DMT Diamond hones

B

Buck268

Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
1,864
Well, ever since I got my new DMT fine (600 grit, 25 micron) and X-Fine (1200 grit, 9 micron) stones I haven't been able to stop playing with them! Even with these fine stones, its obvious how quickly diamond really cuts, and if you push too hard you will leave a jagged and poor edge. But with a fine touch and a little bit of water to lubricate and float away the swarf, these bad boys really put a great edge on everything I'd put in front of them from my SAK to my 1095 Ka-bar. The S30V Native is still factory sharp, so unfortunately I haven't had a chance to play with that.

After some passes on the XF stone, a few minutes stropping on my tiny little strop (pocket stone leather case, 1" x 2" 'charged' with mothers alum and mag polish) really brings about a hair raising edge. I'm liking this setup.

They even come in classy wooden boxes (bottom box has nice little rubber feet so it doesnt go slidding around)

stones1.jpg
stones2.jpg
 
Very nice! :thumbup:

How do you use the leather strop; hard strokes, firm strokes, light strokes, super-light strokes, on-angle, elevated-angle, lower-angle, just a few strokes, many strokes? :confused:
 
Just light, polishing strokes. Depending on the blade sometimes I'll try to round the shoulder off (like on my old imperial slippies) and get it polished up real nice so it just kinda slides through stuff. Left my SAK pretty squared off though for that clean, sharp look. Basically just enough light strokes to smooth out any toothiness you cna notice on the blade and get it hair-popping sharp; mothers isn't the best for a 1-step stropping but it works alright. I usually do 10-20 passes per side at about the angle of the bevel and then 5-10 passes per side slightly elevated. But I typically go very light.


uh...hardheart...you ok there man?
 
no discussion of different strokes is complete without a little Gary Coleman

hehe, a 'little' Gary Coleman
 
I recently got into the DMT diamond stones, and the extra fine stone but I have
trouble with it, the hole pattern seems raised, so the blade is catching on them
instead of being a fine sharpener. I have the coarse and fine, both of those work
great, very nice, just have to REMEMBER not to press too hard!

I left a message on DMT's site, but wanted to see if you guys/gals had any trouble
like that with the extra fine diamond stone?
Thanks,
G2
 
hehe, don't think so, I emailed them but no answer, so called and they said to
send the stone back for them to look at, they also agreed that it shouldn't behave
like that at all. Like I say, the other two stones, coarse and fine, both do not hang
up like that.
G2
 
Well, thats interesting. I know my XF stone was real rough for a while, but after it got broken in its nice a smooth and leaves a great edge finish!
 
It's almost like the metal template was put in backwards, that is if the holes were
made by a press punch, so that the edges stick upwards instead of down.
I'd expect a bit more drag on the other two stones, but the xf should be xf, the edge
of the knife actually hangs up on an edge of the holes, not a good smooth sharpening
experience. At first I thought like you did, let it break in, but was worried time would
pass and then I'd be stuck with one I've had and used and now isn't working, it would
be harder to return for any exchange or looksee.
I'll report back when they get the stone and send a replacement.
G2

ps, those diamonds do a great job, especially on the harder steels like zdp, it's the only
thing that seems to really sharpen those blades.
 
I have used DMT coarse and x-coarse diamonds for re-beveling, but I just recently picked up a fine and extra fine DMT for finishing use on ZDP. I am currently using the Sharpmaker for the final edge and I just can't seem to get my ZDP knives as sharp as my other knives.

I have heard that ZDP responds much better to diamonds so I am looking forward to giving the new DMTs a try.

So I guess it has also been your experience, Gary (and others), that diamonds are more effective than ceramics for ZDP?
 
hmm, I get a very nice edge on my zdp caly jr using spyderco profiles and an ultrafine rod.
 
I've had trouble with perforated diamond hones where the plastic in the holes is extruded up beyond the level of the metal. In my case I was hanging up on the plastic rather than a ridge around the hole perimeters.
 
hardheart said:
hmm, I get a very nice edge on my zdp caly jr using spyderco profiles and an ultrafine rod.
Click to expand...

With VG-10 and S30V or SAKs I get great results with the Sharpmaker or Profiles. But with ZDP I have not been able to achieve as good a push-cutting edge as I do with other steels. In addition, my ZDP Caly 3 came with the best factory edge I have ever handled. I can usually sharpen an edge to better-than-factory-sharpness but with this one, not even close.

Maybe it is just me and technique, and not a question of ceramic vs. diamond.

My ZDP Caly 3 will shave hairs, but I cannot seem to create a polished edge that push-cuts as well as the original factory edge, or as well as other knives that I have sharpened.
 
I personally never liked the diamond stones... even the finest of the fine never seemed as fine as a good ceramic ultra fine. I like the spyderco bench and hand files in medium, fine, and ultra fine. I use a diamond stone for my coarse though.
 
nphelps4130 said:
I have used DMT coarse and x-coarse diamonds for re-beveling, but I just recently picked up a fine and extra fine DMT for finishing use on ZDP. I am currently using the Sharpmaker for the final edge and I just can't seem to get my ZDP knives as sharp as my other knives.

I have heard that ZDP responds much better to diamonds so I am looking forward to giving the new DMTs a try.

So I guess it has also been your experience, Gary (and others), that diamonds are more effective than ceramics for ZDP?
Click to expand...

Yes, without the diamonds, I was wearing/worrying myself to death trying
to get as keen an edge. Finally on getting them I was able to get the
Kershaw Mini-Cyclone to hair splitting sharpness, amazingly so!
Without it, I could get it sharp, but not consistently sharp or as sharp as
I prefer them to be. I've since sold that knife, carrying the Lone Wolf
City Knife now and while I don't need diamonds to reprofile the edge
but it worked well and now that knife is also hair splitting sharp, meaning
it will 'tree-top' cut the hair, you can catch the hair and run the knife up
through a piece of hair, splitting it. Nice and sharp! :)
G2

edited to say I was typing same time as Unbreakable responded and
I was one also that wasn't too keen on getting diamond stones, always
hearing they took too much metal, and that is a true statement, what I
like is, it gets you down to a flat bevel quickly, from there I will also use
the spyderco flat ceramics and a strop for final edge.
 
Received my stone back today from DMT, much thanks to
Technical Director
Stanley A. Watson CEF
He called me when it arrived and said that yes there were some
'bumps' that should not have been and fixed those and now the
blade moves smoothly across the stone, they also sent along a
folding sharpening stone for field carry, very nice of them to do so!

I expect to be buying the Extra coarse stone in the next few weeks as well
just to round out my collection of stones!

G2
 
I could get the DuoSharp Course/Fine 8" for 75 dollars all together. Should I get this or both the xcourse and fine 6" stones for 67. Now, Is the xcourse recommended or is it better to get the course? I have some ZDP over 40 degrees inclusive in addition to S30v.
The deliema is that I could get an extra 2 inches of stone and a base for this stone for less than 10 dollars extra. However, is the xcourse really worth it for me to buy instead of the course? I'm thinking that the better deal is with the DuoSharp. The base will definately help and the extra 2 inches will come in handy for kitchen knives, fixed blades, and larger pocket knives. Unless someone says otherwise, I am going to buy this tomorrow.
 
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