DMT Diasharp, Smooth Out Over Time?

[Sulaco]

I'm looking to invest in some good benchstones to get back in to hand sharpening. I used the DMT stones with holes in them before and they worked well, but they seemed to lose a lot of grit over time. Do the Diasharps do this as well?

What benchstones are good to get in to right now?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Diamond hones will slough off some grit with use. BUT, they can last almost indefinitely with some care. Using them with some sort of lubrication like water, or water + dish detergent, or mineral oil helps. Using light pressure, and 'letting the grit do the work' is most important of all. They'll shed a lot of abrasive if used dry and with too much pressure; it rips the diamond out of the nickel substrate. If one feels the need to lean into the hone a bit with more pressure, in order to make it work faster, chances are a coarser grit is needed.

Depending on the steels you're sharpening, you may not need diamond anyway. If so, silicon carbide and/or aluminum oxide stones (think of Norton's Crystolon and India stones) are probably the next-best alternative to a diamond hone. Some very wear-resistant steels like S30V/90V/110V and others with large amounts of vanadium carbides will usually need diamond for re-bevelling and other heavy grinding jobs done by hand, without powered tools like belt grinders or wheels.


David

 

[Sulaco]

I use a little detergent in the water I use with my Edge Pro so I can do the same with these. I went ahead and got the Duosharp coarse/fine in an 8" stone that comes with the holder (hard to beat for $60 or so). I'll start with this and see how it does. I don't have much in the way of high wear-resistant steels. Most of mine are 1095 and other high-carbon steels, as well as stainless steels like 154CM and M390, etc. Pretty easy to sharpen.

Thanks!

 

[1066vik]

my experience with DMT & EZ-lap are that the diamond hones cut at least one grade coarser when new, then pretty much true to advertised grit once they're broken in.
I prefer the "solid" surface hones to the interrupted surface styles because they seem to do more work faster.

 

[G. Scott H.]

Using light pressure, and 'letting the grit do the work' is most important of all.

This can't be stressed enough. I have a couple of 4" Diasharps that I use with my KME system. I just let the weight of the rod, clamp, and stone rest on the blade and move them back and forth. I use no hand pressure whatsoever. :thumbup: And, yes, I can also confirm that they will smooth out a bit once they get worn in. They still cut just fine.

edit: I also use them with water. I sharpen at the kitchen counter and just run them under the tap every so often as I sharpen.

 

[Alberta Ed]

I haven't noticed any reduction in cutting efficiency of my DMT hones over nearly two decades. I hone dry, and once in a while wipe them down with BreakFree CLP.
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