trying it.