Hunting for something courser than sharpmaker: DMT vs Smith

K

Kimper

Joined
Feb 1, 2006
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57
Posted in this thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=385556&highlight=sharpmaker

and got some great ideas for gettting more rapid results than sharpmaker when working on very dull knives.

I want to get a course stone and noticed some big price differences and was wondering if price coorelates to quality..

DMT course W6C stone:
http://www.theknifestore.com/dmt-ss2.php

Smith version for similair thing:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009YV6B/ref=nosim/002-0525051-1253654?n=228013

$38 vs $19

Any thoughts?
 
I don't have any experience with the Smith diamond hones so I can't say if they are any good. The DMT hones are very good in my experience. You might want to look into the black-colored hones that are extra-coarse grit. It is 220 grit/mesh.
 
I have had good results with the Smiths diamond kit, but the clamp is cheesy and the only angles they have are 20deg or 25deg per side. 15 deg per side would be nice
 
Clamps? Hmm, I was kinda planning on doing this initial grind freehand then switching to the sharpmaker.

I have a drawer full of dull cheap kitchen knives I just wanted to quickly sharpen up.. and the sharpmaker was about to give me repetitive strain injuries after an hour on one knife :)

Thanks for the quick responses guys. I may just go with the more economical Smith product then put the fine edge on with the sharpmaker.
 
I bought a Smith first and then a couple DMTs. The smith wore out but the DMTs are still going strong. To me the DMT seems to have a deeper layer of diamonds.

I just bought a DMT 3 inch by 8 inch machinists plate for my planer blades. It may be the last sharpener I ever buy.
 
Just for another opinion and something to think about. For coarse work I use a black silicon carbide bench hone. I've seen them for under $10 at hardware stores, I picked up my last one at Sears. They cut fast and you can really press hard on them if you want. They will dish but it takes alot before they need to be reflaten and they reflatten fairly easy. I think they are a great cheaper alternitive.
 
You could just buy one of the Edge Pro accessory stones in the 120 grit course for $14. It cuts pretty fast.

STR
 
db,

Went to Sear's web site, can't really see anything suitable.. What exactly is it..

DaTrueDave,

Yeah that looks very suitable :)
 
For course work I attach strips of 120 grit emery cloth to the rods of my Sharpmaker with double sided tape then peel them off when finished.
 
It's a bench hone, about 7 inches long 2.5 wide, coarse on one side medium on the other black color. The box it came in said Silicon carbide. If you have a hardware store in your area I'd take a look there. I'm not to shocked Sears doesn't list them on there site. Ordering them on line is probably going to cost more for shipping than they can be found for.
 
db--

I enjoy reading your posts. We seem to have similar sharpening experiences and reached similar conclusions.

I have had good luck with the Razor Edge Fast Cutting Coarse Hone for setting the relief grind and reprofiling convex edges to V edges. It removes metal more quickly than anything else I've tried. However, I am always interested in trying new sharpening products. I'd like to buy the black silicon carbide bench hone you mention for coarse work but wanted to know how to identify it so that I get the right one. Does it have a specific brand or model name, or numerical identification of some kind? Also, I prefer 8" bench hones. Do they come in that size? Other info, such as which hardware stores might have them, would be appreciated.

Thanks a lot!
 
ya can wrap the std sharpmaker rods with sandpaper or emory cloth 180 girit works ok on really dull stuff, use rubber bands to secure to the stone, or tape, works for me FWIW.........only con is the sandpaper kinda makes a mess.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
You can spend less than $50 at Harbor Freight, and get a 1" X 30" belt sander.
400 and 600 grit belts are available at www.jantzsupply.com
Bill
Click to expand...

I was looking at it the other day at the store. It runs at like 3700 rpms. I wish it ran at about half that to keep the heat down.
 
When I was searching for something to do fast re-profiling I went right to the big leagues. I got a NORTON Coarse Diamond Benchstone ( commercial grade) and I don't regret it one bit. It cuts steel at a very quick rate and is a great all around sharpening aid. Now I must warn you that the top of the line NORTON Stuff is not cheap. But in this case you definitely get what you pay for. This stone I have is really versatile because you can use it on the NORTON "triple flip" system.

I am a devout user/follower of the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker but I will agree with most of you guys that you definitely need something more coarse for quick reprofiling. I have a buddy who has a coarse 3M Diamond stone that he really swears by. Hope that helps.
 
The cheap coarse/fine stones are everywhere, they start at about a dollar. If you can't find them ask for axe or garden hones. They also come in the shape of a hockey puck and there are also just coarse ones which are long tapered ovals which are really coarse and dish really fast. There are also many really coarse waterstones. You can also buy really coarse sandpaper and make pseudo-files out of it which is probably the fastest way to remove metal by hand.

-Cliff
 
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