Harbor Freight diamond stone block?

[number9]

I was in Harbor Freight the other day, picking up a wheel and tire for my wheelbarrow and saw this:

4-Sided Diamond Hone Block

Amazing deals on this 4-Sided Diamond Hone Block at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

200/300/400/600 grit.

Anyone tried one? Have any experience with it?
Worth twelve bucks? Or money thrown away?

 

[Bill DeShivs]

I have one in the garage. Grits seem a little coarser than marked, but it works ok.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

There have been occasional mentions of them here on the forum over the last few years. And for the money spent, it seems like most have been fairly pleased with them. I don't have the HF 4-sided block - but I did buy another 3-hone set of diamond hones @ HF a few years ago, for about $10. Those were being sold alongside the 4-sided block, BTW. The ones I bought weren't mounted on blocks, but instead on some rather thin and WARPED plastic - so they weren't anywhere close to being flat. In retrospect, at least the 4-sided block should retain some rigidity & flatness. I ended up mounting mine on individual pieces of 1/2" plywood, which lended flatness and rigidity and made them more user-friendly for me. As for the abrasive surfaces themselves, I don't have any complaints about their ability to hog off metal, or about durability of the diamond coating. At the price paid, it's virtually no risk to try them out - that's why I bought mine, when I saw them. Went into HF looking for something else, and bought those hones on a whim in the moment. One older posting is linked below, with a review from another BF member, of the 4-sided block.

Review: HF 4 sided diamond stone - my new go-to sharpener

Hi BF, I wanted to share with you something that I stumbled upon while walking around Harbor Freight. In my two years in the knife hobby, I've never heard of this product. HF 4-Sided Diamond Hone Block I have the following sharpening supplies (in order of purchase) Generic 2 sided sharpening...

www.bladeforums.com

Even if you decide not to use it on knives, these inexpensive tools can be used for other 'dirty job' tasks like resurfacing other sharpening stones, BTW. So they can come in handy for jobs you'd rather not use your good stones for.

 

[number9]

Thanks OwE. I shoulda found that when I searched, but I searched "Harbor Freight" instead of HF. I think I'll pick one up next time I'm in the neighborhood.
(At today's gas prices, the drive to HF costs more than the item.)

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks OwE. I shoulda found that when I searched, but I searched "Harbor Freight" instead of HF. I think I'll pick one up next time I'm in the neighborhood.
(At today's gas prices, the drive to HF costs more than the item.)

^No lie there. My shopping strategy is geared in the same direction these days - I'm strategizing routes and combining errands now, to save on gas.

 

[R_Shackelford]

I have one of the four sided stones. It will definitely remove material quickly, but I’m pretty sure that mine has two of the grits mixed up. Something like the side labeled 400 being more coarse than the side labeled 200 grit. This is my only diamond stone so I don’t have anything else to compare it to.

 

[catspa]

It’s not the greatest, but it’s good value for the money if it’s all you got.

Parker

 

[Hickory n steel]

I was in Harbor Freight the other day, picking up a wheel and tire for my wheelbarrow and saw this:

4-Sided Diamond Hone Block

Amazing deals on this 4-Sided Diamond Hone Block at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

200/300/400/600 grit.

Anyone tried one? Have any experience with it?
Worth twelve bucks? Or money thrown away?

Much coarser than marked, the plates are loose, and the end cap with the markings fell off.
Beyond that it was dirt cheap and it works for chisels, plane blades, machetes, and beater work bench knives.

It's not great or well constructed, but it's dirt cheap and it does work.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I have one of the four sided stones. It will definitely remove material quickly, but I’m pretty sure that mine has two of the grits mixed up. Something like the side labeled 400 being more coarse than the side labeled 200 grit. This is my only diamond stone so I don’t have anything else to compare it to.

That's exactly how mine is.