Thoughts on Trend Diamond Plate?

[Paul McGaha]

Does anyone have experience using the Trend Diamond plate (340/1000 grit)?

I just saw a Rob Cosman video of him using one to flatten chisel backs up to the 1000 grit range.

He flattened the back of a new Stanley Sweetheart chisel.

Did look like a pretty easy way to get to the 1000 grit range of sharpening.

Seemed to me to be faster and not as messy as water stones.

About $123 at amazon.

To date the only thing I've ever used a diamond plate for is flattening water stones. I use the Atoma 400 I bought from Stu.

Hope it's ok to post this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOvkNuwO_YM

PHM

[glenn bradley]

Many others here with wider experience but, my Trend diamond product's life was disturbingly short. On the other hand, my DMT DiaSharp "bench stones" have been in use for years.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Flattening an O1 chisel is not difficult! I happen to have several of the new Stanley 750 chisels and both were very flat as supplied. It only took a few moments on my Washita and a few more on a transparent hard Arkansas to complete the process. No diamond needed. Maybe a test on A2 or D2 is in order?

[David Weaver]

In my opinion, they are significantly overpriced for what they are. Compare them to an iwood plate. Same thing, but the iwood is half the price.

We've seen more than one person on here say that they weren't satisfied with flatness (note that the flatness spec is given per inch, and they could be several thousandths hollow in the length of the plate and still be well within spec), and the bottom line is they are just a simple mild steel milled plate with electroplate diamonds on them (which doesn't make for a durable hone).

The atomas have an advantage in durability in that the diamonds are clumped together in little blobs instead of just being a thin uniform coat of electroplate.

It's also unclear what the origin of the trend plate is. I've seen people say they are marked china, but I also saw literature claiming that the plates are milled in the UK.

At any rate, you can skip them when an atoma is only about $80. The iwood two side is probably about the same or a little less, and the 600 grit ezelap is back down to $35 on amazon (it's my favorite of the bunch for day to day sharpening, anyway).

Most of the things cosman sells are pretty stiff in price, in my opinion (in terms of the brands he chooses, etc). Compare the fret saw with the wrapped handle to the US made zona fret saw. JWW/woodcraft also sells the trend plate, and in my opinion, they have a habit of stocking stuff that's not very competitive, and probably intentionally so that they are not competing with the drop shippers and amazons, etc).

[Richard Krushner]

I assume these are the same as found in the UK.

I have tried the single grit bench stones from Trend. I had a number returned as they were not flat. They have worn really quickly.

I spoke to their salesman at a woodworking show. It seems there have been various Chinese factories that these have been sourced from. Some sources are better quality than others. He told me that they have dropped the worst of their suppliers.

The guy did not seem that concerned that I had issue with his product. Which I found most disappointing.

[Tim Geary]

I have never tried it but I do have the dmt diaflat lapping plate and love it. It is expensive but I wanted something that would work quick and it does.

[David Weaver]

I assume these are the same as found in the UK.

I have tried the single grit bench stones from Trend. I had a number returned as they were not flat. They have worn really quickly.

I spoke to their salesman at a woodworking show. It seems there have been various Chinese factories that these have been sourced from. Some sources are better quality than others. He told me that they have dropped the worst of their suppliers.

The guy did not seem that concerned that I had issue with his product. Which I found most disappointing.

If that's all they're doing (just sourcing them from chinese sources), which I have seen described before, then they're unlikely to be any better than any of the identical looking $30 plates on ebay. Even if they had been sourced from the western world, I could never figure out where they got their pricing ideas.

[Paul McGaha]

Thank you all for your comments. An item to pass on.

I like the idea of using diamond plates to get thru the 1000 grit stage though. I've never done it. Might try it (With a plate from Atoma or DMT or Ezelap).

PHM

[David Weaver]

The 600 ezelap is a great diamond plate to use for honing. It's more comparable to a 1000 grit hone, though, once broken in.

[Bobby O'Neal]

i have a Trend plate and have been happy with it. I chose it simply as a means to support my local woodcraft store. Sure, not the least expensive option but I was willing to pay a bit more to support them and I knew if I was unhappy with it, they'd take care of it. Mine is flat and cuts quickly. I use windex as a lubricant, which works well. I am an infrequent using amateur so i probably won't be a good barometer for durability but its fairly new to me still so I'm nowhere near that stage.

[Tom Blank]

Had a Trend, it was cupped enough to be unusable for any chisel or plane iron work. They replaced it after some foot dragging. Second one was a bad as the first.

No more for me.