Diamond Stone: Is brand very important?

MTHall720

MTHall720

Joined
Sep 21, 2010
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Right now I have two Smith's stones and now want another stone. So far I like mine. Was wondering if it is worth the price difference to get a DMT.
Any thoughts? What do you have? Any brand to avoid?
 
I don't have any experience with other brands, only DMT. I recommend their coarse and extra-coarse grits, (but I am getting smoother edges finishing up with Spyderco ceramics).

I can say that their stones last a long time and work very well.

I am interested in trying out some stones from EZE-LAP, because their extra-coarse is a 150 grit and they make it in a small portable fold-up model and benchstones too.
 
I have mostly diamond "stones" from Eze-Lap, and a couple DMTs. In use I'd say there's not much difference, and in 20 years I have not worn one out. I did have an Eze-Lap "stone" rust and lose a bit of diamond plating once...because someone left it in the water tub with the water stones for about a month. I told my Eze-Lap rep about it when buying a replacement, he insisted on replacing the stone for free despite my protests that we had abused the stone by leaving in water so long, customer service above and beyond IMO.
 
I have a simple smith kit with 2 diamond stones one course one fine and a arkansas triangle for serrates. I am sure there is better stuff out there but I have been using these two for years and get consistant scary sharp edges not sure if its the product or the experience but i have had no issue with smith
 
MTHall720 said:
Right now I have two Smith's stones and now want another stone. So far I like mine. Was wondering if it is worth the price difference to get a DMT.
Any thoughts? What do you have? Any brand to avoid?
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I'd just avoid the 'no name' brands, for the most part. The better brands will likely maintain tighter tolerances for grit size & uniformity. If just hogging off a bunch of steel for a re-bevel job, that might not be a concern. But, the finer you go in the desired edge finish, it'll make a noticeable difference. DMT is known for their 'monocrystalline' diamond, which means the grit particles aren't clumped together, and are more uniform in size. That translates into more predictable results, especially at very fine grits. I think at least some of the other mainstream manufacturers are coming around to the monocrystalline diamond as well.

I think Smith's, Lansky, DMT and Eze-Lap are all good bets, at least. All of these makers have been doing diamond sharpeners for a good while. If there were any significant quality issues with any one of them, I'd bet we would've heard about it by now.

Edit:
One big advantage I see in DMT's product. DMT actually spec's their products by particle size (in microns), in addition to the 'mesh' specs, which is a big plus. Most other manufacturers spec only by 'grit' or 'mesh', which often varies from one manufacturer to another. The 'mesh' spec only implies particles must fit through a mesh screen (filter) of a fixed size, meaning some particles will be larger or smaller than others. Therefore the particle size is less tightly controlled, and the resulting finish is less predictable. Still other makers just spec their products as 'coarse', 'medium', 'fine', etc., which is left wide-open to interpretation.
 
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Even cheap no-name diamond hones can do a good job. I once tuned up all the kitchen knives for some friends using a funky diamond block thing that had perforated plates of different grits on the four long sides. Guy bought it for a few bucks at Harbor Freight and it worked just fine. The block was about 2" square by 6" long plastic with the four 2" by 6" diamond plates on the long sides.I was prepared to be disappointed and came away with grudging admiration. Awesome value.
 
Bill1170 said:
Even cheap no-name diamond hones can do a good job. I once tuned up all the kitchen knives for some friends using a funky diamond block thing that had perforated plates of different grits on the four long sides.
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Was it this cheese-grater-looking thing?

image_13684.jpg


~ P.
 
I have have of those cheese graters from Harbor Freight. The diamond panels are slightly wavy (not flat), but it works OK.
 
Not sure why you would want to hone a Buick. :D Most I have seen were pretty rounded all over. Especially the older models. :p

Omar
 
I have a couple of those HF blocks. I agree they are slightly wavy. The grit sizes are probably off, but they actually do a pretty good job. They are very aggressive at first, but after being used for a while aren't too bad.

If you freehand and have some kitchen knives to sharpen I say give one a shot. After it's worn it'll do fine for setting bevels. They are like $12 on sale. :)
 
My experience is limited to cheese grater style (ones I had were crap) and DMTs
recommended by the guys here. Couldn't be happier. There's a saying that applies..
buy quality cry once...something like that : )
 
DMT are great for sharpening, setting bevel etc. If you are also using them to flatten stones I would get the Atoma plates as they do not have that horrible stiction issue.
 
bobo383 said:
I have have of those cheese graters from Harbor Freight. The diamond panels are slightly wavy (not flat), but it works OK.
Click to expand...

This is all good to know. I have had a DMT diafold for quite awhile that I use for reprofiling and I recently got a DMT Aligner set for more serious sharpening, but I would be interested in the cheap HarborFreight block for playing with my wife's cheap kitchen knives.
 
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