Diamond Advice

Md 25v

Md 25v

Joined
Jun 11, 2008
Messages
1,409
Most of my fixed blade knives are convex edge, taking only sandpaper and a strop to sharpen. On the rest, I use Japanese water stones. I just received a knife in a trade, 7in fixed blade in D2. It has a lot of edge damage and the obtuse geometry is all wrong to take advantage of the blade steel. I don't want to put so much wear on my water stones to fix this knife so I think I'll invest in a decent set of diamond bench stones. I have diamond rods for my sharpmaker but I have never bought diamond bench stones before and I could use some advice on what to get to get started. This is the set I was looking at to start with http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=DMTW8FC What do you guys think. I am not new to sharpening and want my knives to cut hair ABOVE the skin so if there is something better let me know.I would also buy the extra-fine stone to accompany this set. Price is not an issue
P.S. whats the average lifespan on a diamond bench stone with appx once weekly use on hard steel?
 
Get the DMT Dia-sharp they work better IMO and for D2 you will need the X-coarse or even the XX-coarse, the coarse is not as coarse as you think. Diamond stones work very well on all types of steel but to get your blades to cut hair above the skin you will need to finish with a strop.
 
You have a link to the model your talking about?
I always finish with a strop, no matter how a knife was sharpened.
 
The DiaSharp is continuous surface, the DuoSharp is an interrupted surface (polka-dotted). Personally, I prefer the DuoSharp, but to each his own.

The extra-coarse or even XX-coarse would save you a lot of time repairing edge damage on wear-resistent steel like D2. If used properly, diamond hones will last virtually forever. I have a few that I have been using regularly for over twenty years that still cut quite well. Not like new, as they tend to smooth out a bit initially, but still satisfactory. Use very light pressure and let the diamonds do the work.
 
It has a continious diamond surface more like a bench stone, the ones you are looking at have a perforated surface and can give you trouble on knives with fine tips. the diamond stone should last forever but they will have a break-in period and they will seem to smooth out. Knife center is a good place to get DMT products but skip the coarse and get the X-coarse, fine, ultra-fine, UU-fine and then strop, your knives will be sharper than you can imagine.
 
I am very happy with my 2-sided duosharps. The only disadvantages to me is it can be tricky to re-do a fine tip with them, and they can leave a pattern from the hole arrangement (not much of a concern to me). They are lighter and easier to travel with, and if you use their stand it is a nice set-up. All that said, I sharpen S30V, S90V, and FFD2 with my shapton Pro waterstones and don't worry about wearing them out - I worry more about using the whole surface so I don't lose so much when I flatten them (& it's tough to use the ends as much as the middle). The duosharp plates work great to flatten them, too.
 
I find that a very fine silicon carbide belt on a VERY slow speed can "re-finish" my waterstones if I am careful.
 
yablanowitz said:
The DiaSharp is continuous surface, the DuoSharp is an interrupted surface (polka-dotted). Personally, I prefer the DuoSharp, but to each his own.
Click to expand...

Why are the Dia-Sharps (continuous surface) cheaper than the regular DMT Whetstones (which are perforated)?
 
Hey, I don't make 'em. I suspect it is easier to bond the diamonds to the thick baseplate of the DiaSharp in a continuous sheet than to bond them to the thin grid of the DuoSharp base, whether it is done before or after the steel base is bonded to the plastic base. Either way, there are more steps in the manufacturing process for the DuoSharp, which would be my guess at why they cost more.
 
To repair edge you need D8XX DMT which has 120micron abrasive. Everything smaller willt take some time to put new edge. My advice if you get used to waterstones, get Extra Extra Coarse only, after it you may polish edge with waterstones. However I bet once try you will switch to DMT - just much more convinient and much less messy and much faster... With all stones I have I use only Extra Extra Coarse, Coarse and Extra Fine.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
yablanowitz said:
Hey, I don't make 'em. I suspect it is easier to bond the diamonds to the thick baseplate of the DiaSharp in a continuous sheet than to bond them to the thin grid of the DuoSharp base, whether it is done before or after the steel base is bonded to the plastic base. Either way, there are more steps in the manufacturing process for the DuoSharp, which would be my guess at why they cost more.
Click to expand...

Then what's the advantage of perforated stones that would bring them to ever make them?

Edit: I'd like a Dia-Sharp, since I have to work to sharpen the tip of my knife. Do you think there would be anything wrong with a setup like this:

1. Dia-Sharp Course
2. Diamond Whetstone Fine (perforated)
3. Dia-Sharp Extra Fine

I already have #2, so I'm wondering if it's a big deal if I use 2 continuous and 1 perforated.
 
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The DuoSharp + has an uninterrupted area for working the tips.

The coarse is great for lapping your waterstones.
 
THG said:
Then what's the advantage of perforated stones that would bring them to ever make them?
Edit: I'd like a Dia-Sharp, since I have to work to sharpen the tip of my knife. Do you think there would be anything wrong with a setup like this:

1. Dia-Sharp Course
2. Diamond Whetstone Fine (perforated)
3. Dia-Sharp Extra Fine

I already have #2, so I'm wondering if it's a big deal if I use 2 continuous and 1 perforated.
Click to expand...

The interrupted surface provides places for the filings to go where they are out of the path of the blade on the next stroke. The holes also hold a reservoir of water to keep the hone lubricated longer. My experience has been that the DuoSharps don't load up as quickly when used dry, and don't load up at all when used wet. Someone has also advanced a theory that removing the filings from the path of the blade like that will produce a cleaner edge. I don't know about that, but I'm happy with mine. I seldom use my continuous surface hones anymore.

As far as mixing the two goes, I have done it and it didn't hurt anything.
 
I've had the diamond sharpmaker rods on my "wishlist" for some time now.

Question-Do you clean them the same way as the ceramic ones?With comet/ajax & water?
 
Usually a rinse and wipe down will do it, but for extreme loading an abrasive cleanser might help.
 
THG said:
Why are the Dia-Sharps (continuous surface) cheaper than the regular DMT Whetstones (which are perforated)?
Click to expand...

The Dia-sharp stone is a one-grit, singled-sided stone.

The Duo-sharp stone is a 2-grit, double-sided stone.

Stone sizes also vary.
 
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