Combination Diamond Stone?

[James Jayko]

Hey All,

I've got a combination 300/1000 Trend diamond stone that I keep in my secondary toolbox at the lake. Its generally a fairly complete tool kit, chisels and hand planes etc, and the single diamond stone (takes up little space and doesn't need to be flattened) seemed to fit the bill very well.

The Trend stone, however, isn't great. It seems like it has worn very quickly (without very much use at all, honestly) and takes longer and longer to do the same work. I'm wondering if this is true of most stones like this, or if the Trend one just isn't particularly great? Anyone have a recommendation for a similar stone? I was thinking about the DMT course / fine combination, but wondering if its just going to put me in the same place.

Any advice?

[Reed Gray]

I do have one of the Trend stones, but the rest are DMT. My Trend stone was concave on both sides, so kind of worthless for 99% of the sharpening I do. I am chatting with them about it now. Apparently, I can't take it back to the store I bought it from and just exchange it. They do state that you have to use their specific lapping fluid. I do use it some times, but prefer that no rust stuff that Rob Cosman uses, and/or auto glass cleaner which has no ammonia in it. I think, like the CBN wheels, they go through a break in period where they are very aggressive at first, but then slow down a bit. I had some old DMT stones, with the plastic bases, and they had pretty much quit cutting. I applied some of the Trend lapping fluid, and they did start to cut a lot better again. No clue as to exactly why. I had tried Ajax, soap and water, and brushing, but none of that made much difference. I have little experience with the water stones, but many say that the water stones cut faster. My DMT stones do cut well after almost a year, and I expect them to continue to perform as they do. Not sure if there is anything that really will bring them back to 'new'...

robo hippy

[James Jayko]

That's interesting; maybe I'll start with the Trend lapping fluid and see how that goes. Just been using water and making sure the stones were dry.

My other setup is the Shapton Glass Stones; they are amazing. Hit them on the lapping plate for 5 seconds and they're perfectly flat again and effectively brand new. I just want something small and easy that I can use at the lake that's 'good enough.'

[Richard Coers]

Diamond stones are funny. They are very aggressive when new and you enjoy the fast cutting. Then they settle down to how they really should cut and many are disappointed that they wore out. That's been my experience.

[Rob Luter]

I have a Trend 300/1000 stone and it's holding up fine. I use the 300 side to flatten my Shaptons and the 1000 side to repair primary bevels prior to hitting the Shaptons. To be honest it doesn't get a ton of use. That said, I keep it clean. Swarf can clog the grit. It came with a rubber block like a pencil eraser. That does a great job of cleaning out the surface. So does soap/water and a fingernail brush.

I've tried lapping fluid but find plain water with a few drops of Dawn dish soap added works the best. The soap adds a little lube and also acts as a surfactant and improves the wetting action.