DMT & Benchmade Deliveries

G

gud4u

Joined
Jan 6, 2004
Messages
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Mail Guy delivered a DMTW6CP coarse 6" diamond benchstone and a Benchmade 806D2 a few hours ago.

The factory edge managed to draw-cut through newsprint without ripping, but that's OK. Great opportunity to use the DMT benchstone.

The DMT made quick work of re-profiling the D2 blade. No oil. No water. Just a few rinses in the dishpan and the stone is like new. Finished up with my spydie stones, stropped the edge-faces to a glassy finish and the blade push-cuts newsprint with near zero pressure and a faint whisper. Took a little over an hour - would have gone faster, but I was extra careful about scratching the black off the blade sides.

Fit and function of the 806D2 seems just fine. No play in any direction at lock-up. Opening effort is about equal to my Military.

As to 'feel', I guess it'll take some time using this knife to get used to it. My favorite carry knife for some time has been a 440V Military, and the 806D2 just doesn't feel as comfortable as the Military. Perhaps we'll become friends with some time together.

The DMT diamond bench stone is absolutely a keeper!
 
Are you talking about the DMT Diasharp series? I have the small coarse one, and I love it. Unfortunately, it's not big enough for my needs, so I'm going to shop for a big one -- 6" or 8". My experience with the little one is that it works GREAT. (There has been a little wear on the edges, where some diamond coating seems to have worn off, though.)

---Jeffrey
 
Cutlery Shoppe generally has the best prices om all of the DMT hones, from small to large.

Thomas
 
Both the DMT 6" diamond bench stone ($34.95) and the 806D2 were ordered from Spoon River Cutlery http://spoonrivercutlery.com/

The 6" stone length was fine for the blade of the 806D2, but a longer stone would be best for longer blades.

For stropping, I use an old-style 15" leather hone from http://www.handamerican.com/

That hone system is now offered in a different style. The rough-out surface is ideal for loading with larger-grit abrasive powders, such as 600- or 800-grit, and is excellent for polishing out grind-marks from a coarse bench stone. The smooth-surface hone, loading with 10,00-grit chromium oxide abrasive powder is excellent for final polishing of blade edge surfaces. The 15" length is suitable for any blade-length and the longer length results in more polishing-per-stroke.

Two things to note about this stropping system:
First, using a 600- or 800-grit abrasive powder (on the rough-surface hone), in dry form, does generate some abrasive dust that can get into the pivot and lock areas of your folder. That can be remedied by using oil on the strop surface to trap the dust - but makes it harder to change grits.
Second, the leather honing system compresses at the blade-contact point, which forms some rounding of the edge. This is a good thing, since it forms a strong convex-shaped edge - but if the blade is elevated too much for the stropping stroke, it will result in a larger included edge angle, reducing sharpness and slicing efficiency.

Hope this helps!

Edit: Note that using the dry DMT diamond stone also creates fine particle dust from the blade material itself - which can infiltrate the pivot and lock areas of your folder. You might want to use water on diamond stone. Either way - rinse frequently.
 
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