DMT D8XX Question

Blues

Blues

hovering overhead
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I've had the D8XX for a while (along with the EE) but haven't really put it to use yet.

I was doing a little work with the EdgePro 120 grit stone on a D2 blade earlier today and was a bit underwhelmed with both the time taken and the slop produced. (Could be just my limited experience with the system as well.)

It just seemed I could make better use of my time in place of the wiping, rinsing, wetting and changing sides.

Anyway, what I was thinking was to use my D8XX as an alternative to doing the major rebeveling on the EP, clean up a bit with a Coarse DMT stone and then move over to the EP for using the 320 and higher grits. (Which would also be much cleaner and faster since the grunt work would be done for the most part and those stones don't leave much swarf and residue behind.)

So...my questions are:

Does the D8XX require break in before putting a decent blade to it?
(Such as sharpening a butter knife or similar to try and knock off any high spots or inconsistencies.)

Does anybody else do this as well rather than working with the coarsest of the EP stones?

If so, are you taking the XX right to the edge or are you stopping just short to avoid having to clean up the ragged edge once the burr is formed?

Thanks gents for your suggestions and experience. :cool:
 
Hi Elliot,

It has been my experience that the DMT's (great purchase btw) do require a break in period.
For what it is worth I used the wife's Chinese made Pampered Chef :rolleyes: kitchen knife to do just that.

What a wonderful tool for the SV30's, D2's, and other hard steels of the world... :thumbup:


What I needed to do was continually remind myself was to not exert any pressure on the plate/stone but to just use the weight of the knife and let the diamonds do the work.
It sounds counter productive but applies here.

The XX is serious business and should be stepped down accordingly.


Sorry, can't address your other queries. :)
 
Thanks, ADD. It's the only grit of the DMT line I haven't really played with much yet.

I did take an old butter knife to it a little earlier to work out some kinks.

Felt like I was running a shovel across the sidewalk. :p
 
If the edge is not too bad, I'd wait a stone or two before hitting the edge. I feel like I'm dragging a shovel across the sidewalk (that's a great analogy!) every time I use mine, too. I know I have to go a loooong time with the XC if I want to remove all the scratches it leaves.
 
The D8XX does take some breaking in, especially if you don't want scratches all over the bevels. It cuts like crazy, but works much smoother after a "few" (like 10) knives. I've read that you can take a water stone, and smooth it out some, by removing some of the extra layer of diamonds that get knocked off by sharpening .
 
Thanks, guys. I think I'll tread lightly with it for the time being. I tend to be a bit exuberant at times. ;)
 
And here is another opinion as the D8 will smooth out some It really doesn't need any break in at all. It is a very coarse hone even once it does break in a little and I haven't really noticed any difference from new. Your going to have some work removing the D8 scratches even once it is broken in. I say go ahead and just use it right away. That is what I did and for hogging off steel by hand it is a great hone. Stopping just before you reach the edge is a pretty good idea, however your going to have to check your grinding often because before you know it you will be at the edge. :)
I say go ahead Blues and use it just don't use it on your best looking knives until you get use to how fast and really coarse it is. :)
 
db said:
And here is another opinion as the D8 will smooth out some It really doesn't need any break in at all. It is a very coarse hone even once it does break in a little and I haven't really noticed any difference from new. Your going to have some work removing the D8 scratches even once it is broken in. I say go ahead and just use it right away. That is what I did and for hogging off steel by hand it is a great hone. Stopping just before you reach the edge is a pretty good idea, however your going to have to check your grinding often because before you know it you will be at the edge. :)
I say go ahead Blues and use it just don't use it on your best looking knives until you get use to how fast and really coarse it is. :)
Click to expand...

Good advice, Bill, I'll keep my Bose knives locked in another room! :D
 
Blues said:
I've had the D8XX for a while (along with the EE) but haven't really put it to use yet.

I was doing a little work with the EdgePro 120 grit stone on a D2 blade earlier today and was a bit underwhelmed with both the time taken and the slop produced. (Could be just my limited experience with the system as well.)

It just seemed I could make better use of my time in place of the wiping, rinsing, wetting and changing sides.

Anyway, what I was thinking was to use my D8XX as an alternative to doing the major rebeveling on the EP, clean up a bit with a Coarse DMT stone and then move over to the EP for using the 320 and higher grits. (Which would also be much cleaner and faster since the grunt work would be done for the most part and those stones don't leave much swarf and residue behind.)

So...my questions are:

Does the D8XX require break in before putting a decent blade to it?
(Such as sharpening a butter knife or similar to try and knock off any high spots or inconsistencies.)

Does anybody else do this as well rather than working with the coarsest of the EP stones?

If so, are you taking the XX right to the edge or are you stopping just short to avoid having to clean up the ragged edge once the burr is formed?

Thanks gents for your suggestions and experience. :cool:
Click to expand...

It does not require break - it is just more aggressive at the begining. This is fisrt coarsest stone so it better be coarse. Like for let say fine stone it is important to be break first otherwise you will have it coarser then expected, but not in case of you first line of attack on the edge,

I rather use this to my advantage and let say remove serration or straighten S-curved edge - do something radical like this fast.

Only concern I have in your case is that you may need some time to get used to free hand sharpening before you get your blade scratched and D8XX may scratch it pretty well.

Regards, Vassili.
 
Hi Vassili,

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm used to freehand sharpening, just not with the D8XX (yet). ;)

(Now I'll have to look for a serrated knife to remove serrations from. Not many around here. :p)

PS: I've always enjoyed your videos. :thumbup:
 
LOL good idea. I think your really going to like the hone for those knives you want to lower the angle on and require alot of steel to be removed. Truthfully I think you'll also find the deep scratchs from it will be cleaned up pretty easily with the DMT coarse. Heck I have even jumped right to a Shapton 1000 from the D8xx and it cleaned up quick. Just treat it as one more step in the sharpening bag of tricks.
 
db said:
LOL good idea. I think your really going to like the hone for those knives you want to lower the angle on and require alot of steel to be removed. Truthfully I think you'll also find the deep scratchs from it will be cleaned up pretty easily with the DMT coarse. Heck I have even jumped right to a Shapton 1000 from the D8xx and it cleaned up quick. Just treat it as one more step in the sharpening bag of tricks.
Click to expand...

If I can just get past that feeling of dragging a shovel across the sidewalk I'll sleep a lot better. Time will tell. :cool:
 
LOL once your over that feeling your then going to have to get over actually seeing large amounts of steel dust from the grinding, umm I mean sharpening, that is done with the D8. :) I sometimes still have a hard time beleiving all that dust is from my honing on that thing.
 
It is amazing how much steel that stone hogs off in so little time. I actually use huge pressure, and in 7 minutes per side turned an Endura Wave into a scandi grind. If I wasn't so lazy taking little breaks it could have been 5 minutes per side. It is nice if you can stop short of the edge, but it cuts so fast that most of the time you have a ragged, tin foil burr before you think you should be half dome. As db said you can take out the scratches from it really fast with a DMT coarse. My D8XX is still cutting like a buzz saw after 2 years of heavy use, so apparently heavy pressure doesn't wear these things down like I've heard so many people warn. And yes, Broos, it feels like scraping a shovel across a sidewalk, but when it gives you the power to rebevel ZDP-189 Enduras and their relatively thick edges from 16 per side to 10 per side in a couple minutes you just get used to the feeling and actually get to like it.

Mike
 
gunmike1 said:
It is amazing how much steel that stone hogs off in so little time. I actually use huge pressure, and in 7 minutes per side turned an Endura Wave into a scandi grind. If I wasn't so lazy taking little breaks it could have been 5 minutes per side. It is nice if you can stop short of the edge, but it cuts so fast that most of the time you have a ragged, tin foil burr before you think you should be half dome. As db said you can take out the scratches from it really fast with a DMT coarse. My D8XX is still cutting like a buzz saw after 2 years of heavy use, so apparently heavy pressure doesn't wear these things down like I've heard so many people warn. And yes, Broos, it feels like scraping a shovel across a sidewalk, but when it gives you the power to rebevel ZDP-189 Enduras and their relatively thick edges from 16 per side to 10 per side in a couple minutes you just get used to the feeling and actually get to like it.

Mike
Click to expand...

Pics? :)
 
Blues said:
If I can just get past that feeling of dragging a shovel across the sidewalk I'll sleep a lot better. Time will tell. :cool:
Click to expand...

This will be gone in about 10 passes - when you form initial scratch pattern, it will goes bit easyer after that.

BTW, I recommend to use some air filter because it produce bad for breathing dust and pollute air with it. I have plex glass between blade and my face when I do D8XX sharpening, because after so many knife sharpened with it I realize that my cough related to sharpening with it. May be I am wrong, but I do not want to give it any chances.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
Try wiping off the excess water after you wet the 120# stone on the EP. It makes a lot less mess. I find it cuts quite fast. Not as fast as a D8XX but fast enough for major reprofiling. The 120# does have the potential to scratch the side of a blade due to the grit getting between the blade and table. You need to tape the blade off if you care about that. I prefer the EP 120# over the D8XX for reprofiling. However, the D8XX would be better for avoiding scratching the side of the blade.

Gary
 
gary jp4 said:
Try wiping off the excess water after you wet the 120# stone on the EP. It makes a lot less mess. I find it cuts quite fast. Not as fast as a D8XX but fast enough for major reprofiling. The 120# does have the potential to scratch the side of a blade due to the grit getting between the blade and table. You need to tape the blade off if you care about that. I prefer the EP 120# over the D8XX for reprofiling. However, the D8XX would be better for avoiding scratching the side of the blade.

Gary
Click to expand...

Thanks, Gary. I did wipe off the stone and blade while using the 120 grit stone. I started with the blade taped but took the tape off because I liked the "feedback" better without it. That said, I'd not want to scratch up my "better" blades like I did on the couple I've done in the past few days.

The results were impressive however. :thumbup:


Appreciate all the useful info contributed. Thanks friends. :cool:
 
Elliott,

I use an Extra Course DMT on the DMT Aligner jig.
I use it often when I want to rebevel a Queen in D2.

Over time after about 20-30 D2 knives, it has gotten much less agressive in its cutting power.
I do not apply pressure on the stone so I am not wearing it down from pressure
The stone is only 4" so it takes much more wear than an 8" stone
It still takes off material very fast.
I then step down with short times onto the Course, fine and Extra fine
that takes care of the scratch marks on the hone line from the E Course.

I don't have an EP, but using the Aligner, I set up once and then just change the stones

What is the EE fine like?
 
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