Is my diamond plate okay?

[Charlie Stanford]

Which loose grit is being trapped - the stone's or the diamond plate's?

What exactly is your recommendation again?

[David Weaver]

The stone's. Recommendation is to use the diamond plate as it is. When you use tools, they wear.

[Mike Brady]

Is your new diamond plate a Dia-Sharp as stated or the special-for-flattening Dia-Flat?

[David Weaver]

Good point, Mike. I think we've been assuming that it's a dia flat, but it doesn't look like the edges are rounded as they are on a diaflat.

[Mike Brady]

I don't think that the Dia-Sharp is guaranteed, so its an important distinction. I'm not a sharpening maven, but I have seen mention of folks using the Dia-Flat for both flattening and sharpening to take advantage of the "revolutionary anti-wear treatment" it receives in manufacturing. I flatten my stones with a Dia-Sharp, but its one of the long ones (11x3?). It does a nice job on both natural and synthetic stones.

Also, someone up above mentioned the plates with the dots....I don't think that feature does anything but cut down on the amount of surface area that contains diamonds. The dots themselves serve no functional purpose.

[David Weaver]

I think DMT claimed that the interrupted surface on the dotted plates gave swarf somewhere to go. If you looked at them, however, they were at the same level as the rest of the diamond matrix after some use, if not initially.

I'm not sure exactly what the change is on the diaflat in terms of the coating, but I looked briefly at the one I zipped off to stu, and it looked by inspection like it was a thicker electroplate. Whether anything else special is done on it, I don't know. Out of manners, I didn't use it since it was ammunition in a years-long trade war I have going with Stu. It was an interesting piece of gear, though looks and feel of it left me wondering where the $175 price tag comes from. It would be a nice item at a single c-note.

[Steve Friedman]

I think DMT claims that the Duo-Sharp (the one with the holes) is flatter than the Dia-Sharp. Not sure if it's true, but DMT does guarantee the flatness of all their plates. Excerpts from the DMT Website:



All DMT® products are made using the highest quality materials and workmanship and are guaranteed to be free of defects. Any product found to be defective, will be replaced free of charge – it’s that simple!

When used properly, kept clean and stored dry, DMT® diamond sharpeners will last a very long time. They do not last forever, but they last for years and years. If you use your sharpener as part of your daily work and use it many times a day, you will likely need to replace it in a few years after extraordinary service.

DMT® sharpeners are very, very flat. The DuoSharp® models are engineered to be precision flat – incomparable to any other sharpening stone on the market today. However, if you are concerned that your sharpener is not flat enough for your application, send it back to us for evaluation. Please send it to

DMT® Customer Service
85 Hayes Memorial Drive
Marlborough, MA 01752

To maintain your sharpener, you should clean after each use with water and wipe dry. After several sharpenings, use a mild kitchen abrasive cleanser and a nylon scrub brush.

If you have not cleaned your sharpener on a regular basis, it could be full of metal fines (swarf buildup) which is clogging the stone surface and affecting its performance. If you are concerned that the diamond may have worn off the stone, rub the sharpener against an old glass jar. If the sharpener scratches or frosts the glass, then there is diamond on the sharpener ready for your sharpening needs.

The DMT Dia-Flat™ Lapping Plate.
It utilizes 120 micron / 120 Mesh size diamond to quickly flatten any grade of waterstone or any other type of sharpening stone. Use of our newly developed proprietary DMT® Diamond Hardcoat Technology™ allows the Dia-Flat™ to withstand the extreme service conditions incurred when flattening other abrasive sharpening stones.

Some DMT Diamond Sharpeners could be used (and have been used) for flattening, however, they were designed for sharpening, not flattening, therefore, DMT assumes no liability for sharpening stones worn out due to this method of use.



I've become an Atoma convert, but the DMTs should work as well. Not sure what DMT's typical response is when a plate is returned to them.

Steve

[Mike Holbrook]

I bought a DMT Dia-Flat recently as I read that the guys at LN were raving about them at wood shows etc. and I wanted something very flat to flatten....The box on my Dia-Flat says Hand-certified flat to +or- 0.0005". I picked one up at Highland Hardware's annual 20% off on one non power tool sale.

David, DMT says the Dia-Flat has over 30 carats of diamond and claims their "Hardcoat Technology" last longer than any other diamond lapping plate. Mine measures 10" long x 4" wide x -3/8" thick. As you know it is very heavy.

oops someone beat me to the punch on some of those stats!

[David Weaver]

The duos are always flat. It's probably easier to make super dead flat plastic cheaply than it is to make metal inexpensive.

What I've seen of diamond hones, though, when they're out of flat it is a lot more gradual than the OP showed. Loose swarf will always abrade the middle of a plate the fastest.

I wonder when the part about not replacing hones due to (presumably stone) flattening was added. I never noticed it, but I blew out a duosharp using it only for metal and didn't send it back to them as I got my money's worth out of it, so I don't have any familiarity with their warranty.

(I am also a fan of the atomas, they make the most money sense if longevity is a concern)

[Sam Takeuchi]

'Dia-Sharp" plates are not flat and they are quite random in its unevenness. I bought 3 plates in my early days and all of them were varying degree of unflatness. They guarantee within manufacturing tolerance, if I remember right, written in some paper that came with the plates and it was generous tolerance. And besides, Dia-Sharps didn't last that long and I have never ever missed them. Now I have a stropping leather glued onto the plate. At least for that, it's a good chunk of steel plate, albeit stupidly overpriced.

[David Weaver]

I believe the tolerance was 5 thousandths of an inch. The tolerance is less for the diaflat plate, but the price reflects it.

The ezelap diamond laps make a lot more money sense than the diasharps and duosharps, but I don't know how flat they are. If I had a blown out diasharp, I would use it as a base for cheap loose diamonds.

The atomas are always flat.

[Robert Bernard]

Wow. All this discussion for what I thought was a mundane question.

I checked the dia-sharp with the edge of a precision scale and its close enough to flat to make me happy. I'm not designing space shuttles I'm working wood.

I like the answer that swarf trapped in the middle may have worn the nickel playing faster as I was flattening the shapton. Also the shapton was high in the middle (brand new stone).

Thanks for the help!

[Charlie Stanford]

Wow. All this discussion for what I thought was a mundane question.

I checked the dia-sharp with the edge of a precision scale and its close enough to flat to make me happy. I'm not designing space shuttles I'm working wood.

I like the answer that swarf trapped in the middle may have worn the nickel playing faster as I was flattening the shapton. Also the shapton was high in the middle (brand new stone).

Thanks for the help!

Here's how the manufacturer/distributor says to flatten, for point of reference if nothing else. Looks thorough enough to me. Did you do it just like they said, with the reference plates they recommend? It appears to me the fine folks at Shapton have everything covered. I wouldn't deviate one iota were I lucky enough to own some of their stones.

http://hmsenterprises.com/webstore/h...aintenance.php

Or maybe you weren't trying to flatten Shaptons. Thought I saw the name mentioned in a post.

[David Weaver]

There is no reason to buy shaptons overpriced reference lap. It also has a finite life. .

[Charlie Stanford]

There is no reason to buy shaptons overpriced reference lap. It also has a finite life. Perhaps, charlie, you could refrain from providing advice until or unless you have actual experience.

I think following the manufacturer's instructions for maintaining their product is always good advice.