Anyone tried the DMT Magnabase system?

M

maximus83

Joined
Nov 7, 2011
Messages
2,104
DMT has a new-ish system out with a magnetic-based stone holder, and 12" continuous surface stones (EC/C, and F/EF). The magnabase holder has an adapter to allow it to hold other sizes of DMT bench stones.

https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/DMT-12-Dia-Sharp-MagnaBase-System-P532C24.aspx

No plans to buy this myself as I have everything I need for now, but a quick search in the maintenance forum turned up nothing. And I'm curious if folks have tried and reviewed this system, especially the holder, and how it worked for you on two issues:

  1. The magnabase holder itself. How well does it work with the magnetic attachment, and using it with different sized DMT stones. Does it have any drawbacks?
  2. The 12" continuous surface stones. Does the 12" size give you anything useful versus 8" stones, and do these particular continuous stones work well?
 
That does look interesting. I got the older DuoSharp 8" that I used earlier today. I may have an interest in this beast, it looks promising.
 
I am reconsidering taking the plunge and getting one of these to try. I've gotten better results than any other type of stone for years with the DMT 10" interrupted surface ones, only issue there is I don't like the interrupted surface. Wondering if having that nice large 12" stone, with a continuous surface, would substantially improve the sharpening surface and the tactile feedback, while reducing side effect issues of the interrupted surface, such as tips catching in the plate holes.
 
maximus83 said:
I am reconsidering taking the plunge and getting one of these to try. I've gotten better results than any other type of stone for years with the DMT 10" interrupted surface ones, only issue there is I don't like the interrupted surface. Wondering if having that nice large 12" stone, with a continuous surface, would substantially improve the sharpening surface and the tactile feedback, while reducing side effect issues of the interrupted surface, such as tips catching in the plate holes.
Click to expand...

There is another Vendor I am looking at that is selling the F, EF plus the C, EC along with the base in a package. In my opinion, diamonds cut a heck of lot faster, you don't have to worry about dishing, no need for a flattening plate, and they can be used wet or dry, great for sharpening on a whim, no worries of soaking. These are just my thoughts...
 
Agree with you there. It boils down to really simple advantages:

  • Quality diamond stones will cut everything easily, including modern super steels. So the DMT stone you buy, works for every steel you have. That's not true of all non-diamond stones.
  • Simplicity. I may never get to my ideal dream of a 2-grit sharpening system (ideally contained in a single 2-sided stone, with a small version for backpacking) that can get me hair whittling results with every type of steel. But with DMT, I can get darn close to that. If I do the C, F, and EF stones in progression, I rarely need to strop to get great results. So with DMT, that only takes 2 stones because you can buy 2-grit versions to cover EC, C, F, EF. Same thing with this new magna-base setup. I'm considering adding the EEF stone for super edge refinement on the high end, but that's really optional. Even with the EEF, that's a total of only 3 stones to work with, 2 most of the time. And for super coarse profiling, I'm already covered because I recently bought @FortyTwoBlades American Mutt, which IMO is an awesome coarse stone and cuts metal faster than my EC DMT stone does.
  • Easy to work with. Totally dry works fine. Water works fine. I love not having to use oil and store and work with greasy stones. Even more so when backpacking, being able to use a small folding DMT dry, or with a little water, is pretty appealing and easy.
 
Can't answer #1 but as for question two,

Larger hones allow more contact area which will make sharpening much faster.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top