EZE-Lap hones and EdgePro

T

thombrogan

Joined
Nov 16, 2002
Messages
9,948
Do any of you EdgePro owners out there know if the standard 1"x6" EZE-Lap stones are compatible with the attachment section?

Thanks in advance,

Thom
 
I was thinking about this too, so I emailed Eze-Lap a couple of weeks ago about this and they responded thusly:

"The Model you are looking for is the 42 series without the pedestal. To order these, you can call 1-800-843-4815 Monday through Friday between 8a.m to 4p.m. PST.

When ordering, please request the Model 42 without pedestal and what grit you are looking for. Grits below:

Fine - 600
Medium - 400
Coarse - 250

Thank you,
Tracie Louks
Sales
EZE-LAP Diamond Products, Inc."

I asked about prices and they said this:

"42F w/o pedestal $11.95 each
42M w/o pedestal $14.95 each
42C w/o pedestal $17.95 each"

I am planning on getting an Apex in the next few days and I thought that the Diamonds might be helpful, not because diamonds would remove metal faster, but becaus they won't 'dish' and need to be flattened periodically like the waterstones. (I think)

Hope that helps,

-John
 
Thanks, John.

I checked out their site and the 41XC 1"x6" looks like it'll be my first.

If diamonds do hold up, it'd be neat to slowly redo an Apex into a diamonds and lapping tape system. So far, those waterstones have been better to me than I've been to them, but sometimes dry seems like a nicer alternative.
 
Originally posted by thombrogan
...it'd be neat to slowly redo an Apex into a diamonds and lapping tape system...
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. I was considering bypassing the stone upgrade kit and getting two or three of the diamond hones instead.

-John
 
Sounds like a good plan.

I let my coarse stone, from the upgrade kit, degrade too much and am hoping to get a stone pond for my b-day which will also include a hone-straightening kit. Even still, I don't my sharpening to either be quick and make messes (waterstones) or great, but slow-going (Sharpmaker). Sometimes, it's all about options.
 
Ben does sell diamond stones for the edgepro.

However I think EZe lap's diamonds are polycrystalline and not monocrystalline (stronger, last longer) like DMTs (more expensive too).

I used the diamonds on my edgepro, altho' the coarse stone actually cuts faster than my fine diamond.

I would like a coarse diamond and ultra fine diamond to complete my set tho' - I find diamonds give me the edge grit I like.
 
Talking about diamonds, I passed on getting diamond rods for my Sharpmaker and put the money into an Edge Pro basic unit. I figured the diamond rods were going to help me in changing bevel angles, then figured the Edge Pro would do the trick possibly better. I hope this is the case.

Mine will ship in around a week, as Ben ran out of the cases that come with the basic unit.
 
boink, good decision there. I bought the spydie diamonds once but resold them at a huge loss. they didn't reprofile as evenly and smoothly as the edgepro and I don't think they were worth their $60 tag, honestly, especially if you have the edgepro.

If you're ordering the edgepro directly from Ben, get another coarse stone (they cut very fast but wear out fast too) and more polishing tapes. they're worth it.

I think you'll find that the edgepro is the best benchtop manual sharpening tool in the market.
 
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I will call and get the extra stuff. When the thing arrives, I will probably become a sharpening mad-man, trying to learn on any partially sharpened piece of steel I can find.
 
Boink,

I have the diamond sleeves and the EdgePro Apex with upgrade kit and vido. The SharpMaker is, how do say?, phreaking kewl, but the coarse hone on the EdgePro reprofiles at lightyears' faster rates. For the Sharpmaker, it'd be more cost effective to tape or glue sandpaper onto the brown hones instead of buying sleeves.

Spyken,

You can similar grit, and even finer, lapping film in 8.5"x11" sheets at www.toolsforworkingwood.com 3M PSA backed lapping film. You can make 13 or so 6"x1" strips from a sheet with scraps left over.

I'm hoping that the extra-coarse diamond hone acts like a long lasting coarse waterstone. Right now, even though my coarse stone is getting flatter (thanks to advice from Mr. Stamp and the gang), I'm currently using it for quick-and-dirty reprofiling. Rub a burr into each side and then add a microbevel with the Sharpmaker. Finally got my dad's generic Swiss Army folder hair-popping sharp, got my Nemesis set up to take a 40-degree microbevel from the Sharpmaker, and am waiting for another sharpening moment to make my generic SAK-style knife hair-popping sharp.

That's the other cool thing about the EdgePro. It's a killer system by itself, but it also makes other sharpeners work better.
 
Yes - Faster profiling. I read that folks use both systems - reprofile or do major stuff on the Edge Pro, then do basic upkeep on the Sharpmaker.

The Sharpmaker has made my Spyderco knives exceptionally sharp, but some other knives I have need major alterations. I just cannot do anything to them on Sharpmaker that seems to make a difference. These will be my first test dummies on the Edge Pro.
 
It will be great to hear how you guys get on with the EdgePro and diamond.
I agree that the idea sounds feasible and the thought of being able to sharpen 'dry' is appealing.

However Ben, while prepared to sell a diamond hone, has always tried to talk the customer out of a purchase.

He maintains that the design of the EdgePro will allow far too much pressure to be placed on the diamond hone and this 'pressure' will literally rip the diamonds from their electro plated base.

In another life, I am involved with the 'Gem Business'
We use diamond exclusively to cut gemstones. The 'laps' are 8 inches in diameter and most have the diamond electro plated as the bond method.

A very gentle touch is required with lots of water as a lubricant and coolant. A novice cutter can destroy a $200 lap in five minutes.
Cause.
Too much pressure.
I was taught again and again. Let the diamond do the work, not hand pressure.

So I think that EZE-lap hones, sadly though their Polycrystalline, as opposed to the more desirable Moncrystalline, should work with a light touch, and for the price they are definitely worth trying.

Now I am all excited and will order a 600 red to try out.
 
Just wanted to follow-up and see how the Eze-Lap diamond hones worked with your EdgePro's and what you did to adapt them?

Mike
 
I still haven't set mine up. I'm too enamored w/my tape blank, so I'm slowly getting up the nerve to cut a channel into the sides of my EZE Lap to securely fit it into where the hones go.
 
Finally cut slots into my EZE-Lap so that it will fit into the EdgePro Apex's arm.

Now to get up the nerve to try it on my project 921....
 
I received an EZE lap 42F ( fine ) and 42M ( medium )

Both looked identical and I had to remember to mark the backside so as not to confuse which was which.

They told me that the diamonds were a combination of Polycrystalline, and the more desirable Moncrystalline. So thats good.

Although I have used diamond before for sharpening I have not yet got these two hones set up to work with the Edge Pro.

I have decided not to bevel the edges and use them directly in the Edge Pro. If you do that, it will alter the effective angle slightly.

I decided to try and duplicate as closely as possible Ben's set up.

So I have made up two aluminum blanks, 1x6 by 1/8th inch thick.
These blanks are beveled to fit in the Edge Pro and the thin Ezelap
diamond hones are stuck permanently to them.

Now I have two inexpensive diamond hones that when interchanged with the water stones, keep the angle geometry the same.

Now I have not completed all this yet as my machine shop is bloody cold but will report results when the weather warms up a bit
and I can fire up the milling machine.

My only concern is that I must be very gentle as it will be easy to apply too much pressure and rip out all the little diamonds. Ben continually warns against this.

However I love experimenting.
Thom......I agree with you that the coarse water hone cuts very well and fast and its only problem is straighting. Making it flat again take me longer than the re profiling.

Love the laser beam checker idea....
 
KCSteve's laser beam idea is a great one and should be catalogued should we ever crank out an official EdgePro Tips and Tricks paper to submit to Mr. Dale and the various knife forums.
 
So what are the advantages of using diamond hones? No water needed? Does it result in a better edge?

Once you guys figure all this out I can't wait to read up on it all. :)

I need to order some new hones from Ben, I'd like to get a new extra course and course stones. My extra course is really dished and I'm also having trouble getting it flat. I feel like the Karate kid, wax on, wax off, while I'm grinding that #$@%@ stone down but I'm not getting anywhere real fast. :)
 
Hi Wade,

I think the only real advantage would be usng the diamond hones dry. They "might" be a little faster re-profiling, but by how much remains to be seen.

Like you, I'm looking forward to what those who try it think.

Mike
 
thom - i was gonna ask you questions related to the subject topic of this thread before you refused to give your email or any contact info after i jested with your buddy allen (you can call me any time at 805-778-0888, ext 232, or email me at alan@ergogenica.com - it's not a big deal, i've talked to a few other forumites & exchanged gems of wisdom).

so to the rest in this thread - was anyone successful at "customizing" their edgepro with diamond attachments?? if so, please explain the process, & drop some pros & cons if possible at this point. thanks in advance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top