Diamond Stones for A2 & O1 - Yes or No

ncrockclimb

ncrockclimb

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I have been using my KME diamond stones to sharpen most of my knives. Recently, I came across some threads saying that diamond hones were not good for steels like O1 and A2. Is this accurate? If diamonds are not the way to go, then what should I be using?
 
I have sharpened a TON of A2.

Norton water stones, especially the old ones made in the USA (new ones are made in Mexico) work super well. Hair whittling and seriously decent mirror polish off the 8000 Norton.

Spending a bit more I can recommend the Shapton Pro stones.

I haven't spent a lot of time with O1 but can sharpen that on natural stones like Arkansas stones if I am not mistaken. How ever the A2 just laughs at the finer hard Arkansas stones and polishes the stone rather than be abraded by it.

PS: you can play tricks with diamond plates or silicon carbide grit to get the Hard Ark to work but may as well just use the diamond plate to sharpen on. Not really great though. . . stick with water stones.
 
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I prefer Norton's India stones for most steels, even stainless. It offers good economy, is fast and leaves a good edge. Diamond stones are not needed for many steels, these being one. Plus, the material is very thin. I use my diamond stones very sparingly. DM
 
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Diamond plates will work with about anything but I prefer waterstones for steels with lower alloy content. The diamond plates can be too aggressive on steels without a lot of Vanadium, IMO. I also feel the speed advantage is lost and in my experience diamond plates are slower on lower alloy stainless and carbon steels in most cases.

Personally, I like Naniwa and Shapton stones. The Naniwa 2k Green Brick in particular works very well on O1 and Bark Rivers A2, the Shapton Glass are also very nice on A2 Chisels.
 
Thanks for all the replies!

Jason, I have learned so much from your posts in this sub-forum. Thanks for sharing your expertise!

What is your opinion of Aluminum Oxide Ceramic Stones for O1 and A2? I love using my water stones for sharpening my scandi blades, but am using my KME on my non-scandi blades. With that in mind, I am thinking about trying the ceramic stones instead of diamonds for my softer steels.
 
Ceramic is a term loosely thrown around anymore, what stones specifically are you looking at?
 
Jason B. said:
The Naniwa 2k Green Brick in particular works very well on O1 and Bark Rivers A2, the Shapton Glass are also very nice on A2 Chisels.
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The Naniwa Aotoshi 2k (aka "The Green Brick of Joy") is one of my favorite waterstones. I'm actually quite surprised that you like it as I wouldn't have figured that you would like such a soft and muddy stone. I assume you use it with scrubbing strokes rather than just edge-trailing, yes?
 
Steel_Drake said:
The Naniwa Aotoshi 2k (aka "The Green Brick of Joy") is one of my favorite waterstones. I'm actually quite surprised that you like it as I wouldn't have figured that you would like such a soft and muddy stone. I assume you use it with scrubbing strokes rather than just edge-trailing, yes?
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I do both, but mainly edge trailing strokes on finishing stones. I like many stones and have a rather large selection of stones in my collection including diamond plates, oil stones, waterstones, and natural stones. I feel one shoe does not fit all when sharpening so I have many stones to cover the many types of blades I sharpen.
 
I've used my DMT Diasharps for many years on knives and woodworking tools, O1, A2, and other types of steel. Never encountered any problems that I could trace back to the stones.

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk
 
well I never tried sharpening with diamonds on 0-1 but grinding with it. When I made plane blades out of 0-1 I used three makita flat sharpeners I replaced the stones with diamond lap plates for rock work. they did not last long with or without water. I changed to sandpaper on them it lasted longer and cost far less.
 
I do know power grinding steel with diamond is not recommended. The heat generated leaches carbon atoms from the steel molecules, which then glaze and ruin the diamond stone. So I am told, at any rate

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