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What are the best diamond sharpening stones available?

It's 2023, Not 1993.

DMT is not the best, it's a single layer coating of diamond on a plate, it makes a horrendous deep scratch finish even at the same grit rating since the diamond is so exposed and protrudes so deeply into the steel. It is also prone to just tearing off the diamonds and has the least longevity.


Bonded diamond stones are the future.

Resin, metallic, vitrified.
 
I've got sets from Atoma, DMT, and Ultra Sharp. The stones with the channels or the dot pattern Atoma uses feel weird at first, and they still feel different after you get used to them. I don't see much to choose beyond that. They all cut like demons.

My first diamond stone was a coarse DMT, and it is stripped bare. I bought it a long time ago and I probably leaned on it way too much.

The Atomas may be more resistant to stripping. The Atoma 140 is the only one I would single out for cutting power and longevity. That stone is too coarse for knife blades but it shines in flattening other stones.

They all need a careful and complete break-in, otherwise they are going to chip like crazy. It is hard to do by sharpening a few beaters, you need to clean up the whole surface.
 
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