Where do Spyderco Sharpmaker stones fall relative to DMT?

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zombywoof

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Oct 8, 2012
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DMT stones come in the following grits:

Extra Extra Coarse (Silver, 120 mesh/120 micron)
Extra Coarse (Black, 220/60)
Coarse (Blue, 325/45)
Fine (Red, 600/25)
Extra Fine (Green, 1200/9)
Ceramic (White, 2200/7)
Extra Extra Fine (Tan, 8000/3)

In practice, where along this range do the Spyderco Sharpmaker (Diamond - Medium (standard brown) - Fine (standard white) - Ultra Fine) stones fall?

Thanks in advance.
 
Go through the stickies. There's a grit comparison chart you can look at. I would do spyderco medium after dmt EF. Effective grit size and actual grit size can be quite different. Especially when comparing diamond to alumina.
 
I typically go DMT coarse, fine, then jump to the Spyderco medium, fine, ultra-fine

Seems like the ceramics give a poilished/refined edge over the DMT

Just my experience :)
 
fervens said:
Go through the stickies. There's a grit comparison chart you can look at. I would do spyderco medium after dmt EF. Effective grit size and actual grit size can be quite different. Especially when comparing diamond to alumina.
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I think that sums it up. Generally, the ceramics are much finer for their given description ('coarse', 'medium', 'fine', 'extra'/'ultra-fine', etc.), as compared to diamonds described in exactly the same terms. Completely different scales of measurement, and different results. Putting the Spyderco 'medium' after the DMT EF sounds about right, in terms of the finish left by each. The EEF DMT is likely a little coarser (in finish left) than the Fine Spyderco, and I assume the UF Spyderco would polish to a higher degree than any of them.

Diamond is at least 3X-4X harder than alumina; therefore it'll cut much deeper and leave more visible scratches for a given particle size (in real units, i.e. microns), as compared to alumina ceramics. The shape of the individual particles makes a difference as well; a more jagged/edgy shape (like diamond) will cut more aggressively than a rounder or blockier particle. Alumina particles can be manufactured to be more jagged or more round/blocky, depending upon the intended end-use for them. The binders/fusing methods used to hold the abrasive will have a big impact as well. Spyderco's medium/fine/ef hones all utilize the same size grit, but the sintering/binding methods for each, and the surface-finishing methods for them are all different; this is what distinguishes the differences in 'effective' grit for them.


David
 
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DMT fine, EF and EEF are about the same as the spyderco medium, fine and ultra fine. The difference is ceramic has a burnishing effect which causes a higher degree of polish. The spyderco ceramics will produce a slightly finer edge because of this while the DMT hones leave a more pronounced scratch pattern with a bit more bite to the edge.
 
Not to hijack but i just ordered the 4000 grit dmt that one site is selling. I believe they state this may be a limited run on this grit. I figured it might be a nice option for some of the high V knives that I am carrying lately. Russ
 
zombywoof said:
DMT stones come in the following grits:

Extra Extra Coarse (Silver, 120 mesh/120 micron)
Extra Coarse (Black, 220/60)
Coarse (Blue, 325/45)
Fine (Red, 600/25)
Extra Fine (Green, 1200/9)
Ceramic (White, 2200/7)
Extra Extra Fine (Tan, 8000/3)

In practice, where along this range do the Spyderco Sharpmaker (Diamond - Medium (standard brown) - Fine (standard white) - Ultra Fine) stones fall?



Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Nice moniker, I wake up with zombie woof behind my eyes more often than not. Russ
 
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