I think I want some DMTs

Joined
Jan 19, 2010
Messages
2,312
I'm looking at DMT's continuous stones, and I'm not sure which ones I should consider getting first. I mostly want to replace my Norton 220/1K, and it would be nice to replace the Smith's 235/750 diamond combination sharpener I have as well.

Right now I go from the Norton 220, the Smith's 325, the Smith's 750, and then the Norton's 1K and I strop on some plain leather about fifty strokes. It's not a real super high polish or anything, but it shaves well.

My big reason for wanting to ditch the Norton is mostly because I'm sick of flattening it, but I noticed the DMT's also have a "XXC", and I wonder if I should consider that as well. I usually have to spend some considerable time re profiling and I think it would be a time saver, but I'm worried about having to buy a whole bunch of grits in between to polish out the deeper cuts from it.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with my tools and results now, I just think these DMT continuous stones look neat and I'm wondering what lineup of them I should consider to replace my current tools with similar results as they seem like they'd require much less maintenance.
 
How much $$$ do you have to work with?

Right now I'd only really want to spend about $100-150. Preferrably on the 100-120 ballpark of things. I've seen some of the DMT stones I mentioned go for about $40-$60 so I'm only really considering getting two right now.
 
If you only have pocket knives to sharpen, you'll do fine with the 6x2 stones. You can get these for about $23 each. If you've got kitchen knives and fixed blades, you'll make more use of 8x3 or 11.5 x 2.5 stones. Personally, I'd go with the 11.5 x 2.5 stones. They'll be more useful in the long run in my opinion.

Note that the XXC stone has rounded corners. Some people don't mind this, but I hate it because I can't sharpen the edge toward the ricasso on knives that have one. That includes pretty much every Spyderco.
 
I have the 8" duosharp system with the base and the two stones: X-Course and Course, X-Fine and Fine. Best sharpening tools I've had.
 
I have the 8" duosharp system with the base and the two stones: X-Course and Course, X-Fine and Fine. Best sharpening tools I've had.
I'm working with them now, just received them a couple of days ago (10" though). I have just ordered the 8" continuous dmt XX-coarse and XX-fine to complete the setup. I would definitely have preferred the 10" duosharp version. Too bad they don't provide duosharps in XXC/XC - C/F - XF-XXF.

I really love how the diamonds work, even surface, very visible scratch patterns etc.

I have to say I had expected more of the X-coarse in terms of rapid metal removal. Just rebevelling a large stainless kitchen knife and a buck nighthawk to have a smaller edge angle took me a long time, much longer than expected. I'm still working on the buck and was watching some youtube stuff while at it, so I couldn't say exactly how long, but I expected it to be finished in about an hour... my bad I guess, shouldn't expect miracles ;)

I flattened all my waterstones with the X-Coarse and was impressed with that though! flat as pancackes and in an amazing time. No more sandpaper hassle for me.

the 10" is a really good size, the duosharp and the base are a very good combo. It's not messy (I use a small sunscreen lotion bottle with dispenser to put water on it), but a lot louder than japanese waterstones.

(edit: wow, post nr 700 already... 300 more to go for a giveaway ;) )
 
My problem with DMT (or any sharpener for that matter) is knowing what my preferences are going to be before trying them out.

DMTs are fantastic...really.

I started with a 6x2 diamond Whetstone, and over a 20 year period I developed zero love for holes in the surface (for *ME* they add no value and create problems in some scenarios such as points and hard curves). These stones work great, but they would work as good or better without the holes IMO.

I eventually added 6x2 DiaSharps (continuous surface) and they are FANTASTIC, but they seem a little small for some larger blades.

8x3s are what I am buying now and they seem perfect. The larger sizes may be preferred, but I find that I work a lot better when all my stones are the same dimensions (every grit seems available in 8X3 but it is not easy to find in XXC and XXf in larger sizes). Visual references should be consistent for me to get *BEST* results..when I switch between stone sizes, I find greater difficulty in keeping my stroke the same.

Those are just my thoughts...not sure if they are any value to anyone or not.
 
If your going to get DMT's get the 8x3 stones, they are a nice size for most all blades and the only set that comes in all the available grits.
 
If your going to get DMT's get the 8x3 stones, they are a nice size for most all blades and the only set that comes in all the available grits.

I think this is pretty important to realize, for reasons mentioned above (same line of product with all grit sizes).

as an extra note, let me expand on my previous statement.

some products of dmt (diafolds and duosharps) come with a frontside and a backside, providing two sharpening grits on one unit.
If you'd like to have all available sizes, you'd invest in three pieces to have it all:
1. the XXC/XC
2. the C/F
3. the XF/XXF

they don't provide these unfortunately. I can only guess they probably sell more seperate units this way.
 
Back
Top