UltraSharp 1200 ?

[James Spillman]

I'm thinking of buying an UltraSharp 1200 diamond sharpening stone to use before final honing with a leather strop. I have no experience with diamond stones. Right now I use a Worksharp for sharpening before honing with a leather strop. I'm thinking a very fine grit diamond stone would be a good step before the final honing. Thoughts appreciated.

[Philipp Jaindl]

Depends what kind of Edge you're after, the "how sharp is sharp" can of worms. Up to what grit does the Worksharp go?

If you're refering to the DMT Dia Sharp 1200 Grit its a solid choice, same goes for the equivalent Atoma, Eze-Lap ones arent that terribly flat at least the ones i have and if you compare them to both other Brands, though they are cheaper.
You can get a perfectly fine Edge from the 1200 and a Strop, personally i've gone to a JIS 8000 Grit Waterstone after the 1200 Grit Plate to get a bit more out of my Carving tools which might not be necessary for you.

Just keep in mind not to use much pressure on the plates, let them do their job, too much pressure can wear the plate unnecessarily fast.

Regards Philipp

[ken hatch]

James,

Diamond stones can be good for grinding, not so good for honing, and suck for polishing because of the shape and pattern of the scratches they leave. Can you get a working edge off a diamond stone? Sure but there are better ways to go.

ken

[Hilton Ralphs]

Paul Sellers advocates using Diamond Stones to hone (sharpen) and then strop on leather. Ultra Sharp is perfect for your needs, much better reviews than DMT. They even have a 2200 plate now. If you bother to follow the break-in instructions you won't have a problem. Consider buying a set of 300, 600 & 1200 as it's much cheaper that way per stone. Green compound from Lee Valley, horsehide strop from toolsforworkingwood and Krud Kutter from Amazon and you're set.

[Jim Matthews]

I'm with Ken. I bought a set of Atoma diamond plates after taking a course with Paul Sellers in 2012.

I now use a Carborundum medium stone followed by a Mefium fine "Lily white" Arkansas and strop.

The 400 grit Atoma is excellent for keeping the other stones flat and grinding new bevels on irons.

I had good results with diamond plates.

I get excellent results with two oilstones.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I'm thinking of buying an UltraSharp 1200 diamond sharpening stone to use before final honing with a leather strop. I have no experience with diamond stones. Right now I use a Worksharp for sharpening before honing with a leather strop. I'm thinking a very fine grit diamond stone would be a good step before the final honing. Thoughts appreciated.

Where do you live (roughly)? Couple of points of interest.

1. If you live near me, after this entire Covid-19 thing blows past, you can swing by and try any of the numerous stones that I have. That includes diamonds, Arkansas, water....
2. If you live near me, the local woodcraft has a sharpening station setup so that you can try sharpening stuff to see what works for you. I do not know if this is unique to the one near me or not.

I do not have an opinion on using a diamond stone as the finishing stone, but you are looking at following the stone with a strop.

https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/T...ions-W215.aspx

Diamond Stones - The 600 grit fine and the 1200 grit extra-fine are often cited as finishing stones. The fine will leave a toothy edge good for cutting soft material, the extra fine will be smoother, which will cut harder materials much easier. There are select diamond stones available in 4000 and 8000 grits if you want to have a polished edge using diamond stones.

Guys who sharpen straight razors need an edge significantly sharper that us wood working folks, but they seem to be happy with using diamond lapping paper followed by diamonds applied to a hone down to 0.1 micron. I won't bother with the progression since I will likely get it wrong anyway. Ironically, between shaves, they often strop BEFORE they go to their fine diamonds because the strop flattens out the edge that has been somewhat deformed when it hits the hairs they are shaving. They probably strop afterwards as well, but I am starting to ramble.

I think (when I say think, it means that I surely do not know) that the primary concern with diamonds is that they leave a "toothy" edge. This is a great edge a utility knife or cutting tomatoes. If you are ever board, read about how different materials affect what you are sharpening. Hmm, I don't think I could find those research papers easily.

I do know people who ONLY use diamonds and have for a long time. I am certain that at least the carvers strop afterwards. Many people will throw the edge onto a Washita Arkansas stone and go directly from that to a strop and then take super fine shavings.

So, all that said, just do it and tell us what you think.

If you really want to go crazy, consider something like this:

https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/D...stem-P532.aspx

Most diamond stones are very thing, so consider a base to hold the stone. Also, I found that I prefer to not use my stones dry, so I usually use Smith's honing solution or Gatco. Many people like water with some soap, but then I need to worry more about keeping the stone dry so that it will not rust. I find it works better if I carry the swarf away, but I guess I am really off topic now.

So, let us know what you decide to do, and if you live near me, you can borrow a stone and see what you think.

[Dave Zellers]

... and Krud Kutter from Amazon and you're set.

I use Krud Kutter for cleaning old dried paint brushes. What is it's role in sharpening?

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I use Krud Kutter for cleaning old dried paint brushes. What is it's role in sharpening?

I assume he uses it as a lubricant on the stone that will carry away the swarf. But just guessing.

[Hilton Ralphs]

I use Krud Kutter for cleaning old dried paint brushes. What is it's role in sharpening?

Today you get a multitude of Krud Kutter products but where I bought my diamond stones from recommended the original Krud Kutter which is a cleaner & degreaser. I already have HoneRite Gold so I use that instead.

[Josko Catipovic]

I have a DMK 600/1200 and it seems not as 'abrasive' (for want of a better word), as it was earlier. Do those diamonds wear off the stone, and how does one tell when it's time to retire it?

[Hilton Ralphs]

My understanding is that a diamond stone will at first be aggressive thereafter it will appear smoother but will work effectively. If your stones aren't cutting then I guess it's time. They should last years though. If you see grey slurry then it's cutting.

[Prashun Patel]

If you use a Worksharp, then you could just get "diamond lap wheels" for it. You can get them in grits up to 3000. They last about 10-20x as long as the sandpaper. But are semi-disposable.

Also, Woodturners Wonders offers a double sided cbn wheel in 800 and 1200 grit. From my experience with cbn wheels, they are more durable than the cheap ebay lap plates you can get. I have not used these Worksharp versions, but i have their wheel for a grinder.