Favorite diamond stones or whetstones?

C

chezberger27

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Jun 6, 2023
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I’ve been looking into buying diamond sharpening stones or whetstones for sharpening my blades, but i can’t seem to decide on which brand or which type of stone to get. Would love to know peoples favorite brand and stone and the reasons why.
 
I definitely prefer diamond. They stay flat and the corners stay crisp.

I started with Smith’s diamond sharpeners. But they stopped making the large bench stone. 😞

This is what I use now. It’s got me spoiled now IMG_5595.jpeg
 
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DMT from xx-coarse to ee-fine in 6" to 12", many double-sided, with two bases and the magnetic holder, some of the folding ones for the field, and a leather strop.

Over 3 years, pretty much the catalogue. 😁

Why? Had some other brands that I ended up giving away to friends & family, and found a seller of DMTs on eBay where I kept getting them at an affordable level.

I'm set for life with those, now.

If you're looking for the bare minimum, I'd recommend a coarse/fine 6" DIA-SHARP.
 
Dmts and atomas. I also have the venev diamond bonded that I don't use much. The atomas I bought for lapping whetstones but they work well for knives. My favorite is an x coarse dmt 11 1/2 " x 2 1/2" for reprofiling or heavy work. The rest are the 8"x3".
 
Great topic. Here is what I have settled on over my years of knife ownership.

Diamonds:
DMT all the way. I own Dia-Sharp plates in coarse, fine, and extra fine. In addition, I own a diafold for portability in course and fine. Excellent products.
Whetstones:
I have no reason to venture beyond the King combo stone in 1000 and 6000 grits JIS. Love the polishing capabilities of the 6000 side, and the 1000 side gives what I consider perfect feedback. Perhaps a little soft, but the price is inexpensive so replacement is painless. I also keep around a Sharp Pebble combo stone in the same grits. While the 1000 side is serviceable, the 6000 side is garbage and I never use it.
Others:
I have a nagura stone in 8000 grit and a dressing stone in 600 grit. The former is effective at removing the swarf from higher grit stones and also provides some 8000 grit swarf to my 6000 stone for a better polish, when I am in the mood to get a mirrored look. The dressing stone is used as a gentler alternative to my flattening stone. I like it better, unless I need a severe re-leveling of a stone and then I go to work using the coarser flattening stone.
 
For diamond plate, I haven't tried DMT but in my experience Ezelap and Atoma have been good. I don't think you can go too far wrong with any of the major brands (Ultra sharp etc. probably a few others). DMT are probably the most common.

For resin stones, I really like Venev. Again, you can't go far wrong with any of the major brands like King, DMD, Jende etc.

There is also vitrified diamond stones. The only ones I know of right now are sold by BBB ( DeadboxHero DeadboxHero )

Also depends on what size you are looking at (benchstone vs smaller guided system size)
 
Diamond for modern knives/steels. Traditional Japanese water whetstone for swords and carbon steel knives.

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For diamond plates, I've had a good experience with the Ultrasharp plates, both 6"x2" and 8"x3". Have the 300/600/1200/2200/3000grit. Also own some DMT in XC/C/F/EF, but I actually like the Ultrasharp better. The diamonds have just been more uniform on my examples and the diamonds haven't come off at all compared to the DMT I own. If I want something with a little bit more bite in the edge, I use the diamond plates. Don't expect a polished edge from these though.

I generally prefer resin bonded diamond stones for most of my needs, particularly the Venev stones. I love that they're dual sided/grit for the money. Got F100/F240/F400/F800/F1200 in 8"x3". I freehand these days and love the feedback they give (more for the feel vs sound) compared to diamond plates. These don't cut as fast as the diamond plates, though the lower grits like F100 are fast enough for me. However these are capable of giving a nice polish/mirror if you go to the higher grits. The higher grits do tend to load up pretty quickly though. I can do maybe 5-10 knives before I feel like I need to clean them, but a magic eraser and a nagura get them ready to go in no time.

I use Shapton glass ceramic stones (8"x3") for anything that's not high in Vanadium content. They work well but I kind of don't like the sound feedback they give. Almost sounds like scratching a chalkboard sometimes:eek:. Own the 220/500/2000grit. Going up to the 2000 brings up a decent polish if you decide to go that high and they have plenty of stones with much high grits available too. Honestly the 500 would make a great one and done stone though. That one is my favorite of the three I own.

Own some Spyderco ceramics as well, the Medium/Fine/UF in 8"x2". I only like these as finishing or touching up stones. The medium just don't cut fast enough to use for reprofiling. They leave a very nice edge though in whichever grit you decide to use. I might follow up the Shaptons with the Fine and Ultra Fine if I want a nice polish.

Just got a couple vitrified diamond stones recently and those things are beasts. They have the cutting speed of the diamond plates, but the scratch pattern of the resin bonded diamond stones. Was only able to grab a 400 and 1000grit. Wishing I could've grabbed a 3000, however it was out of stock at the time. I feel like I could've just gone straight to the 3000 from the 400 with how fast they cut. I've only sharpened a couple knives on them so far but initial impressions are favorable.
 
I have sets of diamond plates by Atoma, DMT, and Ultra Sharp. I have used them all, and I do not see a great deal of difference from one manufacturer to another. They all do what they are supposed to do, on the hardest, most stubborn steels, and leave a consistent satin finish. They will do things that the best natural stones cannot, and they are less expensive than natural stones.

The Atoma 140 seems to cut better and last longer than the low grit stones from DMT and Ultra, otherwise I would suggest buying 8x3 diamond plates from any of those three manufacturers. Buy whatever is on sale.

One extremely important issue to keep in mind is the break-in is life-or-death important! Failing to completely break in your new diamond plate is a one-way ticket to Chip City!!! All the new stones need it, and they will let you know right away if you fail to take the ten minutes it takes to get the stone ready for use.

Lube with diluted Krud Kutter, strop with diamonds.
 
I prefer bonded stones over coated whenever possible, for a variety of reasons. Aluminum oxide and silicon carbide work just fine and dandy for most steels, including high-vanadium steels up to ~400 ANSI, and high-chromium carbide steels up to any grit.
 
Norton C/F India stone, in aluminum oxide, for simpler steels like 1095, 420HC, 440A, etc. Works especially well on 420HC & equivalents, like kitchen cutlery, and it's my favorite for those.

Anything with much more wear resistance like D2, S30V/90V/etc., I'll do with diamond (DMT). Even more important at the refinement end of sharpening, for best results.

Silicon carbide (SiC) stones are great for hogging off a lot of steel for big grinding & reprofiling jobs. Keep the stone well-lubricated - oil is best for these.
 
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Khromo said:
I have sets of diamond plates by Atoma, DMT, and Ultra Sharp. I have used them all, and I do not see a great deal of difference from one manufacturer to another. They all do what they are supposed to do, on the hardest, most stubborn steels, and leave a consistent satin finish. They will do things that the best natural stones cannot, and they are less expensive than natural stones.

The Atoma 140 seems to cut better and last longer than the low grit stones from DMT and Ultra, otherwise I would suggest buying 8x3 diamond plates from any of those three manufacturers. Buy whatever is on sale.

One extremely important issue to keep in mind is the break-in is life-or-death important! Failing to completely break in your new diamond plate is a one-way ticket to Chip City!!! All the new stones need it, and they will let you know right away if you fail to take the ten minutes it takes to get the stone ready for use.

Lube with diluted Krud Kutter, strop with diamonds.
Click to expand...

What is your typical "break in" process?
 
Venev resin boded diamond stones for me. I just don't like the feel of plates, and they don't leave as nice a finish.
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
What is your typical "break in" process?
Click to expand...
I have two methods that seem to work really well at knocking off the high diamonds.

The sharp, squared edges of a kitchen knife's spine do a good job of breaking in a stone, with the added advantage of smoothing the spine so a pinch grip is much more comfortable. Dragging the sharp edge of the spine across the new stone lets you easily feel the surface; gritty and rough when you start, smooth as can be after just a few minutes. Light to moderate pressure, and keep the surface flooded and well rinsed. You will know when you are finished!

If there are no kitchen knifes with sharp spines handy, the steel surface on the back of one diamond plate can be used to break in another diamond stone. I do this with both stones and my hands submerged in a bucket of water, to ensure maximum clearance of the diamonds that break free. Light pressure, and the feedback will tell you when you are done. Works great, might be a little faster than the spine of a kitchen knife.

I recently sharpened an S35VN Wharncliffe blade on a stone with an inadequate break in. The few remaining high diamonds cleanly chipped the edge, until I broke the stone in correctly. Then I had a lot of rubbing to do to grind away the chips!
 
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