Help me understand - diamond stone sharpening

I don’t really understand the best way to move the blade across the 8” stone from heel to tip. I start with the blade perpendicular to the stone, with it elevated on the angle guide. Then I move the blade steadily forward, and when I come to the sweep/clip, I turn the blade, trying to keep the angle the same for the tip. Sometimes I bring the tip back to the angle guide just to get a feel for where it should be when it’s making contact with the stone at the end of the stroke, and it seems to be right on the money. Meanwhile the edges are convexing and I’m blunting the tip somehow.

Angle guides won't help you hold a consistent angle for the entire pass. They will only help you set the same angle at the beginning of each pass. It's up to you to maintain the angle after that, and it sounds you're not doing it very well.

Here's a video that I found recently that might help you:

It uses an alternative method to angle guides. It's more of a trick or a hack. You just mark a spot on your fingers, put your finger against the stone, and hold the back of the blade against that spot. This way you can easily hold the same angle for the entire pass.

Another forum user on here also did something interesting where they clipped something under the blade so that it would hold the same angle for them. I forget who it was or what exactly they were using as their angle clip. But anyway, it's an alternative approach that works by attaching the angle guide to the blade instead of anchoring the angle guide to the stone. I don't think I would ever do it that way, but it evidently worked well enough for him.
 
Water will reduce clogging
Outdoors55 is using his DMT plates dry and he always gets a good edge.
Northwest_Knife_Guy used soapy water when sharpening his Opinel on DMT diamond folding sharpener.
Neeves Knives does not use any liquid on diamond plates in some of his sharpening videos.
Wicked Edge quote about diamond stones... "It is not necessary to use either water or oil while sharpening. It is recommended to clean the stones periodically..."

I would say use what you think it's best for you and your diamond stones.
I don't like wet and messy... I use toothbrush to clean the plates during sharpening.
But if I would use something I would use as neutral as possible liquid like soapy water and not some poisonous stuf.
 
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Outdoors55 is using his DMT plates dry and he always gets a good edge.
Northwest_Knife_Guy used soapy water when sharpening his Opinel on DMT diamond folding sharpener.
Neeves Knives does not use any liquid on diamond plates in some of his sharpening videos.
Wicked Edge quote about diamond stones... "It is not necessary to use either water or oil while sharpening. It is recommended to clean the stones periodically..."

I would say use what you think it's best for you and your diamond stones.
I don't like wet and messy... I use toothbrush to clean the plates during sharpening.
But if I would use something I would use as neutral as possible liquid like soapy water and not some poisonous stuf.
Yes, water will reduce clogging.
 
Hehe, that's a good one.
We used to say.... if there's nothing else you can also drink water to survive.
 
Older thread, but I hope I can save someone some grief, and can 100% confirm this. I re-profiled and sharpened a Bradford G3 in M390 and a gen 2 Hogue Deca in magnacut today during a 3 hour session. Heard a lot of people liked using krud kutter so I had picked some up a while back and decided to try it. When I finished and went to wash both knives I found that they both had damage to the finish. Looks dirty and cloudy but doesn't come off with dish soap and sponge, nor with rubbing alcohol, nor with mineral oil. Pretty sure krud kutter ate the stonewash away...
I had the same unfortunate experience, only my DMT stone also has that strange cloudy appearance. I can't tell if it's only discoloration or if it has compromised the integrity of the abrasive. Did you observe anything like this on your diamond stone?
 
Krud kutter if we’re talking about the same thing is a fairly strong degreaser. It could damage/discolor some of the materials used in knives. Also lubricating diamond stones isn’t really necessary.
Can it damage the diamond stone?
 
Re: Krud Kutter...

The Safety Data Sheet linked below includes warnings that it "may be corrosive to metals" and "Causes severe skin burns and eye damage" (in Section 2 - 'Hazards identification'). Also, Section 9 ('Physical and chemical properties') shows the pH at 12.45 - very strong alkaline.

If some have had issues with damaged finish on blades & plated diamond hones after using it, I'd not be surprised. I'd never even considered using it for these purposes. Now I'm sure I never will.

 
Re: Krud Kutter...

The Safety Data Sheet linked below includes warnings that it "may be corrosive to metals" and "Causes severe skin burns and eye damage" (in Section 2 - 'Hazards identification'). Also, Section 9 ('Physical and chemical properties') shows the pH at 12.45 - very strong alkaline.

If some have had issues with damaged finish on blades & plated diamond hones after using it, I'd not be surprised. I'd never even considered using it for these purposes. Now I'm sure I never will.

Damn I feel foolish for doing that to my hone. The DMT diasharp hones have a nickel steel backing and as far as I know, nickel is very corrosion resistant. So I am perplexed by this Krud Kutter being corrosive to what looks like a nickel plated surface. I don't care so much about the blade surface because looks are not really important to me. But the potential damage to my hone is a problem. Should I try neutralizing with something or just leave it alone? As far as I can tell it just discolored it but idk. Thank you for your input.
 
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Damn I feel foolish for doing that to my hone. The DMT diasharp hones have a nickel steel backing and as far as I know, nickel is very corrosion resistant. So I am perplexed by this Krud Kutter being corrosive to what looks like a nickel plated surface. I don't care so much about the blade surface because looks are not really important to me. But the potential damage to my hone is a problem. Should I try neutralizing with something or just leave it alone? As far as I can tell it just discolored it but idk. Thank you for your input.
I also assumed nickel should be pretty corrosion-resistant, so I don' t know how damaged it might be. But it can't hurt to just make sure the hone is as clean as it can be now. If some time has passed since it was exposed to the Krud Kutter and you're not seeing any continuing (new) corrosion or changes in color, it's probably past whatever damage might be done and any neutralization method might be moot now. If you don't see obvious evidence of the diamond grit falling out or the nickel plating peeling off, or rusting of the steel plate underneath the nickel plating, I'd just keep using it and chalk it up to a cautionary lesson learned. Maybe the damage is mostly cosmetic.
 
I also assumed nickel should be pretty corrosion-resistant, so I don' t know how damaged it might be. But it can't hurt to just make sure the hone is as clean as it can be now. If some time has passed since it was exposed to the Krud Kutter and you're not seeing any continuing (new) corrosion or changes in color, it's probably past whatever damage might be done and any neutralization method might be moot now. If you don't see obvious evidence of the diamond grit falling out or the nickel plating peeling off, or rusting of the steel plate underneath the nickel plating, I'd just keep using it and chalk it up to a cautionary lesson learned. Maybe the damage is

I also assumed nickel should be pretty corrosion-resistant, so I don' t know how damaged it might be. But it can't hurt to just make sure the hone is as clean as it can be now. If some time has passed since it was exposed to the Krud Kutter and you're not seeing any continuing (new) corrosion or changes in color, it's probably past whatever damage might be done and any neutralization method might be moot now. If you don't see obvious evidence of the diamond grit falling out or the nickel plating peeling off, or rusting of the steel plate underneath the nickel plating, I'd just keep using it and chalk it up to a cautionary lesson learned. Maybe the damage is mostly cosmetic.
It was yesterday that I used the Krud Kutter but I did clean it with hot water and soap with a tooth brush. Then, I used a soft brass bristle brush to see if anything came off and luckily nothing did. So I think I'm good and I appreciate your advice and setting my mind at ease. This community is pretty amazing!
 
Then, I used a soft brass bristle brush to see if anything came off and luckily nothing did. So I think I'm good
You will see with next sharpening. If there is damage those diamonds will start flying all over your room.
So, what lubricant is next to try, perhaps some toxic waste from power plant near by?
 
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