Diamond stone recommendation

miltmaldo

miltmaldo

Gold Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2012
Messages
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Hi guys I'm looking for some recommendation on a diamond stone set . Looking to sharpen some of my s30v,s35v, and some other knives . I have a smith's try hone with the Arkansa stone . I can get the VG10 and the 154 hair shaving . But my s30v not as sharp . I'm looking for a minimum of three stone like to get an extra fine stone for a corse stone ill use my tri stone . Unless you guys strongly recommend one . I don't know how much money they go for so $100 give or take $25 is what I'm willing to spend .

Thanks
 
DMT's are often regarded as one of the best diamond stone manufacturers. If you look for it you can find a 6x2 DMT kit that has the XC/C/F/EF grits that are 2 stones that have one grit each side and include a wood case. I think it was a DMT Diasharp kit and it cost around $75-80 if memory serves me correct, a quick search for DMT Diasharp kit will probably pull it right up on the search engine.
 
Depends on preference. That can get into a very lengthy discussion to make it simple look up Diasharp vs Duosharp, the duosharps are the "whetstone" your looking at. There are several discusions on it and opinions.

I will say that I have the small 4in duosharps that came with my DMT Aligner and that the problem of accidentally running your tip into the holes is almost nonexistent if you have decent technique from my experience. It's still a possibility and worth mentioning but not worth being worried about it and not getting it if that was your only concern. I think I had accidentally ran the tip of my knife it once mabey twice and rest of the time I had to deliberately try to screw up in order to that, and this is with several hours of practicing free hand on those when I first started learning to sharpen.

Reason why I mention that particular kit was because of what you get for the price it's a very versatile setup for a good price. It's the route I would go if I wanted a diamond benchstone setup. Though that is just opinion, other people would probably go with different setups. I'd imagine some people would pick up some of the 8in C/F stones here and maybe an EF to go with it or EC instead of opting for the 6in stones.
 
Atoma Plates are the best :)

[video=youtube;OMFdZgMAwhQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMFdZgMAwhQ[/video]

[video=youtube;j032eLxxhzc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j032eLxxhzc[/video]
 
EZE lap and Dia-Sharp both offer "credit card" size sharpeners and do the job on my edged tools. You just have to remember to keep your fingers safe while sharpening.
 
Sadden said:
Atoma Plates are the best :)

[video=youtube;OMFdZgMAwhQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMFdZgMAwhQ[/video]
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:D lol at a leg with a sock and bald spot appearing on screen with the explanation of being out of arm hair... lol.

I've never heard of the atoma, I've been thinking about getting the dmt setup mentioned.
 
I didn't bother mentioning the Atoma's due to the cost, for the budget their prohibitively expensive and is extremely doubtful that he could pick up 3 Atoma benchstones for the budget which sounded like was the plan.
 
Bob6794 said:
DMT's are often regarded as one of the best diamond stone manufacturers. If you look for it you can find a 6x2 DMT kit that has the XC/C/F/EF grits that are 2 stones that have one grit each side and include a wood case. I think it was a DMT Diasharp kit and it cost around $75-80 if memory serves me correct, a quick search for DMT Diasharp kit will probably pull it right up on the search engine.
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Also like DMT's. Dia-fold's and Dia-Sharp all i need and work well. $25-$50 for either.
 
miltmaldo said:
So which one you like better .
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I would start off with a Dia-fold fine/extra fine. The fine is pretty coarse compared to others. Can get my D2 adamas from dull back to shaving sharp quick with the fine. It will be more portable and cheaper also than dia-sharp but both are good except dia-sharp rusts fairly easy i've seen but more stone to work with.
 
+1 for the DMT Fine/EF; my preference would be for the continuous surface (Dia-Sharp) line. You can get a 6" double-sided DMT Dia-Sharp in this combo (F/EF), for ~ $50 or a little less perhaps. These two finishing grits are a great match to steels like S30V (and 154CM & VG-10, and many others).


David
 
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Personally I wouldn't go any smaller than 6" for bench stones. I see a lot of recommendations for tiny little stones. I think you are limiting yourself if you use such small stones. Some people can definitely do a good job with small stones. I don't think most people will produce very good results with stones smaller than 6 inches and really I think 6 is too small if you are sharpening any knives 8" or longer.

The Atomas seem like *great* stones. Had I known about them before I bought my DiaSharps, I probably would have bought at least the Atoma 140.

My DMT progression is based on something I read from a former BF member. His progression (and mine) is: XXC, C, EF. In practice this works very well and seems to erase the scratch pattern of the previous stone without too much extra effort. The XXC is worth a special mention. A stone with this kind of grinding power allows you to do things you can't with other stones. Fairly major tip repairs happen pretty quickly. Reprofiles or rebeveling damaged blades happen pretty quickly.

The XXC helped transform my sharpening because it's such a fast grinding stone. It finally became fast and obvious what I was doing on the stone. The cycle of: grind, observe, adjust, and grind again, became SO MUCH FASTER than before. Plus, it grinds so fast that I think it actually lets you make more consistent bevels. There's less time for fatigue to set in and less time for you to screw up the angle. See, as you grind a bevel, you are making it flat. Before it's nice and flat, your job is harder: Holding the blade at the same angle stroke after stroke. Once the bevel flattens out, it's easier because there's more bevel touching the stone. The XXC gets you to this "easy part" much faster. I hope that makes sense.

I haven't used the DuoSharps, but they have a lot of fans here on BF, Youtube, etc. I'm sure they work just fine. If you're serious about sharpening, I suggest you expand the budget a little and get 8" or 10" DMTs. I think the DuoSharps are kind of a bargain since they have two sides. But again, that XXC is SUCH a great stone and it's only available as a DiaSharp.

Good luck,

Brian.
 
6x2 are the smallest size I think that are still very versatile in my experience. I started out with using the smaller 4in dmt stones than picked up the norton economy stones which are 6x2 and 8x2 (silicon carbide, india) and I find going back to the smaller stones a bit annoying. The 6x2 is pretty much ideal for me and 8x2 provides extra room, the smaller 4in just feels cramp in comparison and due to surface area isn't the most ideal for heavy metal removal.
 
I'm going with 6x2 . Just not sure if a should go with the continuos stone or the whetstone .:confused:
 
Buy one of each in Coarse and Fine then make a denim strop. http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/6-Diamond-Whetstone-P6C24.aspx?UserID=85732665&SessionID=YACu1weTsw8sJ{9Ul4vQ
 
miltmaldo said:
I'm going with 6x2 . Just not sure if a should go with the continuos stone or the whetstone .:confused:
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From my understanding of a conversation with the fine folks at Woodcraft, DMT is phasing out the perforated surface stones in favor of the continuous surface (for what it's worth.)

Neither of us works for DMT so the validity of his comments are up for debate. LOL!

I like both but the continuous surface stones are going to be quite a bit heavier if that matters.

B
 
Brian_T said:
From my understanding of a conversation with the fine folks at Woodcraft, DMT is phasing out the perforated surface stones in favor of the continuous surface (for what it's worth.)

Neither of us works for DMT so the validity of his comments are up for debate. LOL!

I like both but the continuous surface stones are going to be quite a bit heavier if that matters.

B
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Hope not,,,, I tried both, and got the DuoSharp. They have a better feel and seemed more consistent to me.
 
Brian_T said:
From my understanding of a conversation with the fine folks at Woodcraft, DMT is phasing out the perforated surface stones in favor of the continuous surface (for what it's worth.)

Neither of us works for DMT so the validity of his comments are up for debate. LOL!

I like both but the continuous surface stones are going to be quite a bit heavier if that matters.

B
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That would surprise me, especially as it relates to woodworking. One of the advantages of the perforated hones is, DMT guarantees their flatness to within specific tolerances. For woodworkers needing to keep the edges of their plane blades and chisels very flat and straight, that's a big plus. I'd think many might take issue with DMT abandoning those hones, in favor of the continuous surface hones UNLESS DMT can also guarantee their flatness (they don't, currently). And if they did alter their manufacturing and specs to guarantee it, I'm sure that'd add more $$ to their price tag.

I like the smoothness of feedback and uniformity of scratch patterns from the continuous hones, especially in the finishing stages. The interrupted surface hones in coarser grits are very fast and convenient, and a little more bang for the buck, as well.


David
 
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I would recommend the continuous surface 6X2 in coarse, medium and extra fine if choosing DMT. That should be available under $100 if you shop around. (Hint: Go to the DMT website and use the dealer locator)

If you become as fanatical as most of us here, you will eventually add the XC , XXC and the fine.

The other option, and the one I would choose, is to get a medium ATOMA plate now, and as time passes, add the other ATOMAs, one by one as funding allows.

You must make the choice. Do you want a good set right now, or the very best over a period of time. A choice humans have been faced with since we came out of the caves.:p
 
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