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Ultra Sharp plates holding up?
- Thread starter Kentucky
- Start date
Mine is holding up great. I have the 2-grit 300/1200. However, it has not seen enough use yet that I could recommend it, probably want to use it 6 months or so and more sharpenings. It does a great job of sharpening all types of blades, every bit as good as my DMT interrupted ones.
If there is a question with these plates, I think the main question I have is not can they sharpen effectively, but how durable will the abrasive be over time, compared to standards like DMT.
If there is a question with these plates, I think the main question I have is not can they sharpen effectively, but how durable will the abrasive be over time, compared to standards like DMT.
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2007
- Messages
- 11,153
I have the 400/1200 diamond pattern plate and the diamonds are holding up well and they cut very nice. What I don't like about this specific plate is the rusting issue... it rusts very quickly and a couple of the diamond pads have fallen off the plate due to the rust. For this reason I think their continuos plate would be much better.
Yes I haven't experienced rust like Jason did with his diamond-pattern ones (I have the continuous one I linked above). The way I use these: 2 or 3 drops of Norton honing oil (light mineral oil) spread over the surface during sharpening. Rinse off with water when done, sometimes use a toothbrush and a little Dawn soap if needed, usually not even that. Let it drip dry on a roll-up rack I put over the sink. I haven't seen any rusting on this plate yet.
One other interesting thing about this stone is value. It is around $68 on the site I linked earlier, you might be able to find a few better prices if you look around, also check the big river site. Now if you think about getting a coarse, continuous DMT, then the extra fine DMT (which would be the equivalent grits to this stone), you're talking in the neighborhood of $110. The way I look at it is, the $68 isn't that big a risk, and it's quite handy to have the 2 most common sharpening grits you need on a single plate. If it doesn't work out, I can always still go get the 2 DMT plates.
One other interesting thing about this stone is value. It is around $68 on the site I linked earlier, you might be able to find a few better prices if you look around, also check the big river site. Now if you think about getting a coarse, continuous DMT, then the extra fine DMT (which would be the equivalent grits to this stone), you're talking in the neighborhood of $110. The way I look at it is, the $68 isn't that big a risk, and it's quite handy to have the 2 most common sharpening grits you need on a single plate. If it doesn't work out, I can always still go get the 2 DMT plates.
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2007
- Messages
- 11,153
My uses are rather rough on a stone, its around water a lot, it gets used for flattening and I push pretty hard on a stone when I sharpen so you could say I'm abusive in my usage.
In my uses the DMT stones are still the least prone to maintenance followed by Atoma plates and lastly the Ultra sharp. For cutting speed, I would place the Atoma first followed by the Ultra sharp and lastly the DMT. Quality of edge finish IMO would go DMT, Ultra sharp, Atoma in decreasing order.
In my uses the DMT stones are still the least prone to maintenance followed by Atoma plates and lastly the Ultra sharp. For cutting speed, I would place the Atoma first followed by the Ultra sharp and lastly the DMT. Quality of edge finish IMO would go DMT, Ultra sharp, Atoma in decreasing order.
So it sounds like in your experience, setting aside the expense of the plates, overall the DMT is still probably the leader? That would make sense to me, as I have all three, and I think if $$ were no object, I'd probably just get DMT all the time.
ETA:
Jason B.
, can you also describe what you mean by "quality of edge finish?" Wasn't clear if you're referring to the resulting finish on the knife, or the edge of the plate. 
ETA:
Jason B.
, can you also describe what you mean by "quality of edge finish?" Wasn't clear if you're referring to the resulting finish on the knife, or the edge of the plate.
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2007
- Messages
- 11,153
So it sounds like in your experience, setting aside the expense of the plates, overall the DMT is still probably the leader? That would make sense to me, as I have all three, and I think if $$ were no object, I'd probably just get DMT all the time.
ETA:
The quality of scratch pattern, how deep the diamonds cut and overall sharpness. For strictly sharpening I think the DMT's are the most well rounded in this aspect.