I wanna flatten my Sharpmaker Stones

N

nuggetz

Joined
Jul 25, 2013
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Can I just whip out my DMT diamond stones and have at it? The DMTs are pretty flat tho im guessing nowhere near a proper lapping plate but if I wet the stones and stick them on my super flat granite stone which is guaranteed flat- they stick together real nice.

Question I have is regarding grit. Does it matter what diamond grit I use to flatten the Sharpmaker ceramics with? Would using a grit many times lower impact the grit of the fine and ultra fine ceramics? Is this a good idea in general? I don't want to compromise screwing up the fit of the SM stones with the base but I think it should be ok. Worse case I can buy new ones. Some on the stones are very uneven and are bowed in the middle. When placed on a truly flat surface I can spin them like a top.
 
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From what I've heard, the ceramic stones (at least the fine and ultra fine) have the same grit/particle size, just different surface finishes, so lapping the stone would change the "fineness" of it.
 
What mrdeus said. They have the same particle size, but the surface finish is different on the ultra fines vs. the fines. That having been said, there are some people who recommend lapping the stones. Apparently lapping from low grit to high grit and finishing the ultras with an EEF and the fines with an EF or F should produce decent results. Here's a link to a recent thread on the Spyderco factory forum which explains this in better detail.
 
It's not worth your time.

Yes, you will change the "grit" of the ceramic depending on the grit diamond hone used.

You will also be at it for a very long time and it will kill whatever diamond hone you use.
 
I use sandpaper on flat surface (high grit paper), and then I have a 6000 grit nagura (eraser size stone) that I smooth out what the sandpaper did.

naguras are about 10 bucks and lasts me about a year, probably 5 years for average user.
 
HwangJino said:
I use sandpaper on flat surface (high grit paper), and then I have a 6000 grit nagura (eraser size stone) that I smooth out what the sandpaper did.

naguras are about 10 bucks and lasts me about a year, probably 5 years for average user.
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Spyderco ceramics are nearly as hard as diamond, nagura stones and sandpaper would have zero use or effect on them.
 
Can you actually use a set of SM stones, enought to wear them? I thought ceramics would never wear? I am having a tough time imagining how many knives you would have to sharpen, for there to be a need to flatten them.
 
There's a very strong likelihood you'll end up with all of your SM rods at effectively the same finished grit, after flattening with a diamond plate. I say this, because I've done it with both sides of my Spyderco DoubleStuff hone (they were dished; high edges on both sides). I used a DMT 'Coarse' (45 micron) Duo-Sharp bench hone. After flattening, both the 'medium' and 'fine' sides of the DoubleStuff are essentially indistinguishable from one another, and both are much, much finer in grit; almost glassy. On the upside, they make great polishing hones. But, they won't work fast at all for any significant honing, if a blade is very dull at all.

Long story short, I'd say it's not worth it, if flattening is the only goal. Even then, they don't need to be perfectly flat to work anyway. If they're too bumpy or rough, causing edge damage on your blades, have Spyderco replace them. If they're only slightly curved or warped, it's highly unlikely you'll ever notice any difference in sharpening results anyway, over another set that is perfectly flat. The SM is still essentially a freehand device, and the variability in held angle by your own hands will create more sharpening inaccuracy than a slightly warped rod will.

(BTW, the earlier comment about all of Spyderco's ceramics being the same grit size is correct; only the binders and surface-finishing are different. This is why the hones won't stay the same, after flattening with a diamond hone. It completely changes how they work, and likely not in a good way.)


David
 
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Obsessed with Edges said:
There's a very strong likelihood you'll end up with all of your SM rods at effectively the same finished grit, after flattening with a diamond plate. I say this, because I've done it with both sides of my Spyderco DoubleStuff hone (they were dished; high edges on both sides). I used a DMT 'Coarse' (45 micron) Duo-Sharp bench hone. After flattening, both the 'medium' and 'fine' sides of the DoubleStuff are essentially indistinguishable from one another, and both are much, much finer in grit; almost glassy. On the upside, they make great polishing hones. But, they won't work fast at all for any significant honing, if a blade is very dull at all.

Long story short, I'd say it's not worth it, if flattening is the only goal. Even then, they don't need to be perfectly flat to work anyway. If they're too bumpy or rough, causing edge damage on your blades, have Spyderco replace them. If they're only slightly curved or warped, it's highly unlikely you'll ever notice any difference in sharpening results anyway, over another set that is perfectly flat. The SM is still essentially a freehand device, and the variability in held angle by your own hands will create more sharpening inaccuracy than a slightly warped rod will.

(BTW, the earlier comment about all of Spyderco's ceramics being the same grit size is correct; only the binders and surface-finishing are different. This is why the hones won't stay the same, after flattening with a diamond hone. It completely changes how they work, and likely not in a good way.)


David
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Spyderco will replace these? If that's true, that is good news. More good reason that they are a solid company.
 
L2bravo said:
Spyderco will replace these? If that's true, that is good news. More good reason that they are a solid company.
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IF they're bumpy or rough due to a manufacuring defect, it should certainly be a warranty issue. Many have returned them for the same reason (including other ceramics from Spyderco). Warped hones might also be covered, though I'd personally be less concerned about that (unless it's extreme). If they're just worn out from heavy use, I wouldn't expect Spyderco to replace them (for free, anyway).

Having said that, I still think replacing them is the better option. The investment in diamond hones and time (flattening 4 of these rods would take a very, very long time), for the sake of just flattening them, wouldn't be worth the trouble, to me anyway. I've done it, and it was an 'educational' experience for me. But I don't think I'd go down that road again.


David
 
You won't wear out a ceramic stone with normal use, even in many years. If you ever see a ceramic stone that is dished out, take a pic because I have never seen one.
 
Sometimes the brown/grey ceramics wear or dish from very heavy use (like years of frequent re-bevelling; what I'd view as extreme use for these). A few members have reported issues like this, over some time (mostly in the Spyderco sub-forum). Especially on the edges/corners of the rods, which take a lot of wear on a very small surface area. Whatever binders are used on those, it apparently isn't quite as hard/wear-resistant as with the white ceramics.

I haven't seen that much wear on my SM's brown rods, but I do have another brand of ceramic 'crock stick' style sharpener that actually sloughs off ceramic 'dust' from it's brown/grey rods, if too much pressure is used.


David
 
I have built a slurry from a brown Chinese ceramic on a diamond plate.

I use to rub all of my ceramics on a diamond plate when they looked glazed. Very happy with Bar Keepers Friend for that purpose now. :)
 
A little off topic but still about refinishing ceramics. Has anyone tried using a loose abrasive? This seems to help when I have a vitreous bonded stone that polishes easily when flattening. And what are your thoughts on sandblasting a stone like spyderco's?
 
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