Considering Replacing KME Gold Series Diamonds with Venev Cerberus Dog Series Dual Side Diamond

[ncrockclimb]

I have been using the KME Gold Diamonds for years, but they are wearing out. I am considering trying the Venev Cerberus plates. What are your thoughts on the Venev Cerberus plates? How do they compare to KME?

 

[3D Anvil]

I have the Venev Orion series (6"), which is equivalent to the Scorpion series for KME, and also the Phoenix bench stones, which I think are the same as the Cerberus plates as far as the abrasives go. They're excellent. I definitely prefer them to the KME Gold series. My only reservation with the Cerberus series is that they're only 2/3" wide, versus 1" for standard KME stones. OTOH, the narrower width would be a bonus for recurves.

I think you'll find that the F80/150 cuts a lot faster than the KME 140, so better for reprofiling. And the full progression produces a near-mirror finish that looks better than the result from the KME Gold progression.

 

[ncrockclimb]

I have the Venev Orion series (6"), which is equivalent to the Scorpion series for KME, and also the Phoenix bench stones, which I think are the same as the Cerberus plates as far as the abrasives go. They're excellent. I definitely prefer them to the KME Gold series. My only reservation with the Cerberus series is that they're only 2/3" wide, versus 1" for standard KME stones. OTOH, the narrower width would be a bonus for recurves.

I think you'll find that the F80/150 cuts a lot faster than the KME 140, so better for reprofiling. And the full progression produces a near-mirror finish that looks better than the result from the KME Gold progression.

how closely do the grit numbers match? Are the 1500 Venev similar to the 1500 KME?

 

[scottc3]

I think you'll find that the F80/150 cuts a lot faster than the KME 140, so better for reprofiling. And the full progression produces a near-mirror finish that looks better than the result from the KME Gold progression.

this is good news, just cleaned my 1st gen Venev's to sharpen a (1ST SALE EVER FOR GRAIL BUILD) batch of knives for sale VG10, S35, M390, S90V. Gonna take pics of edges to see how they compare to KME plates, which I love.

 

[3D Anvil]

how closely do the grit numbers match? Are the 1500 Venev similar to the 1500 KME?

Venev uses the FEPA F scale, so they're not directly comparable. The Venev 1200 is a 3/2 micron stone. I think it's roughly equivalent to a Japanese water stone in the 3,000 - 4,000 grit range.

 

[scottc3]

Brian from KME responded via email pointing me to the following calculator to estimate microns for KME's diamond kit:

Micron to Grit Conversion Calculator

Micron to grit calculator to convert grit to micron size. Easily convert grit to micron and micron to grit.

www.bestsharpeningstones.com

So the 1500 grit plate is 12.66 micron. My 1st gen Venev 1200's feel much finer then the KME 1500, but not as fine as our cut to fit KME, DMT EEF which is called out as 8000 mesh 3 micron in its own system.