DMT and learning

E

EMN

Joined
Oct 15, 2019
Messages
55
Hello all,

I'm been watching videos and practicing. Still lots to learn and in truth probably more questions then answers at this time. Presently I have a spyderco sharpmaster, some DMT folder and a small strop.

Just ordered the large green strop from knivesplus.

So question I think I'll be moving away from the sharpmaster but dont want to break the bank. Looking at DMT and I see they have dimond stones then a cheaper one with mesh like the folders I have. Is the regular dimond that much better or will I be ok with the mesh? What grits should I look into? I dont want the maintenance of stones. Will the 3x8 be that much better if dimond stone then the double side 2x6? Anything else.


Thank you in advance

Eric
 
I'd suggest first determining whether you want coarse, toothy edges, smooth edges, or somewhere in between. There are many threads and posts about this if you do a search. If you buy high grit stones and decide you want coarse edges you have probably wasted some money.

I prefer continuous surface diamond plates because there is more sharpening area than the interrupted surface plates. I also prefer the bigger size and increased sharpening area of 8" stones over 6" stones, although that would depend on your blade size.
 
MtnHawk1 said:
I'd suggest first determining whether you want coarse, toothy edges, smooth edges, or somewhere in between. There are many threads and posts about this if you do a search. If you buy high grit stones and decide you want coarse edges you have probably wasted some money.

I prefer continuous surface diamond plates because there is more sharpening area than the interrupted surface plates. I also prefer the bigger size and increased sharpening area of 8" stones over 6" stones, although that would depend on your blade size.
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Unfortunately I dont know enough to know what I like. I'll be using it mostly EDC,Bushcraft and knew ok the wife will let me sharpen the kitchen knives lol.
 
If you do enough research on coarse vs. smooth edges you'll learn about the pros and cons of both and probably get an idea from others what will work best for you.

I definitely prefer coarse edges, at 325-400 grit and less. From what I've read here and on other forums, I would say a majority of people do. Many go lower, which I'm experimenting with now. It's really a matter of personal preference and what works best for you. Since you don't know, I'd suggest starting off with coarse stones (I reprofile and usually start sharpening with the 60 grit Baryonyx Manticore), which you're going to need anyway, and see if toothy edges work for you. If so, you can stop there.

Welcome to the forum (there is a lot of great info here) and good luck!
 
MtnHawk1 said:
If you do enough research on coarse vs. smooth edges you'll learn about the pros and cons of both and probably get an idea from others what will work best for you.

I definitely prefer coarse edges, at 325-400 grit and less. From what I've read here and on other forums, I would say a majority of people do. Many go lower, which I'm experimenting with now. It's really a matter of personal preference and what works best for you. Since you don't know, I'd suggest starting off with coarse stones (I reprofile and usually start sharpening with the 60 grit Baryonyx Manticore), which you're going to need anyway, and see if toothy edges work for you. If so, you can stop there.

Welcome to the forum (there is a lot of great info here) and good luck!
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Thank you, you have given me more info to do research.
 
I have an 8" x 3" DMT C/F in the 'Duo-Sharp' interrupted surface, and also the double-sided 6" x 2" continuous surface 'Dia-Sharp' plates in XC/C, F/EF. All work well, and all are quality. I also have a bunch of pocket/portable hones from DMT, including the Dia-Folds and keychain hones (interrupted surface), and Dia-Sharp (continuous) hones in the 'credit card' format and paddle-style hones as well. For almost all of my usual touching up, I use the credit card hones and the Dia-Folds the most.

If you aren't planning to do a lot of heavy grinding or major reprofiling of larger blades, you might not need the bigger plate. I find I don't use my 8" x 3" very much anymore, as compared to the greater use I get from my 6" x 2" plates. Virtually all the knives I use/carry often are smaller blades (folders). Any that've needed reprofiling, those get done ONCE, sometimes on a bigger plate. After that, all the touch-up work can be done on smaller hones (I use pocket-sized hones for most of that). If you DO plan on doing more heavy thinning/reprofiling of large blades, then a bigger plate in a coarser grit (XC/XXC) might be more useful to you.

The interrupted surface plates are spec'd & guaranteed by DMT for flatness, whereas the continuous-surface hones are not. If you were sharpening edges that need to be dead-straight, like woodworking tools (plane irons, chisels, etc.), then that guaranteed flatness is a plus. But for most knife users, it isn't necessary in sharpening blades with curved cutting edge profiles, as most EDC blades are.
 
If you don't have to worry about a larger knife, then you can stick with a 6"x2" stone. With larger knives - say kitchen knives or something longer than 6", those bigger stones are really nice.
 
What are you hoping to gain with new stones/plates? For example, do you want to grind metal faster, so you can reprofile or sharpen really dull blades? Do you want more refinement than what you get now? Or maybe just more consistency? Knowing what you can do now and what you want to achieve will guide your purchase decision.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
What are you hoping to gain with new stones/plates? For example, do you want to grind metal faster, so you can reprofile or sharpen really dull blades? Do you want more refinement than what you get now? Or maybe just more consistency? Knowing what you can do now and what you want to achieve will guide your purchase decision.

Brian.
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I'm still in the learning part. I started on a sharpmaster and just didn't like the time it took to get the results nor the way it felt just not natural IMO for me. Then I purchased the folder type from DMT and that worked better but probably should have started with a larger stone bc like you say consistency has been difficult. There is so much more to this then I originally thought. Seams like everyone has a different way so I'm trying techniques to see what works for me. What would I like the end game is better results more consistent and I dont mind the time.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
I have an 8" x 3" DMT C/F in the 'Duo-Sharp' interrupted surface, and also the double-sided 6" x 2" continuous surface 'Dia-Sharp' plates in XC/C, F/EF. All work well, and all are quality. I also have a bunch of pocket/portable hones from DMT, including the Dia-Folds and keychain hones (interrupted surface), and Dia-Sharp (continuous) hones in the 'credit card' format and paddle-style hones as well. For almost all of my usual touching up, I use the credit card hones and the Dia-Folds the most.

If you aren't planning to do a lot of heavy grinding or major reprofiling of larger blades, you might not need the bigger plate. I find I don't use my 8" x 3" very much anymore, as compared to the greater use I get from my 6" x 2" plates. Virtually all the knives I use/carry often are smaller blades (folders). Any that've needed reprofiling, those get done ONCE, sometimes on a bigger plate. After that, all the touch-up work can be done on smaller hones (I use pocket-sized hones for most of that). If you DO plan on doing more heavy thinning/reprofiling of large blades, then a bigger plate in a coarser grit (XC/XXC) might be more useful to you.

The interrupted surface plates are spec'd & guaranteed by DMT for flatness, whereas the continuous-surface hones are not. If you were sharpening edges that need to be dead-straight, like woodworking tools (plane irons, chisels, etc.), then that guaranteed flatness is a plus. But for most knife users, it isn't necessary in sharpening blades with curved cutting edge profiles, as most EDC blades are.
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So the interrupted is easier to use?
 
EMN said:
So the interrupted is easier to use?
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Personally, I'd say either is equally easy to use. Some will say the interrupted surface is a little prone to catching tips of blades in the 'dots'. But that's more a technique issue, than a fault with the hone itself. Finishing each pass on the interrupted surface with a tip-trailing technique will prevent catching the tips in the dots on the hone.

My preferences, as to which hones are my favorites, have more to do with individual ergonomics, size & convenience for my own uses. I wouldn't favor or exclude any of them only on the basis of which type of surface they have, which to me is basically irrelevant. They all work well.
 
EMN said:
I'm still in the learning part. I started on a sharpmaster and just didn't like the time it took to get the results nor the way it felt just not natural IMO for me. [...]
What would I like the end game is better results more consistent and I dont mind the time.
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My advice then, is going to be to get a large very coarse stone. When I bought the 8x3 diasharp XXC, it changed things for me. A LOT. For the first time I can remember, I could see my sharpening results. I could see the grind lines and I could watch them creeping towards the edge as I held a consistent angle.

As I outlined in Secret #7, the coarse stone is your most important stone. It's going to give you faster, more consistent results. Read #7 for a full explanation.

You could get a Norton Coarse Crystolon instead; it's very popular and supposed to be similar grit. I have NOT used that stone, but I hear it's good.

Of course you'll also want some kind of medium and/or fine stone. One of your folding DMTs or SharpMaker stones could do that if necessary. Or you can buy one or two more stones/plates in the system that you choose. I rather like the DMT XXC, C, and EF combination that I have.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
My advice then, is going to be to get a large very coarse stone. When I bought the 8x3 diasharp XXC, it changed things for me. A LOT. For the first time I can remember, I could see my sharpening results. I could see the grind lines and I could watch them creeping towards the edge as I held a consistent angle.

As I outlined in Secret #7, the coarse stone is your most important stone. It's going to give you faster, more consistent results. Read #7 for a full explanation.

You could get a Norton Coarse Crystolon instead; it's very popular and supposed to be similar grit. I have NOT used that stone, but I hear it's good.

Of course you'll also want some kind of medium and/or fine stone. One of your folding DMTs or SharpMaker stones could do that if necessary. Or you can buy one or two more stones/plates in the system that you choose. I rather like the DMT XXC, C, and EF combination that I have.

Brian.
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Thank you Brian can you provide a link or tell me where to look for secret #7 or am I missing something?
Thank you Eric
 
Both types of DMTs work fine, just clean them occasionally when they get loaded with swarf. I find BreakFree CLP works great.
 
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