DMT Diasharp wearing out already???

J

joepa150

Joined
Mar 15, 2010
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350
I just got a dual sided DMT Diasharp Coarse/ Extra Coarse. I used it on three really hard steel knives (don't know the steel but made from animal traps). I also used the coarse side to flatten my 1k-8k stones for my edge pro and the extra coarse side to flatten my 220 and 400 grit edge pro stones.

Both sides of the Diasharp seem to be smoother than when I first tried it on Christmas day. The Coarse side feels really smooth.
 
They are supposed to smooth out with use.

You have been using it quite a bit, so it makes sense that they would feel smoother now.

Just make sure not to use too much pressure, because that will ruin them.
 
GCG199 said:
They are supposed to smooth out with use.

You have been using it quite a bit, so it makes sense that they would feel smoother now.

Just make sure not to use too much pressure, because that will ruin them.
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Yeah I figured they would smooth out.

I have used just the weight of it on the Edge pro while sharpening and used a little pressure while flattening. I hope I didn't use too much.

Thanks for the info.
 
They smooth out at first but they still cut steel like crazy. I dont really like DMT stones until they are good and broken in.
 
You just knocked the tips off of the tall diamonds. I have diamond hones that are over 20 years old and they feel very smooth but they still cut just fine. They just get better and better.
 
I definitely wouldn't use a DMT C for flattening, DMT recommends only usin the xxc, xc will do but c is too fine imho. The stone won't wear the diamonds but I will wear the nickel in wich they are embedded. Not in a couple of uses but with time the stone will wear faster than ideal.
 
I found that cleaning the stones is a big help to making them feel "newer"

I use some barkeepers friend and a dish brush to clean off the stones, they feel much better after a good cleaning. I clean mine every 5 or 6 sharpening sessions because the metal does pile up in the little holes.
 
Yup--the first several uses will cause the stone to wear in. It's not wearing out. Just keep it clean and it'll keep cutting fine. Likewise only use gentle pressure. I find that firm pressure doesn't make 'em work any faster and you run the risk of rocking the diamonds out of the nickel plate if you use excessive force. In theory a well-made diamond stone like a DMT should last you forever if properly cared for.
 
pwet said:
I definitely wouldn't use a DMT C for flattening, DMT recommends only usin the xxc, xc will do but c is too fine imho. The stone won't wear the diamonds but I will wear the nickel in wich they are embedded. Not in a couple of uses but with time the stone will wear faster than ideal.
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That's an interesting consideration. If the grit and subsequent slurry of the stone being lapped is larger/more coarse than the diamond doing the lapping, I could see it scrubbing against and wearing the nickel substrate, as the slurry comes off.

I used a coarse/fine Duo-Sharp's coarse side to lap a Spyderco ceramic, but it's slurry was obviously much finer, and I couldn't detect any noticeable wear to the diamond hone. I also immersed the diamond hone in water, while lapping, and that helps protect it somewhat by keeping most of the slurry clear of the lapping surface.


David
 
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Just FYI,

If you need to tell the difference between wearing in and wearing out it will be pretty evident when the diamond has been completely removed from the nickle substrate. But even if you can't see it by eye, you can use a small piece of glass (the rim of a drinking glass for example ) to rub against the surface and see if there are grind marks.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
That's an interesting consideration. If the grit and subsequent slurry of the stone being lapped is larger/more coarse than the diamond doing the lapping, I could see it scrubbing against and wearing the nickel substrate, as the slurry comes off.

I used a coarse/fine Duo-Sharp's coarse side to lap a Spyderco ceramic, but it's slurry was obviously much finer, and I couldn't detect any noticeable wear to the diamond hone. I also immersed the diamond hone in water, while lapping, and that helps protect it somewhat by keeping most of the slurry clear of the lapping surface.


David
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no need to have a coarser particle size, even the finest waterstone will produce a thick paste like slurry when lapped that'll obviously touch the nickel substrate. now the question is will this be enough to wear it ... dmt decided that its too much a risk to recommend lapping with anything but a xxc ...

the advice i'd give is flatten with you coarsest plate and refine the stone's surface by rubbing the waterstones on each other ... that way you run no risk at all.
 
pwet said:
no need to have a coarser particle size, even the finest waterstone will produce a thick paste like slurry when lapped that'll obviously touch the nickel substrate. now the question is will this be enough to wear it ... dmt decided that its too much a risk to recommend lapping with anything but a xxc ...

the advice i'd give is flatten with you coarsest plate and refine the stone's surface by rubbing the waterstones on each other ... that way you run no risk at all.
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So flatten everything with my DMT XC including my higher grits like the 5k and 8k. Then lap some of the waterstones together to smooth the surface a bit??
 
thats what i do. i've already killed a couple of 4" interrupted surface dmts from using them as naguras on finer waterstones.
 
pwet said:
thats what i do. i've already killed a couple of 4" interrupted surface dmts from using them as naguras on finer waterstones.
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Same.

I've also found that if you don't like the feel of the surface left on a waterstone after lapping with a coarse flattening stone, you can just use some varying grits of sandpaper on a flat backing to get it how you like it. I only have one stone so I can't rub two of them together, so that's what I do.
 
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