Smith's Diamond Tri-Hone for various steels?

Its really good. Like alot of diamond coated hones let the grit do the work don't bear down on it too hard or you will loosen the diamond deposits. It's a smart system for free handing.

PS they don't advertise it but if you find a black Norton economy two side stone the dark black side is crystolon it cuts fast and is a bargain for what you get!
 
cchu518 said:
Its really good. Like alot of diamond coated hones let the grit do the work don't bear down on it too hard or you will loosen the diamond deposits. It's a smart system for free handing.

PS they don't advertise it but if you find a black Norton economy two side stone the dark black side is crystolon it cuts fast and is a bargain for what you get!
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cchu,

Are you talking about the Smith's Diamond Tri-Hone System being "really good" or something else?
 
Yeah I would vouch for it the reason being is if you have a lot of kits I have like 5 systems at home they tend to get jumbled and misplaced. The smith's Trihone, Lansky turnbox, and Spyderco sm for non reprofiling sharpening jobs are great because they can sit on the bench or your kitchen counter and not take up too much space or lose any pieces.

That said I use a crystolon bench stone, and a sharpmaker for almost all sharpening or honing jobs due to how quickly I can get to shaving sharp with them.

With a crystolon or Norton alumox /sic stone you can take off metal fast when you need by bearing down on it which you can't do with an impregnated hone.
 
cchu518 said:
Yeah I would vouch for it the reason being is if you have a lot of kits I have like 5 systems at home they tend to get jumbled and misplaced. The smith's Trihone, Lansky turnbox, and Spyderco sm for non reprofiling sharpening jobs are great because they can sit on the bench or your kitchen counter and not take up too much space or lose any pieces.

That said I use a crystolon bench stone, and a sharpmaker for almost all sharpening or honing jobs due to how quickly I can get to shaving sharp with them.

With a crystolon or Norton alumox /sic stone you can take off metal fast when you need by bearing down on it which you can't do with an impregnated hone.
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cchu,

I confess to having a "junk drawer" with a bunch of sharpening odds and ends. And i was thinking how nice it would be to have a good, compact system with all it's elements in one place!

I won't bother you again about this but you're the only guy who has chimed in here that has owned and used the Smith's Diamond Tri-Hone.

If used correctly with adequate time and patience, just how sharp an edge can this system put on a blade?

On the ol' 1 - 10 scale, where do you rate the system?

Done. :)

Thank you.

Mykem
 
I would put it in the grand scheme of things a 6 or 7. So the catch is for $50, its a great system. Their Arkansas stone for finishing on the tri hone dishes really easily! And how sharp you get a blade really comes down to just how good one is at sharpening free hand. The MTE forum and you tube is where I pretty much learned how to sharpen knives. After reading through the forum if I really concentrate and apex my edges I can get the edge to shave hair on a Norton economy bench stone (the version I have has a crystolon course side on it, crazy for the $8 I paid for it at Home Depot).

But it works pretty good and at the 6 inch size its hard to find an equivalent compact set. This is only if you are really set on getting it, it won't kill you at $50. For about $28 more you can get a pair of DMT Duo Sharp Course and fine or course and medium or medium and fine (your choice) and a Norton economy tool two side stone for heavy cutting.

Or you can get a $50 Spyderco Sharpmaker, + plus course stones $15 or the Spyderco branded diamonds for $40 and have a really solid and easy to use compact system.

The DMT and Ez Laps are also viable systems I put these at about an 7 or 8 because they take a while to reprofile knives but they are great for touchups. For me I use the Lansky Diamond turnbox set for super touchups (I give this an 8 for what it is). If I'm trying to apex edges and get stuff to shave hair I use the Norton econo stone course side to the medium side than finish with the Sharpmaker. I give the Norton a 9 for how great it is relative to price and the same for the Sharpmaker.

My MIL uses the tri hone and she keeps it on her kitchen counter (except that she needs me to sharpen her knives whenever I'm over). There's definitely better but it's pretty good for $50 minus the super soft Arkansas stone. It has a tendency to dish and get clogged regularly you'll need to clean it with Comet. But it will be a year out before the dishing happens. I hope this helps. The guys in MTE create some pretty sick edges on their knives and have some pretty awesome sharpening apparatuses but they're pretty expensive and not compact systems. For me the Sharpmaker is where it's at. I keep that and the Norton under my sink, it never gets lost.
 
You've had some good feedback in these threads. At the end of the day, they all work.
Some guys just want to develop a skill because they need it. Some of the best do it as a hobby or passion or maybe a business. Sure, they may have 10-15+ Japanese water stones but I bet any of them can get a scary sharp edge with a coffee cup. They know the geometry and physics of what they want to achieve and put the time needed into each blade with whatever sharpening tool they are using.

Partly it depends on what you want to sharpen, how often you will do it, and is it a utility/need or a hobby or pleasure in itself.

At need, I just put a decent edge on a machete, some loppers, a paring chisel and a pocket folder with a 1x4 combo Norton pocket stone. It's all I had and it took a while. At home I mostly use an edge pro, India stones with black ark polish or waterstones for my woodworking tools.

Somebody already said the smiths won't handle some of the steels you mentioned but otherwise it's a nice kit. I think with two good diamond stones and a strop you can get just as far or better.
 
mykem said:
I confess to having a "junk drawer" with a bunch of sharpening odds and ends. And i was thinking how nice it would be to have a good, compact system with all it's elements in one place
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Can you tell me, aside from the carbide scraper what else do you have?

mykem said:
I won't bother you again about this but you're the only guy who has chimed in here that has owned and used the Smith's Diamond Tri-Hone.
If used correctly with adequate time and patience, just how sharp an edge can this system put on a blade?
On the ol' 1 - 10 scale, where do you rate the system?
Click to expand...
:) If comparing to a carbide scraper, every stone goes to 11 immediately :D

You can see this guy do it on a smith's coarse bench diamond stone, although he uses too much force and wears out the stones , raise a tiny burr and cut it off at double the angle with 1-4 alternating passes
how to sharpen a knife - Joe Calton
If you want your diamonds to last use water/lube and less than 1 lb (450) grams to raise a burr
use less than 100 grams for cutting the burr off
the smaller the contact area the less force you should use to avoid damage

Same basic sharpening method, raising the tiny burr is optional,
these tips are "advanced" Extreme low grit sharpening : clay brick - Cliff Stamp
Same three step methos, only shows newspaper slicing but it will shave Extreme low grit sharpening : 24 grit nubatama - Cliff Stamp
Shows actual arm hair shaving in this one Knife sharpening : 36 grit dressing stone - Cliff Stamp

The lower the grit the more slicing abiliity/edge retention
The higher the grit the more push cutting ability / edge retention

You should like this, both carbide scraper, ceramic crock stick, and diamond stones in one, under $20
517%2BkEoq-zL.jpg

actually this model might be all ceramic crock sticks, there is a similar one where one of the notches in the handle is carbide scraper
 
Screw it, i ordered the smith's diamond tri hone early this morning. I went for same day delivery so it should be here shortly.

If i think it sucks, i'll return it to amazon. But the one guy here who has one says it's pretty good so i'm betting it will be a good learning tool for me.
 
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mykem said:
Screw it, i ordered the smith's diamond tri hone early this morning. I went for same day delivery so it should be here shortly.

If i think it sucks, i'll return it to amazon. But the one guy here who has one says it's pretty good so i'm betting it will be a good learning tool for me.
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Good for you. Let us know how it goes. No better way to learn than jumping into the water. freehand is more about technique than the tool so if your edges are not what you expect, it might not be that the tool sucks. as long as you learn from it, its worth it. i havent used this tri-hone but its no different than 3 separate stones, 2 diamond and a soft arkansas. many guys do good journeyman work with those and i have had good luck with smiths products.
 
bgentry said:
What is your point? Arkansas stones still cut slowly. They still fail to cut high carbide steels. Or even low carbide modern steels.
Brian.
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What do you mean?

The soft arkansas review compares cutting speed of arkansas and explains the best use is for microbeveling, even on high carbide steels (k390 64 HRC ) because the arkansas stone hardness is greater than 70HRC.

So the smith's coarse diamond (325 grit) will cut the high carbide steels
and the fine diamond (750 grit) will also cut the high carbide steel
and even the natural arkansas stone (1000-1200 grit) will cut the high carbide steels

And if you use the arkansas for microbeveling only,
the slow speed will not be a problem,
just remember to use oil for lube
and to recondition the arkansas when it becomes too slow
 
bucketstove said:
What do you mean?

The soft arkansas review compares cutting speed of arkansas and explains the best use is for microbeveling, even on high carbide steels (k390 64 HRC ) because the arkansas stone hardness is greater than 70HRC.

So the smith's coarse diamond (325 grit) will cut the high carbide steels
and the fine diamond (750 grit) will also cut the high carbide steel
and even the natural arkansas stone (1000-1200 grit) will cut the high carbide steels

And if you use the arkansas for microbeveling only,
the slow speed will not be a problem,
just remember to use oil for lube
and to recondition the arkansas when it becomes too slow
Click to expand...

Which is still well short of the hardness of the carbides in the K390 steel mentioned. The carbide volume is HUGE in that steel, with significant amounts of vanadium, chromium, molybdenum and tungsten -- all carbide formers, and all will be harder than the novaculite in the Arkansas stone. That hardness value quoted for the steel (64HRC) doesn't reflect the hardness of the carbides themselves, but only the steel matrix supporting them. Abrading (or 'cutting') the steel matrix holding the carbides is one thing, but an Arkansas stone won't even faze the carbides in that steel; and the carbides will wear (glaze) the stone and eventually halt all cutting of anything else as well. On the Knoop scale of hardness, the novaculite abrasive in Arkansas stones is maybe ~825 Knoop, as compared to chromium carbides at about ~1400, and vanadium carbides at about ~2600-2800 Knoop. The 9% vanadium in the steel is going to be a huge obstacle in itself (compare to the same amount of vanadium in S90V, for example). And it's likely the Arkansas' cutting speed will eventually be ruined by glazing, as the carbides will eventually polish the stone, instead of the other way around. Putting something resembling a microbevel on the edge is about as much as it'll ever hope to do, and it likely won't be able to keep doing it without frequently lapping or reconditioning the stone (Cliff even points this out in the review, in mentioning how the stone will wear, slow down and/or stop cutting, and will need reconditioning periodically).

To quote the (likely most significant) conclusion in the 'Summary' section of the noted review of the soft Arkansas stone:
"•slow grinding, not a good stone for shaping"
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'Not good for shaping' is another way of saying it's not going to cut well, at least with this particular steel. Even microbevelling isn't going to go very well for very long, as it also has to be cleanly cut to be shaped crisply. Otherwise, it's likely more akin to burnishing and/or knocking loose burrs off, at best.


David
 
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bucketstove said:
What do you mean?

The soft arkansas review compares cutting speed of arkansas and explains the best use is for microbeveling, even on high carbide steels (k390 64 HRC ) because the arkansas stone hardness is greater than 70HRC.

So the smith's coarse diamond (325 grit) will cut the high carbide steels
and the fine diamond (750 grit) will also cut the high carbide steel
and even the natural arkansas stone (1000-1200 grit) will cut the high carbide steels

And if you use the arkansas for microbeveling only,
the slow speed will not be a problem,
just remember to use oil for lube
and to recondition the arkansas when it becomes too slow
Click to expand...

I'd like to see YOUR review on the matter. Cliff isn't here to discuss it, and one test does not the last word make.

It is entirely possible to make a microbevel with an Arkansas stone on that steel, as it is possible to 'steel' it with a rod of approximate same RC or even a touch lower. That's not the same as grinding steel away, a glass block might have the same effect.

The rest of the people responding here are likely doing so from personal experience. In my experience, even a freshly lapped Arkansas can barely deal with 154cm or 440C, and orders of magnitude slower than a SiC stone. I have used a Hard Arkansas to microbevel on some of the tougher fare, but that was about all it could muster. Top that off with the Smith's Arkies having a reputation for dishing.
 
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I got Arkansas Stones, Ez lap, crock sticks and man mades sharpening stones. Diamond will cut any thing you got. I grew up with Smith's products and they never let me down.
 
Here's the edge after just the medium side of the course/medium Norton economy two side stone which is $8 at Home Depot. The edge has been honed with a kitchen steel and it's wet but pulling hairs with ease.

So I wouldn't get too caught up about what you use to sharpen. Again the dmt products are excellent value stones. The Norton even better but as a compact sharpening free hand system there are way worse things than the smith's diamond hones just note that the last fine stone might only work well for realigning your softest steels. But it isn't horrible as a system.

Not as good as a sharpmaker and a Norton economy stone combo though. That little stone stand is a ghetto rig I put together using scrap wood in my basement btw, lol.

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I keep pet reptiles that are herbivores and the fact that I can mince very ripe papaya shows that the edge is pretty good!

a21de32c1fb05ea681249fccb75bdeca.jpg


For pocket knives I put a finer finished edge using the sharpmakers ceramic rods.
 
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