Using Diamond Paste?

[Doug Hobkirk]

Diamond Pastes gets good reviews whenever I see something about them. They can be had in ultra fine "grits" as fine as 1/4 micron. Norton recommends going to 3 microns (about 8,000 grit) after working up through 30, 15, and 6 microns (approximately 600, 1,200, and 4,000 grits).

Coarse diamond stones seemingly work great for the coarse grits, maybe not quite so well at fine or ultra fine (about 600 & 1200), and they generally don't cover the finer polishing grits.

I want to try using diamond paste. But how do you apply the paste? Put a couple of drops on a piece of MDF or granite tile or ???? Use 1 piece for each different paste, and clean the tool after each level? Replenish when the visible amount of paste appears small?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Bruce Mack]

This is not my idea, but I use a Corian cut off as is sold for threshholds or trim at HD. A long strip about 2 inches wide, 20 long and 1/2 inch thick costs about $15, and seems flat. I use a magic marker to note the paste positions from 30 micron to 1 or 2. There is enough space for 4 or more grits. Just wipe the blade after finishing with the coarser material, so as not to transfer it to the finer. I use the side sharpening method by hand pressure, rather than a sharpening jig, and the bevel remains flat to the surface. Put a little WD 40 or 3 in 1 oil at each station to get a smooth slurry. The paste lasts a loooong time before needing replenishment. The whole thing cleans up with a little more oil and a paper towel, or you can just add a bit of paste as needed.

[Doug Hobkirk]

...I use a Corian cut off as is sold for threshholds or trim at HD....
I use a magic marker to note the paste positions from 30 micron to 1 or 2...
Put a little WD 40 or 3 in 1 oil at each station to get a smooth slurry....
Thanks for the Corian and lubricant tips

Are you pleased with the edge you get?

FYI 1 - The Postman just delivered my first ever package from Hong Kong - 12 4cc (the ad says 5cc) syringes with oil-based diamond paste through eBay - $35 delivered. I got 40 / 20 / 10 / 5 / 2.5 micron (I probably should have included a 1 micron to try, but I plan to use a very fine rouge for the final step). They seem to be the real deal although I haven't done more than test with my finger tips.

FYI 2 - A similar post from 4 years ago identified AMLAP.con (supplies) as a place to get diamond powder to make your own paste, etc.

[Clifford Mescher]

I made a bunch from maple and labled them for each grit. Clifford

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

diamond will impregnate any metal. I prefer cast iron but glass and stone work. Lots of guys use wood. I haven't.

The stuff lasts just about forever, a little goes a very long way, any oil in the 30 or lighter weight class is a fine grinding medium.

Don't rub your eyes~!!!!!!!!!

Ya gotta wash real well before touching anything.

[Bruce Mack]

Doug, it's a good edge, and easy to maintain, as the Corian strip sits on a shelf ready for use with little preparation. I think I touch up more frequently because of this easy access.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I do my final honing with diamond paste Doug. I originally put it on 3/4" thick MDf blanks about 3" x 8" and labeled the edges with a magic marker to identify the grit size. Garrett Hack convinced me to change to maple plywood cutoffs as a better alternative a few years ago. I mad the change and am more pleased with the results. The plywood has a better surface and holds the pste better.

[Doug Hobkirk]

I do my final honing with diamond paste Doug. I originally put it on 3/4" thick MDF blanks about 3" x 8" and labeled the edges with a magic marker to identify the grit size. Garrett Hack convinced me to change to maple plywood cutoffs as a better alternative a few years ago. I mad the change and am more pleased with the results. The plywood has a better surface and holds the paste better.
Thanks, Dave.


Do you think the most significant change was plywood or maple? (I have plywood and maple but no maple plywood)
What oil (water?) do you use to make the paste slurry? Honing oil (kerosene & mineral oil), WD-40?

[Arthur Babcock]

I started using 1-micron diamond paste (after Norton 4000 & 8000 water stones) a couple of months ago. I use MDF scraps with a little mineral oil as lubricant.

I'm quite impressed. Honing the back of a chisel or plane iron produces a mirror finish. You can see the MDF turning dark with metal particles in no time at all, so the stuff cuts fast. Honing the bevel produces an edge that is distinctly sharper than the edge from the 8000 grit stone--you can feel the difference when you pare end grain.

I'm sold on this stuff.

Arthur Babcock
Carmel Valley, CA

[Steve Sawyer]

This is very interesting.

I was doing some hand-carving last night (nothing fancy, just the saw kerfs on a band-saw box), and had applied some jeweler's rouge to a piece of leather as a strop for these little carving chisels I was using. This did indeed keep a very keen edge on the tools while working.

I also have some "stainless" polishing compound that I was going to try, but Diamond paste isn't something that has been on my radar scope.

Where do you get it, and how expensive is it?

What would be the advisability be of using it on a leather strop - too soft?

Thanks.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Instead of diamond paste, why not use Tormek's paste? It is less than ten bucks for a lifetime supply, unless you lose the tube that is. I use it on pieces of 3/4" MDF.

[Doug Hobkirk]

Where do you get it, and how expensive is it?

What would be the advisability be of using it on a leather strop - too soft?

Thanks.
Steve -

I don't know the answer about advisability for your situation, but I can tell you that I got mine from Hong Kong through eBay for $25 (12 5cc syringes, you select the "grits") + $10 shipping. That's $6 each delivered, as opposed to most companies offer it around $12-15 per syringe. My evaluation so far is that it looks very good.

The reports I've read say to use diamond paste on a hard substrate, like maple or MDF or plywood. I believe this works more as a cutter than a polisher, although the distinction may be quite small at this low level of abrasion.

I would love to know how some of the polishing rouges compare to diamond paste, but I haven't found that info anywhere. What I did find was this introduction (http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm) to buffing that helped give me a general background in the subject. Hope this helps.

[Steve Sawyer]

I would love to know how some of the polishing rouges compare to diamond paste, but I haven't found that info anywhere. What I did find was this introduction (http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm) to buffing that helped give me a general background in the subject. Hope this helps.

Thanks, Doug. Interesting that the link you provided says that rouge doesn't have any cutting action, only polishing. In any case, it would seem that rouge is the least aggressive of the compounds.

I'm thinking of making a motorized strop by gluing a piece of leather to an 6" or 8" diameter piece of particleboard or plywood with a 1/2" arbor, chucking it in the drill press and spinning it at about 500 rpm. Seems that would be an excellent way to finish off a sharpening session, or to touch up an edge between sharpenings. Just not sure what kind of compound to use. Someone suggested the "green" compound sold at Woodcraft, but one of these diamond pastes might be even better.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Doug my diamond paste is from Lie-Nielsen and I do not use any additional lubricant. I just squeeze out a "worm" of it on the maple ply and spread it around with my finger. A 3/4" long worm lasts a very long time since it embeds on the surface of the plywood. When it stops cutting fast enough I just add a little bit more. In about 4-5 years I've only used about 1/8 of each syringe so it's really quite economical in spite of the high inital cost of about $50 to get started.

As for the choice of ply or maple, I think the change to plywood was more important. Birch ply would work, but it's lightly softer on the surface and might have to be renewed more often than the harder maple surface. I wouldn't use solid wood (maple) unless I was really sure I could get an almost perfectly planar surface.

[Jack Vines]

FWIW, for many years, I've used plate glass with automotive valve grinding compound for coarse step and polishing compound for fine finish. Why is plywood/MDF the preferred base for the diamond compound

thnx, jack vines

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Jack, I think that the MDF and ply routes are just more convenient and cheaper. Almost everyone has one or both materials in their shop in the form of cutoffs. Grass is also more fragile, sharper on the edges, and is a bit harder to get the paste to adhere to. For valve grinding compound or carbide powders it's probably a better choice.

[Steve Sawyer]

Why is plywood/MDF the preferred base for the diamond compound

I think it's preferred by many for any kind of polishing/buffing compound, Jack. The surface is flat and porous so that it becomes impregnated with the compound. This is the same reason that leather is used as a stropping material with various kinds of polishing compound.

The big advantage seems to be that the surface becomes charged with the abrasive and therefore effective longer without having to renew the charge. With glass the abrasive material sits on the surface and needs to be renewed for each sharpening session. This is more economical when working with expensive abrasives like diamond paste. Less of an issue with valve grinding and automotive polishing compounds.

I think too that the wood/mdf being somewhat resilient is maybe a little less fussy about keeping the tool face flat against the surface, but not having used any of these approaches I'm just guessing. I know that using a leather strop you don't have to pay much attention to keeping the bevel or back flat against the strop; it conforms (particularly with thick leather) to the surface.