DMT - Diasharp, Duosharp, or Whetstone?

Starfish

Starfish

Joined
Jun 14, 2001
Messages
1,256
I've decided to go ahead and at least order DMT diamond hones for the basis of my sharpening system, since I really want the lowest-hassle/highest efficiency freehand method. So now my question is this: do I get the Diasharp, the Duosharp, or the Whetstones? I'm planning on picking up a coarse and a fine stone.

Looking at prices from online dealers, it looks like the Diasharp series are the least expensive for a given size compared to the Whetstone series. The Duosharp seem to be the least expensive of all three, if you take into account that you are buying two stones. However, the Duosharp series seems kind of wasteful considering the different wear rates.

For those who have experience, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Here are the prices that I found from one dealer:

Diasharp: 6" - $23, 8" - $42
Duosharp: 8" - $80, 10" - $115
Whetstone: 6" - $30 to $40, 8" - $80

Thanks for the help!

Matthew
 
Whatever you get, go for at least 8-inch length. Here's the rationale. As you hone you bring the blade down to the stone, stroke the surface, then bring the blade back off the hone. You need to avoid catching the edge of the hone as you transition on and off the hone, both to protect the edge and to prevent scratching the finish of the knife. I figure around 1.5 inches of margin at both ends of the hone is a reasonable allowance for hone that isn't safe to use much. If you deduct two 1.5-inch zones from a 6-inch hone you are only left with 3 inches of prime real estate. My general rule of thumb is that I want to have at least as much useable hone length as the length of the blade I am sharpening. For me a 6-inch hone is only optimal for 3-inch and shorter blades. An 8-inch hone works well for 5-inch blades and works ok for 6-inch blades. Whenever possible I use 12-inch hones.

Given your interest in simple setup and convenience I would suggest going with the Duosharp. If it fits your budget I would bite the bullet and get the 10-inch version. I think you will like the stand that comes with it as well. My only reservation is that you get the right grit combination. I would suggest coarse/fine as the combination. As the hone wears this will turn into a medium-coarse / extra-fine combination which will still cut pretty fast. Something to consider is that the perforated surface of DMT hones is not great for sharpening tight curves and points. You will want to have finishing hones besides the DMT's for finishing your sharpening, particularly the points and bellys of your blades. Although they don't last as long I prefer the finish that I get with Eze-Lap diamond hones.
 
Jeff Clark said:
Something to consider is that the perforated surface of DMT hones is not great for sharpening tight curves and points. You will want to have finishing hones besides the DMT's for finishing your sharpening, particularly the points and bellys of your blades.
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Jeff,

Thanks for the input. The Diasharp is a continuous diamond surface meant for sharpening the tight curves and points, but I've only seen it in 8" hones so far. Also, I wasn't sure if "tight curves and points" includes things like...oh...knife tips, for example. Does it?

Thanks,

Matthew
 
Tight curve == belly of your blade, the last inch or so of blade before you get to the point (assuming that you aren't using a sheepsfoot or warncliff style blade). Point == point, get the point? Go to a knife shop and try sharpening the end of your blade on one of their DMT demo sharpeners. Feel the blade hopping in and out of the relief circles in the hone surface.

I guess that the Diasharp would be a better general choice. Just keep a terry cloth rag or wash cloth nearby and wipe off the hone occasionally to reduce honing debris build up. This will compensate for not having those relief holes in your hone. It will give you a smoother finish and improve the life of your hone.
 
Thanks Jeff and GarageBoy - very helpful!

BTW GarageBoy - do you own the whetstone or the diasharp version?

Matthew
 
Yeah, I'm with the others on the holes thing. They're there to help reduce metal particle buildup on the diamond surface, but all I've had them do is make it hard to get a good feel for how I'm sharpening the belly of the blade. My extra fine diafold is now more like an ultra super fine and it hasn't been used all that much. Coarse/fine diamond stones seem to work best, haven't had a chance to mess with DMT's x-coarse stones.
 
Starfish,

You really might want to take another look at the 8" Spyderco 302 ceramic Benchstones. I have the 302F (fine), and I am VERY impressed with it.
 
I would get the DMTs for Xcoarse, coarse, or med. And get the Spyderco 8" for med, fine, ultra... I really like the spyderco synthetic stones (sharpmaker and others, I have a bunch).

I don't like the holes on some diamond stones either, but since I always follow up with the ceramics, it doesn't bother me too much.
 
glockman99 said:
Starfish,

You really might want to take another look at the 8" Spyderco 302 ceramic Benchstones. I have the 302F (fine), and I am VERY impressed with it.
Click to expand...

glockman99 -

Not to worry - those are going to be part of the arsenal too :)

I think I will probably pick up the 302F and possibly the 302UF, since it appears that both are finer than the DMT fine stone. I'm glad to hear that you have had such positive results with it!

Thanks,

Matthew
 
GarageBoy (and others who own the Diasharp model),

Does the Diasharp come with any sort of case to store the stone?

Edited to add: Does the Duosharp come with any sort of case to store the stone?

Thanks,

Matthew
 
Mine came in a plastic slip case, clear plastic, it was used as display. I suppose it could double as a storage, but I threw mine away (not too durable)
 
Send in my DMT Diasharp for evaluation about amonth ago but still have not heard from them. Follow up with an e-mail, still no news. Would have ring them if it's convenient ( From Europe ).

Only use it twice when I noticed that the diamonds started peeling off. Got myself a lemon so I send it in.......... now I have nothing.
 
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