How long should diamond hone last?

[Thomas Wilson80]

I started using skews in January and have been honing with a fine diamond hone between sharpening. I have not used the hone too much (I’ve made maybe 2 dozen wands for my kids and neighbors), but it feels like it is worn out and doesn’t really give me a new edge anymore like it used to. I was wondering how often you typically have to replace your honing tool, for those that use them.

I have been using dry, should I have used lapping fluid or water? Maybe I’m pressing too hard?

Here is the tool I’ve been using, though I think I’ll try the blue Eze-Lap tool that some have mentioned.

[Brice Rogers]

I think that some places offer a "special" fluid to help keep them clean. I have also heard that mineral oil (which is a lot less expensive) works just as well as the "special" fluid. I've also been told that baby oil (from the dollar store) is just mineral oil with perfume. So that is another option.

I usually dip the tip of my diamond files in mineral oil and then wipe it (and some black stuff) off.

I think that the matrix holding the diamond particles is what will eventually fail. But I find that the mineral oil treatment will clean up some of the fine plugging metal particles. Give it a try - - not much to lose. It seems to work for me.

[Doug Hepler]

Thomas

Use water or windex diluted with water to lubricate (and flush) diamond hones. Diamond hones are sometimes more aggressive when new, until some of the larger particles have fractured. I would guess that's what you have experienced. I honestly doubt that the use you describe would have worn it out.

Doug

[John K Jordan]

Thomas,

I hate to say it, but I had the same experience with the same DMT hones. I started buying the EZE-LAP which last and last. They are made with a thicker plate for the base that is perfectly flat all the way to the edges, good for getting in tight places such as when touching up pen mills, drillbits, and such. I've been using the same extra fine (blue) hone on my skews and other tools (scrapers, gouges, etc) for years now, and I use it a lot. I threw the DMT hones away!

I do use a light touch, no fluid.

One thing I did discover - most of the various diamond hones I have do cut better when new. I suspect this is due to the way the particles are electroplated on the metal - like CBN wheels some particles stick up higher and make the hone more aggressive until these are fractured or knocked out. At first I thought the EZE-LAPs were wearing out too quickly. But unlike the DMT which simply quit cutting, the EZE-LAPs I use settled down but still continued to work.

They aren't cheap though. But I like them so much at the lathe, my sharpening station, and my metalworking area that I contacted the company years ago - they sold me a "lifetime" supply at a huge discount, less than 1/2 the retail price. I don't know if they will still do this but if so it might be good for a club. I've got some of all the grits they make, handy on occasion!

However, that said, I started using another method recently to touch up skews to shaving sharp between the diamond honings. I resawed some MDF to make thinner pieces about 4x6" or so with one side rougher than the usual MDF surface. (Probably could have sanded one side with coarse paper.) I rub some type of polishing compound into the rougher side. Doesn't seem to matter what kind - the green stick, white stick, Tormek honing compound, etc. I strop the skew on this surface, being careful to hold the bevel almost flat against the MDF or angled up no more than a fraction of a degree. I like the result better than stropping on something flexible such as the leather I used to use. So far I think the skews work better and with a little less honing.

BTW, I sharpen the skews on a 600 grit CBN wheel and immediately strop on the MDF to knock off the tiny burr. The very edge looks polished. I don't use the diamond hone until I strop it several times like this.

JKJ





I started using skews in January and have been honing with a fine diamond hone between sharpening. I have not used the hone too much (I’ve made maybe 2 dozen wands for my kids and neighbors), but it feels like it is worn out and doesn’t really give me a new edge anymore like it used to. I was wondering how often you typically have to replace your honing tool, for those that use them.

I have been using dry, should I have used lapping fluid or water? Maybe I’m pressing too hard?

Here is the tool I’ve been using, though I think I’ll try the blue Eze-Lap tool that some have mentioned.

[Thomas Wilson80]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

[Reed Gray]

I have a set of DMT stones that are 25 years old. I had stopped using them because they didn't cut. I applied some of the Trend lapping fluid and that made a huge difference. The top surfaces were black, which I would suppose was just accumulated metal. I would suggest regular washing of your stone. Many different methods. I always use some fluid as a lubricant when I use them now. WD 40, 3 in 1, spit, water, what ever is handy. It doesn't seem to make much difference, at least not that I can tell. Dave Schweitzer of D Way told me to take my old CBN wheels and soak them in soapy water for an hour or three, then hit with a brush. That helped as does the lapping fluid applied to the bevels of my tools before I sharpen. Both CBN and Diamond will break in and cut faster when new. Carbide on a CBN wheel will really grind them down, so don't do that one....

robo hippy

[Paul Gilbert]

I use Alan Lacer's slip stone. It has resided in the back pocket of my turning smock for at least 6 years and still is going strong. It is a bit pricey, but I really like it and would highly recommend it to anyone.

http://stores.alanswoodturningstore.com/diamond-slipstone-hone/

[JohnC Lucas]

the Trend diamond hones outlast the EZ lap many time over. I used to go through a set of the EZ lap in about a year. I have had the Trend 2 sided hone now for about 5 years and it's still cutting good. I do use a drop of their fluid fairly often but not every time I pick it up.

[Dean S Walker]

i agree with paul. I have the lacer one and it is going strong after several years, i use it for most of the tools except scrapers. I really like it because it has two rounded edges, two different radius's that i use in the groove of gouges mostly on final passes

[John K Jordan]

...it has two rounded edges, two different radius's that i use in the groove of gouges mostly on final passes

A less expensive option for inside curves is the DMT diamond cone. The taper gives a different radius at at different points so it is good for honing the inside of my smallest and larger gouges.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004WFT1/ref=psdc_553346_t2_B00004WFT4

396254

JKJ

[Bill Dufour]

Like all grinding stones diamond tends to have the pores clog up with waste. the work glides on top of the waste and does not even touch the grit. The waste has to be cleaned off by washing.
On some diamond and I suppose CBN the matrix has to be cleared out as the working particles erode. Similar to washing out the waste. Check out "sticking" a diamond wheel and then stoning it with a old broken grinding wheel.
Bill D

[Howard A. Wilson]

To clean diamond sharpening surfaces use Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser. It is a scouring powder with Oxalic Acid in it. I use a green scratchy pad to apply it and work it around. The oxalic acid will dissolve the iron fillings and your diamonds will be new and clean. You can buy oxalic acid and use that, but Bar keepers is easier to find and works well. Enjoy.

[Jon Shank]

I haven't read through all the responses, so this might have been mentioned. But the only time I have had a diamond stone/stick/cone/etc stop cutting is when I used too much force. All of them have worn in and cut slower but the only ones that stopped cutting were because I'd stripped the diamonds off. The diamonds themselves are of course insanely hard but the plating technology is better or worse depending on quality and even the best can be stripped off with too much force. I've got DMTs, Trends, and an EZE-lap that all still work great for what they are good for. I stripped the diamonds completely off an EZE-lap by getting frustrated with a D2 bladed pocket knife and really digging in. And I screwed up a DMT sharpening carbide router bits, again by being too rough with the edge to stone. That one cut little scratches in the coating that eventually spread. I haven't screwed up a Trend yet, but I've been getting better at not taking my frustrations out on sharpening media. And I've moved more and more to hand tools, so alot fewer super hard metals, carbides etc. And I've decided I like Oil stones for most steels. And yes, if you can't actually see a different surface on a clean diamond plate you probably just need to clean it, amazing how stopped up they can get, especially with softer steels.
Jon

[Thomas Wilson80]

Thanks Jon, I never thought about the force I was using to hone, but that could very well likely be part of the problem.

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I really appreciate as a beginner that I can ask ignorant/seemingly dumb questions on this forum without fearing ridicule.

Tom