Recommend a decent inexpensive double sided diamond plate

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Grizzly3

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Apr 4, 2023
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I need something for a grandson to sharpen their inexpensive kitchen knives. I have all kinds of stones and plates, but was thinking of something like a double sided 300/600 or 400/1000 for him. I use Ultra Sharp 10x3s in 4 grits but I've heard that there are some decent more inexpensive plates being sold now. What would you recommend? Their knives are those white or black handled chef and boning knives mostly from a restaurant supply store.

He's been using a pull through and a steel. I've had him practicing today here on a diamond plate and he has decent technique from using a steel so I think he will catch on to using better tools for sharpening.
 
You can get a 400 / 1000 Ultra Sharp on the big river site for about $47 in an 8 x 2.5" size. Seems reasonable for the quality.
 
I'd considered that one and bought one of those from another supplier for about the same money and it included an adjustable holder. That deal wasn't offered anymore. I've been seeing on here where some were giving favorable reports on some Chinese diamond plates. I was hoping some here would help me find something. Using search only gave some generalities. So I looked and found this one for $31 with a holder.. I decided to try it. Hope I don't regret it. It's 7.9" x 2.7" x .3"
 
ahh., Big River, probably piranhas too. I must be getting old, went right over my head though I did check there. I've found other dealers here in the USA that beat their prices on Ultra Sharp.
 
I have the 400/1000 diamond plate from CKTG, cost me $30.00. Stills costs that much. Works fine. Google CKTG Diamond Plates. He also stocks the very good Atoma plates which are good for sharpening and waterstone flattening.
 
jc57 said:
I have the 400/1000 diamond plate from CKTG, cost me $30.00. Stills costs that much. Works fine. Google CKTG Diamond Plates. He also stocks the very good Atoma plates which are good for sharpening and waterstone flattening.
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That's where I got mine years ago. Haven't been on that site in a good while, though.
 
Grizzly3 said:
was thinking of something like a double sided 300/600 or 400/1000 for him. I use Ultra Sharp 10x3s in 4 grits but I've heard that there are some decent more inexpensive plates being sold now. What would you recommend? Their knives are those white or black handled chef and boning knives mostly from a restaurant supply store.
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Ultra Sharp is already pretty well recommended.


They seem to prefer selling through "big river", and their site links to their "big river" store page. They sell the 2 x 6 inch stones for 20 bucks each in 300, 600, and 1200.
 
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If he's used to using a steel, then maybe a DMT DiaFold in Coarse/Fine?
 
Sharpal brand 325/1200 grit diamond plate is getting very good reviews lately and supposedly has less lower grit contamination on the finer grit side than others. I have a cheap triangle 400/1000/8000 (8000 is ceramic, others are diamond) from the big river site, same honeycomb pattern as the CKTG one, and it works very well at around $30, even on S90V, Magnacut, Elmax, CPM 20CV, etc. I have water stones from like 150 up to J nats 16K+ range and honestly, just use the diamond plate and some leather strops with diamond compound on them and haven't used my water stones in a while. Faster, less messy, easier to get a nicer edge, less expensive, etc.
 
Link below is to a post here on Bladeforums showing some of my sharpening tools, including the S SATC 400/1000 diamond plate 8x3 inch size for $22 currently on the river site. (Note space between "S" and "SATC" in the brand name.) It's the plate I use & find it to work well.

The Sharpal 162N is the 8x3 plate that Outdoors55 on YouTube found to be free of grit contamination, but it costs around $70. So the S SATC plate above offers better value on a strictly cost per square inch basis.

If the young 'un is already good with a steel, a diamond rod may work well for him. I get good results from a Dexter 10" oval cross section rod, though I often enough wish it were 12" or even longer. It's worn to a finer feeling grit than when it was new. I also have a slightly coarser diamond rod that I think is a Mercer brand. I find the rods at restaurant supply stores.


Best of luck with your search.
 
RokJok said:
Link below is to a post here on Bladeforums showing some of my sharpening tools, including the S SATC 400/1000 diamond plate 8x3 inch size for $22 currently on the river site. (Note space between "S" and "SATC" in the brand name.) It's the plate I use & find it to work well.

The Sharpal 162N is the 8x3 plate that Outdoors55 on YouTube found to be free of grit contamination, but it costs around $70. So the S SATC plate above offers better value on a strictly cost per square inch basis.

If the young 'un is already good with a steel, a diamond rod may work well for him. I get good results from a Dexter 10" oval cross section rod, though I often enough wish it were 12" or even longer. It's worn to a finer feeling grit than when it was new. I also have a slightly coarser diamond rod that I think is a Mercer brand. I find the rods at restaurant supply stores.


Best of luck with your search.
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Thanks for the good recommendations from all of you. This thread was slow getting started and so I assumed everyone was tired of answering the same old questions. I'd heard more than a few reporting that they had like some of the Chinese plates on other threads, especially the one where I said Chinese plates were junk :), so I went ahead and ordered the one from post 3. I'm hoping it works out well and since it came with a holder for about $30, I went with it. Should arrive soon and I hope it works for him.

After reading your post RikJok, I also just now ordered that magnetic angle guide for him. They come in a two pack for about $7 from the river place with all the piranhas swimming around in it. I'll give one to him and the other to my daughter who is also learning. These threads are always good to have for those searching for this info. I know I did, but didn't find what I'd been hoping to find. So thanks for all the help.
 
Grizzly3 said:
This thread was slow getting started and so I assumed everyone was tired of answering the same old questions
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This subforum is not as active as some others, so it can take a while for enough of the regular posters to see the discussion and chime in if they have any input.

Sharpening questions usually end up in the Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment sub where there are a lot more people talking about sharpening gear. So you are just getting that subset of people who are both into kitchen knives and sharpening them. :D
 
FWIW, my coarse/extra coarse stone is a double sided DMT. Works great for my axes and chisels. Haven't needed them for knives as I always keep them sharp and am not re-profiling edges. I use different stones for medium and fine (Spyderco bench stones and Sharpmaker). That said, I don't have too many superhard steel knives and my Wusthof kitchen knives are my main use knives these days.
 
Thank you all again for the replies. This is always good information for those searching for help. Personally, I've an assortment of stones. I was reading on here where a famous knifemaker always relied on a Norton fine India stone for his carbon steel knives. So, I found and bought one since most of my kitchen knives are carbon steel from older, long gone makers. I've also used Arkansas stones for years on both our kitchen knives, which were mostly stainless back then and my Old Timer stockman I used for about 18 years as a mechanic - until the lock blades became popular. The knives my daughter uses and which her son will be sharpening are stainless and not very hard steel, but I thought that by giving him a diamond plate, since he showed promise in how to use one after a recent visit here, would shorten and ease the amount of time it takes to put a working edge back on their knives.

I started buying my own diamond plates (5) once I bought a few knives with very hard, tough steel, like K390 and Spyderco. Now I use them on most everything except my carbon steel knives which I've been using the Norton India stone on or my Spyderco ceramics. I really don't need anymore stones, I hope. But, wanted something for the grandson to learn on and work with until he develops his own thoughts on sharpening. A few squirts of Krud Kutter on a diamond plate is much easier for him to work with than honing oil on other types of stones. The recommended angle guide should also help him as he learns, so thank you all again.
 
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