Looking to buy DMT stones. Which one's for all around use?

J

JohnMcD348

Joined
Jul 19, 2015
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5
I've been seriously considering buying the 8x3 continuous Diamond stones from DMT for use in sharpening my knives and also for sharpening my hand tools like Hand Plane blades and chisels.

I'm used to using the Arkansas type stones. It's what I was taught to use and what I've used to sharpen my knives with all my life. I've never had or needed to do other tools until know, which got me to looking for these Diamond stones.

I use a Smith's Tri-Hone system for a few years now to sharpen my knives and can get a razor edge pretty easy with them but they are too small and not flat enough to use for wood working hand tools.

The thing is, the DMT has so many different stones, I'm not sure which one's I really need. With the Arkansas', I have 3. Coarse, Medium, Fine. With the DMT, there's 2 or 3 Coarse stones and 4 or 5 levels of Fine. They don't really have a Medium.

Is there anyone here who uses them and can give me recommendations?

Thanks
 
I use DMT Diasharp continuous hones. I have two that are 1"x4" (fine, coarse), and three that are 6"x2" (fine, coarse, extra coarse).

For basic resharpening I use fine.

If I need to put a new edge on a knife (like if it's a new knife and I don't like the steep angle of the factory edge) I will use a coarse hone. I will also use a coarse hone if I need to remove a small chip or other damage from an edge.

I use an extra coarse hone for regrinding a new edge when I need to remove a lot of steel to get the edge I want (turning a thick edge into a thinner edge).

To my knowledge, the DMT Diasharps come in only 6 grits- extra-extra fine, extra fine, fine, coarse, extra coarse, and extra-extra coarse.

For basic needs I would recommend a fine and a coarse hone.
 
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I have had trouble with DMT "stones" wearing out prematurely. The still cut, but the rate is excruciatingly slow. I like the concept of a flat hard sharpening surface. So at the Blade Show in the DMT booth, they had a new "stone" called a DMT Hard Coat. This device is supposed to be less prone to premature wear, although the engineer in the booth couldn't tell me how it was made or why it should last longer. He said if he told me, he'd have to kill me. Trade secrets. I look like an industrial spy. So I ordered an 8"X2.5" double sided "stone". The green side is 1200 mesh or 9 microns. The red side is 600 mesh or 25 microns. These are labeled extra fine and fine respectively. I haven't had a chance to use the thing yet, but I definitely don't recommend the old stuff. If and when I try the new slab, I will report my satisfaction or lack thereof.
 
DMT extra coarse is my go to for dull and damaged blades. Haven't been blown away by the higher grits. They don't finish as well as waterstones. Or cut as fast at higher grits. I would just buy an extra coarse. And use it to flatten your oil stones or buy waterstones.
 
Thanks. I noticed in the Amazon website, they list all the stones in the group and 1 of them, makes no sense, is a "Med-Extra Fine". Here's the link that shows the options for all 7.
http://www.amazon.com/DMT-D8C-Dia-Sharp-Continuous-Diamond/dp/B0001WP1L0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437828347&sr=8-1&keywords=dmt+diasharp

I've read a few posts on the web about the stone wearing out. I have wondered about that. I'm wondering now if DMT is trying to liquidate the old stock since it seems that many of them are on sale in a lot of areas. When I first started looking at these, they were way out of my price range, but now they're about 1/2 the price.
 
tiguy7 said:
I have had trouble with DMT "stones" wearing out prematurely. The still cut, but the rate is excruciatingly slow. I like the concept of a flat hard sharpening surface. So at the Blade Show in the DMT booth, they had a new "stone" called a DMT Hard Coat. This device is supposed to be less prone to premature wear, although the engineer in the booth couldn't tell me how it was made or why it should last longer. He said if he told me, he'd have to kill me. Trade secrets. I look like an industrial spy. So I ordered an 8"X2.5" double sided "stone". The green side is 1200 mesh or 9 microns. The red side is 600 mesh or 25 microns. These are labeled extra fine and fine respectively. I haven't had a chance to use the thing yet, but I definitely don't recommend the old stuff. If and when I try the new slab, I will report my satisfaction or lack thereof.
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The DMT stones can wear rapidly if too much pressure is applied - you can knock off some of the diamonds (cause you ain't wearing them down!) and thus the cut rate is much decreased. Light pressure is the key to these diamond impregnated type hones. I have the coarse, fine, and extra fine and love 'em!

Eric
 
I've had my extra coarse for 5 years. Ive used it on average every 3-4 days on knives for friends,family and customers and reprofiling. It's still working great. I've only had the other grits for a few weeks. Not impressed with the final finsh it leaves going through all the grits. The extra extra fine is the most disappointing.
 
Agreed - the grinds are not attractive. When I want it to look nicer I finish off with high grit sandpaper (which isn't very often).

Eric
 
JohnMcD348 said:
Thanks. I noticed in the Amazon website, they list all the stones in the group and 1 of them, makes no sense, is a "Med-Extra Fine". Here's the link that shows the options for all 7.
Click to expand...

The medium extra fine is a 4000grit stone that fits in between the extra fine(1200grit) and extra extra fine(8000grit). You might also want to check out the Duosharp line. You can get the 8in kit that includes the extra coarse, coarse, fine, extra fine and a nice base for under $150.
http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/DMT-Duosharp-Plus-Diamond-Kit-P248.aspx
 
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I have two of their diafolds. The coarse/fine and the extra-fine/extra-extra-fine. I've used them hundreds of times without any noticeable wear. I'm looking to get a set of 8" diasharps myself. Just let the tool do the work and don't lean into it and they work great
 
Any hone can wear out, especially if it's used improperly (like by applying pressure).

I've been using my two 1"x4" Diasharps for several years and they still work great. I get great results with the fine hone. No burr and a hair-shaving edge that cuts all day, or week depending on usage.

I found no mention of a 4000 grit "medium" Diasharp on DMT's website. I'm not saying it's a fake, but sometimes fake/counterfeit items do get sold on Amazon.
 
Ditto on not using pressure. "Let the tool do the work" I've had DMT's last for years without any problems. But I only use as much pressure as I need to feel resistance. The diamonds cut faster than other materials, but since they are in a substrate they are more easily damaged, unlike whet stones that can be trued. But, I can get up to 8000 grit much faster with diamonds

I learned how to sharpen chisels before I learned on knives, so a stone was never the last step.

For finishing up, I strop using leather treated with diamond paste, or diamond lapping film. The tube is expensive, but if you keep using the same piece of leather it'll last for years.The paste comes in 6,3 and 1 micron (2000, 4800 and 12000 mesh). The lapping film goes down to 0.1 microns which is crazy for knives, but they are worth it.

There is still more pride to be had in using conventional stones, but who has an audience when they sharpen?
 
killgar said:
Any hone can wear out, especially if it's used improperly (like by applying pressure).

I've been using my two 1"x4" Diasharps for several years and they still work great. I get great results with the fine hone. No burr and a hair-shaving edge that cuts all day, or week depending on usage.

I found no mention of a 4000 grit "medium" Diasharp on DMT's website. I'm not saying it's a fake, but sometimes fake/counterfeit items do get sold on Amazon.
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Not fake, it's for real, and is described on DMT's site.

From DMT's description of their Dia-Sharp 8" bench hones ( https://www.dmtsharp.com/sharpeners/bench-stones/dia-sharp/ ):
"On a limited, special offer basis, DMT will produce a 6 micron / 4000 mesh 8-inch Dia-Sharp® Bench Stone. Our medium extra-fine can be used to attain a polished edge on your tools and knives. If you've been looking for something between our 9 and 3 micron stones, this is for you. (Model: D8ME)"
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Might not be a lot of demand for it, which I assume is why DMT is only producing it in limited numbers.


David
 
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I found of the DMT products what is now called diamond whetstones were more effective than the "continuous" plates. Especially on chisels and plane irons. I don't use them anymore as I've moved on to more effective techniques over the years. But they work well if you have the time. A finish stone beyond the fine grit will be needed. The extra fine DMT items I never found to be worth the price opposed to other stones that do a better job cheaper.
 
fsatsil said:
The medium extra fine is a 4000grit stone that fits in between the extra fine(1200grit) and extra extra fine(8000grit). You might also want to check out the Duosharp line. You can get the 8in kit that includes the extra coarse, coarse, fine, extra fine and a nice base for under $150.
http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/DMT-Duosharp-Plus-Diamond-Kit-P248.aspx
Click to expand...

I bought a smaller set of the DuoSharp style stones a few years ago and really wasn't impressed with them and didn't keep them very long. It's that set they sell at Lowe's/ Home Depot that has the 3 stones in it. I gave them to a younger friend who didn't have anything to sharpen his knives with and I went back to my Smith's Tri Hone stones. I just took them off the base so I could hold them. I think it was just something about the holes in the sharpening area that didn't really feel right to me when I was using them.

pjwoolw said:
I found of the DMT products what is now called diamond whetstones were more effective than the "continuous" plates. Especially on chisels and plane irons. I don't use them anymore as I've moved on to more effective techniques over the years. But they work well if you have the time. A finish stone beyond the fine grit will be needed. The extra fine DMT items I never found to be worth the price opposed to other stones that do a better job cheaper.
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I'm curious about what you use for your planes and chisels. That's the biggest reason I was looking at the 8inch stones. I haven't really started doing a lot of wood working where I needed the tools. I'm trying to get all my things together now as I can. I have a nice #5 Stanley and a good set of Chisels but they're all still in the box for now. I did go out and buy a huge assortment of sandpaper with the initial intent of doing the Scary Sharp method for now but I've been looking at stones more and more.
 
DeadboxHero said:
I've had my extra coarse for 5 years. Ive used it on average every 3-4 days on knives for friends,family and customers and reprofiling. It's still working great. I've only had the other grits for a few weeks. Not impressed with the final finsh it leaves going through all the grits. The extra extra fine is the most disappointing.
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Its takes 60-90 days IMO to fully grasp the abilities of a new stone if you use it every day.

The potential results can be very good with the DMT 8000 though,

Picture1480.jpg
 
i got the fine/course 6x2 it works fine on bench top for all my kitchen knifes when i freehand,but now i only use edge pro/sharpmaker for all my folding knifes,but if you like freehanding this is a good stone to use.
 
i use DMT dia-sharp continuous stones for all my knives. i found the 8x3" models quite expensive, so i settled for the 6x2" stones. by the recommendation of a few youtubers like jdavis and a few forum members, i opted to get the coarse and extra fine models. surprisingly, jumping from coarse to extra fine on any of my knives has given some great results despite skipping the intermediate grits. after the extra fine stone, the edge bevel has a really nice scratch pattern.

i don't stop at the extra fine stone. i move on to my spyderco 8x3" ultra fine ceramic stone and am able to reach a mirror bevel at this point. i finish everything off with my strop. my final edge cuts cleanly but not aggressively. if you want toothy and aggressive, stop at the coarse stone (it makes a strangely good slicing edge, by my experience). good luck!
 
After Extra Extra Fine, further refinement is possible with Spyderco UF. Rated same grit (approx, Spyderco never published the grit as it's a fused ceramic) but the UF will definitely refine it further with light touch.

Some member(s) reported the EEf wear in period to be longer than lower rated grit, even compared to EF. As Jason said, use it often correctly, will get them to perform better
 
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