DMT Dia-sharp

J

J-P SAN

Joined
Apr 23, 2013
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123
Ca someone recommend dmt dia-sharp fine / extra fine combo stone? Is it worth the money?
 
I wouldn't worry about quality, if that's your main concern. Most any of DMT's line is worth it, so far as I'm concerned. I've never regretted buying any of mine (which include XC/C & F/EF Dia-Sharp 6" double-sided, a Duo-Sharp 8" in C/F, two 'credit cards' in F & EF, and three Dia-Folds in C thru EEF).

There may still be different/better options for you, depending on what you plan on doing with it. Most of it comes down to what steels you'll be sharpening, and what edge finishes you'll prefer.


David
 
I love all my DMT products as well.
I suggest trying the diamond combos. Last forever and I take mine everywhere I go because they are so compact.
 
I also recommend their dia sharp stones. I have the 8" in C F EF and 4000 grit. Finish up with Spyderco UF ceramic, then strop. Good results.

Sauce
 
I'm in situation where I need good stone in around 1000 and 1500 and I'm quite positive that said product would fit the bill. I have good diamond file that has 325 and 600 sides then I have lansky stones from the kit, I use them freehand. Last I have spyderco fine bench stone. What I wish to archive is to replace my small lansky stones with bench stone that has grit rating i said before. I would die for spyderco UF, but I think that I need better sharpener in 1000-1500 range before going any further in higher grits.

Opinnions about this?
 
J-P SAN said:
I'm in situation where I need good stone in around 1000 and 1500 and I'm quite positive that said product would fit the bill. I have good diamond file that has 325 and 600 sides then I have lansky stones from the kit, I use them freehand. Last I have spyderco fine bench stone. What I wish to archive is to replace my small lansky stones with bench stone that has grit rating i said before. I would die for spyderco UF, but I think that I need better sharpener in 1000-1500 range before going any further in higher grits.

Opinnions about this?
Click to expand...

The only DMT plate in that range is the EF at ~1200, the fine is 600 and the MEE (that's medium extra fine) is a big jump up to 4k (with extra extra fine at 8k). Fwiw the 6" EF was the first plate I bought and it's still the most used today, I've added a 2-sided D6CF (325&600) and a spyderco fine (~2500) to my setup, plan to add a spyderco UF sometime soon but for now my sharpmaker UF rods laid flat hold me over till I can afford it.
 
I have several DMT products as well and really do not want anything else. I have 2 dual sided plates, a red/green and a black/blue. I have had the fine/extra fine for about 6 or 8 years and it sees almost daily use. You will not regret the purchase.
 
+1 on DMT. Great product, cleans easily with water, and gives a good 'feel' during use.
 
J-P SAN said:
I'm in situation where I need good stone in around 1000 and 1500 and I'm quite positive that said product would fit the bill. I have good diamond file that has 325 and 600 sides then I have lansky stones from the kit, I use them freehand. Last I have spyderco fine bench stone. What I wish to archive is to replace my small lansky stones with bench stone that has grit rating i said before. I would die for spyderco UF, but I think that I need better sharpener in 1000-1500 range before going any further in higher grits.

Opinnions about this?
Click to expand...

If you don't need it for any major re-bevelling (assuming your 325/600 combo is adequate for that), then I'd think you should be pretty happy with either/both of the Fine or EF. DMT's 'Fine' is rated at 600 'mesh' (25 micron), so it might be close to the 600 file you've already got. Having said that, even the same grit in a large bench hone can add a lot of versatility. Smaller/thin blades can easily be re-bevelled on a larger 'Fine' diamond hone; the extra surface area makes a big difference in working speed.

DMT also has an 8" Dia-Sharp in EEF (8000 mesh/3 micron), should you ever want anything approaching what the Spyderco 'Fine' can do. I think the Spyderco would provide a little more polish, beyond the EEF DMT.


David
 
I own the 8" plates from XC-EEf and love them. You can get a surprisingly sharp edge off the coarse stone(sharp enough to clean cut paper and shave arm hair) go up in grits and it just gets better..I recommend their products. I just sharpened two of my personal knives on them the other day..One in cpm3v and one in AEB-L..Both would easily slice free hanging paper towels and tree top/whittle hair off the EEf and strop..
 
The only thing to consider about your requirements is the finish that the DMT leaves compared to what you are looking for. You said "1000 to 1500". You don't say if you mean ANSI, JIS (waterstones), or something else. Grit ratings are not comparable from system to system, and even when measured in abrasive size (micron size of particles), the real finish is dependent on the properties of the abrasive. In English, what this means is, the finish from a "1200 mesh" DMT diamond plate looks absolutely nothing like the finish from a 1200 grit piece of sandpaper.

I've found that the finish from a DMT EF stone, while very serviceable, is noticeably more coarse (much more so) than the finish from a Spyderco fine white ceramic. In fact, I'd say that the finish from a DMT EF is close to, or slightly more coarse than the finish from the Spyderco medium (brown) ceramic, which is rated at 600 to 800 grit (ANSI).

I like my DMT EF and I'm gaining more respect for the finish it leaves as I gain experience with it. But it may or may not be what you are looking for. It's hard to say without you telling us how you came to desire a "1000 to 1500" stone.

Brian.
 
DMT's are worth it in my opinion, I use the small 4in duo-sharps that came with my Aligner and I love it. If I am not mistaken DMT has 6in and 8in dia-sharp Fine/Extra Fine stones which will probably fit the bill nicely. Though your desire for 1k-1.5k stone doesn't mean much as not all companies stones are comparable in those terms. Take a look at this so see where what your using should fall into.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/856708-The-Grand-Unified-Grit-Chart/page3
 
^ The Grand Unified Grit Chart is a fantastic piece of work and I've referred to it more times than I can count. That said, I think it is incredibly misleading to use it as an "equivalency" chart. Grit, quite simply, is not the same from abrasive to abrasive. As I was saying above, DMT does not leave a finish that looks like other abrasives. I think, according to what I've read here, it has to do with the shape of the diamonds. They are very pointy and therefore dig deeply into metal as they cut. As opposed to abrasives that have a more rounded shape and don't dig in as deeply.

Whatever the exact explanation, you can clearly see that the scratch pattern from DMT is more coarse than you would expect given it's micron size.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
^ The Grand Unified Grit Chart is a fantastic piece of work and I've referred to it more times than I can count. That said, I think it is incredibly misleading to use it as an "equivalency" chart. Grit, quite simply, is not the same from abrasive to abrasive. As I was saying above, DMT does not leave a finish that looks like other abrasives. I think, according to what I've read here, it has to do with the shape of the diamonds. They are very pointy and therefore dig deeply into metal as they cut. As opposed to abrasives that have a more rounded shape and don't dig in as deeply.

Whatever the exact explanation, you can clearly see that the scratch pattern from DMT is more coarse than you would expect given it's micron size.

Brian.
Click to expand...

Particle shape plays some role, more so when comparing abrasives of similar hardness & size.

But, the main difference in the cutting ability of diamond, vs. that of other abrasives, is that the diamond is much, much harder. About 3X as hard as SiC, and nearly 4X as hard as AlOx, for example. Hardness is measured by the force required to leave an indentation of a specified size & depth in a given material, when being pressed directly into it. This is sometimes done using a diamond indenter (as the known hardest reference) against the material being tested. Under perfectly controlled circumstances, if you had particles of each abrasive type that were identical in shape & size (eliminating all other variables, in other words), the diamond would cut to the same depth in a given steel using 1/3 the force needed for SiC, 1/4 the force needed for AlOx. Or looking at the flipside, if exerting the same force for each, diamond will cut to 3X the depth of SiC, 4X the depth of AlOx. This is why the finish left by diamond will always look much more coarse, as compared to other abrasives used at the same grit size, and in identical manner on identical steel.


David
 
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