DMD resin bonded diamond stones

ekastanis

ekastanis

Joined
Jan 16, 2018
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83
DMD resin-bonded diamond stones have been discussed a little bit on this site. I am curious how these compare against the Naniwa diamond water stones or the Venev bonded diamond stones in terms of cutting speed and finish. What grit scale are they rated on (1000, 3000, 6000, 12000) and what are the characteristic abrasive particle sizes?
 
I've tried a couple of different composition diamond stones with mixed success. I would highly advise not to spend much money or if spending a bigger buck, buy from a seller that will take them back if unsatisfied.

They are not all made the same, by any stretch. Most of them cut slow, load quickly, and don't do anything a good set of plated diamonds can't manage. On non super steels they are often a step down from SIC or AlumOx in my experience.

The ones I have had good success with have been expensive, though the cheap ones seem to do a good job of cosmetic polishing if nothing else.

Edit to add: I have not tried the DMD ones, though pretty sure I have some plated diamond hones from them (branded for Foss) and they are of good quality.
 
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I have a couple of their pocket diamond stones. I really love the 400/1k small size plate. It’s super lightweight and perfect for travel. For whatever reason I seem to get a great edge off it. Way better than I get using the DMT travel plates. Doesn’t make any sense why the cheaper one would work better, but maybe it’s the shape that makes it easier to hold than the DMTs?

I also have the 150/600 plate. It’s bigger than the 400/1k. I don’t like it as much. Too coarse and the size feels weird to me.
 
The particle size control in DMD Tools is the worst on the market. In other aspects, DMD diamonds are pretty good. I will not be surprised if their 3000, 6000 and 12000 are the same. I doubt that small Chinese company created a stable 12K grit bonded diamond.
 
Another question would be what they are calling 12k grit. Is it 0.5 micron or 1 micron or 3 micron
 
Gritomatic said:
I will not be surprised if their 3000, 6000 and 12000 are the same.
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C ckdexterhaven linked to a thread in a German forum where a user there posted some magnified images of the stone surfaces and the scratch patterns. He doesn't have the 3k stone but the 1k, 6k and 12k do appear to be different from one another.

I took the time to read that whole thread, it was interesting and is the best source of information I've found on these stones yet.
 
Awsom find with that German forum thread! The photos are very informative. Interesting to note the difference in color of the diamond crystals. The Naniwa are golden but the DMD are clear or green. Also note both have larger translucent white to clear bodies in the resin. I am currious as to what this is.
 
Gritomatic said:
The particle size control in DMD Tools is the worst on the market. In other aspects, DMD diamonds are pretty good. I will not be surprised if their 3000, 6000 and 12000 are the same. I doubt that small Chinese company created a stable 12K grit bonded diamond.
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I can only speak for my DMDs (and to some degree of the experiences of other members on the German forum), and my DMDs are of excellent quality. The scratch pattern is very much discernible of the different grits. The 12000 is an excellent, fast and very fine stone. Fine enough that I can follow with the Gokumyo 20000 without issues.
 
Please see this new article from the scienceofsharp.com tested DMD #12000 stones are found
"As with all of my posts, there are more images and analysis than I discuss, as I am cautious to confirm the results I present. In fact, I purchased 3 DMD diamond resin hones from two different AliExpress stores nearly a year apart. All three are composed of silicon carbide with little or no diamond."

https://scienceofsharp.com/2021/02/03/a-disappointing-purchase/

Considering the low cost of industrial diamonds one of the members here pointed out how cheap it when you buying it by the kilogram. This is very disappointing it is fraud at worse and very very poor quality control and manufacturing at best.
 
Gritomatic said:
The particle size control in DMD Tools is the worst on the market. In other aspects, DMD diamonds are pretty good. I will not be surprised if their 3000, 6000 and 12000 are the same. I doubt that small Chinese company created a stable 12K grit bonded diamond.
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From what scienceofsharp found I think they have solved the problem on how to get ensure 100% consistent size diamonds in 12K grit, not put in any at all and use silicone carbide instead.
 
I doubt subbing Sic or Alox for the diamond in their diamond stones was an accident. Yeah, really breaks my heart to hear this.
 
Diemaker said:
I doubt subbing Sic or Alox for the diamond in their diamond stones was an accident. Yeah, really breaks my heart to hear this.
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Agreed, I was just about to buy a complete set both full sized and small smaller jig sized before Chinese New Year. I was looking for a supplier for well priced diamond stones for a starter kit with a jig I am designing, I am back to russian or Naniwa at present.
 
I don't think they have substituted silicon carbide for diamond, but rather they use silicon carbide as a filler with some small amount of diamond added. The obvious problem is that the silicon carbide is larger and much sharper than the diamond, so they just behave like a 3k silicon carbide stone.
 
ToddS said:
I don't think they have substituted silicon carbide for diamond, but rather they use silicon carbide as a filler with some small amount of diamond added. The obvious problem is that the silicon carbide is larger and much sharper than the diamond, so they just behave like a 3k silicon carbide stone.
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So if the amount of diamond is so limited (which is kinda ridiculous considering how cheap industrial diamond abrasive is) and silicone carbide does almost all the abrasive work. With SEM 3 stones over a 1 year purchase period almost undetectable their diamond formula is mix so lean that it’s a silicone carbide abrasive with what amounts to cross contamination of diamond traces. The only other possibility is the 3 stones tested purchased over a year have resulted in sampling stones where the distribution of diamond particles is so poor that these stones ended up with next to non meaning done of the production run is heavily loaded the rest practically devoid.

The interesting aspect is the resin formula is slow earring even practically devoid of diamonds.
 
Most resins will wear slowly rubbing against steel. It's the abrasive that causes the wear, the more abrasive the more wear.
 
I have 3 sets of them, and I agree that the 12k leaves a good scratch pattern.

The 1K works, but the bond is very soft and disintegrates while you use it. After only a couple knives, the 1K dishes a lot.

The 3K and 6K is very much the same scratch pattern.

It's worth having in your arsenal of stones to experiment with, but they won't beat a set of Venevs with the new OCB binder, EP matrix or Naniwa diamonds. These are all far superior to the DMD stones.
 
777 Edge said:
I have 3 sets of them, and I agree that the 12k leaves a good scratch pattern.

The 1K works, but the bond is very soft and disintegrates while you use it. After only a couple knives, the 1K dishes a lot.

The 3K and 6K is very much the same scratch pattern.

It's worth having in your arsenal of stones to experiment with, but they won't beat a set of Venevs with the new OCB binder, EP matrix or Naniwa diamonds. These are all far superior to the DMD stones.
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Yes venevs look good for the price but naniwa seem to be the rolls Royce in diamond stones.
Been looking at the lower grit GS suehiro gokumyo at #300 to #6000 but priced more like naniwa diamonds stones.
 
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