Questions about DMT diamond aligner stones

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WillieD

Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Messages
267
I bought a DMT aligner kit awhile back and like using it but have a few questions about using the stones by themselves. I have a Mora and a Spyderco Bushcraft with Scandi grinds that I need to sharpen. What I did was put the dmt stone in the holder and them clamped it flat in a vise and used it like a normal stone. I did the mora last night and it curls paper like crazy now, but even with the X Fine stone, the bevel is marked up terrible. I did a swipe on the Bushcraft and stopped because it really marked it up. If I grab a XX Fine stone will I be able to get a better finish or should I just get a normal stone of some sort to try to sharpen these? Would wetting them help with the polish at all? They are fairly new, but I have done a few knives with them already. I tried laying the rods of my Sharpmaker in the bottom of the holder and sharpen that way, but the stones are too far to the middle and the grips of the knife gets in the way. Any suggestions?
 
Yes use water for lube They will work much better. I get a nice finish even the fine.

Lay a pieced of 2000 or better yet 3000 grit wet/dry sand paper on something flat and you can probably get the sctatches out
 
Diamonds cut deeps and though the EEF stone would make the bevel polish up you would still have grind marks, its just how the diamond stones work. Soapy water and light pressure will help with the scratch pattern and if the stones are broke-in that makes a big difference too. Diamonds for a scandi grind would not be my first choice though, waterstones or sandpaper on a hard flat backing seem to do the best at sharpening that type of bevel. Sandpaper on glass would be my first suggestion unless you have the money and want a set of waterstones.
 
You bet sand paper is about as good as anything, BTW, What you suggest for a good bench stone to start into the water stones? Maybe a good combo?
 
I've never used them but the norton's seem to be a good choice. I'm betting the Naniwa are just as good if not better though. Waterstone selection is very, very large so I guess it would all depend on what your looking for as far as the feel of the stone goes.
 
My son has a ton of them but they are all for the edgepro. I can still get a good feel for them though.:thumbup:
 
Thanks. I think I'll stick to the sandpaper for now. Finest I have right now is 1200, but hit the Sydie with 1000 wet and then 1200 wet on a pane of glass going spine first like stropping and it doesn't look too bad. I hit it with the strop and it's even getting better. I have to do more later, but it shaves easily and now curls paper without effort. I'd like to try water stones, but don't have the money right now. I don't free hand so well, so I think I'll try to start with some cheap whetstones if I go that route. I guess taking the course and X fine DMT's along in the field might be OK, right. They'll get the job done, just not look so great.
 
Howdy. It's kind of a pain in the butt, but a friend of mine and I slapped a little piece of aluminum in his Bridgeport, and milled it to the dimensions of the original DMT stones. Shaved the "puck" a bit thinner, and applied a thin piece of leather to it.

I found that if you load up the leather with green compound, it works fairly well at removing the scratches, provided you didn't stop at something like 325 grit, hehe.

By the way, I've been lurking here forever, and you people are amazing with how much knowledge you have, and more importantly... SHARE. Thanks for all the useful info!
 
These people are great around here. Got the blade looking pretty good with the wet/dry paper. Anyone know where to get the finer grit paper at? 1200 is the finest I can find around here. Also, since diamonds are so hot for a Scandi grind and I don't want to drop the green on water stones, what are thoughts on small ceramics like the Spyderco Double stuff? Small enough for the field and has a med and fine grit. Thanks
 
WillieD said:
These people are great around here. Got the blade looking pretty good with the wet/dry paper. Anyone know where to get the finer grit paper at? 1200 is the finest I can find around here. Also, since diamonds are so hot for a Scandi grind and I don't want to drop the green on water stones, what are thoughts on small ceramics like the Spyderco Double stuff? Small enough for the field and has a med and fine grit. Thanks
Click to expand...

An automobile paint shop should have any grit you want.
 
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