Diamond Plate Price Volatility?

[Charles Wiggins]

I have been anticipating buying some EZE Lap diamond plates, a la Paul Sellers (Coarse, Fine, & Super Fine), and the best prices seem to be through Amazon.com. I was holding off ordering because the Coarse plate was out of stock. Well the prices of the Fine and Super Fine plates jumped about $7-$8 each overnight. They were running around $43-$44. Now they're $50.36 and$51.65 respectively. I went to Camel Camel Camel and checked the price history and it seems Amazon's prices for the plates are much more volatile than the regular diamond market, and their prices were going up at times when the diamond market prices were declining. Any ideas why?

[Nick Stokes]

They are worth it... Being frugal is good, but I love my DMT plates (ala P.S.)... Trying the sandpaper thing worked, but my goodness it was frustrating. Now I have the plates setup in the holder that is setup as a bench hook style... So I just plop it on the bench, spray it, sharpen up, hit the strop, and get back after it... I have no idea if a 16k grit will give me a better edge... but I do know that sharpening up real quick for 2 minutes EVERY time before I use the chisel is so much more effective than trying to get a super perfect edge once every 2 weeks or whatever...

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question, and I was just rambling up top.

[Marko Milisavljevic]

Without having any specific knowledge, I would speculate that EZE Lap is paying maybe $5 for diamonds. The rest is cost of operating the plant, other raw materials, distributing, marketing, currency fluctuations, supplier incentives and on and on.

[Andrew Gold]

Amazon moves prices around constantly, and while it's rare to see movement of 10% it does happen.

It's all based on what their search algorithms are telling them is needed to have the lowest prices online. (or maybe not the lowest, but something like that).

[Ian Tompkins]

Also, Amazon prices can fluctuate drastically as different marketplace sellers come in and out of availability. They will often show the best price from a seller that offers prime shipping, but if that seller goes out of stock, it picks up the next best and advertises that as the price for the product. This may be what you experienced.

[Marko Milisavljevic]

Fine and Super Fine 3x8 are currently only about $35 USD on amazon.ca. Maybe amazon decided that US buyers should subsidize Canadians?

[Allan Speers]

I personally would use diamond plates directly for honing, but that subject has been discussed many times, so not here.

Still, since you haven't yet pulled the trigger, you might want to research this before you proceed. I'm currently very happy with my Spyderco benchstones, (using a diamond plate to initially flatten them) though I sure wish they offered the lower grits in a 3" wide size.

[glenn bradley]

Amazon prices for baby carriages are just as volatile ;-) My DMT products outlast others I have tried; Trend, EZ-Lap and some unknown name. So, cost versus value comes into play. The Trend products were a total waste of money due to an extremely short life. the EZ-Laps last pretty well, I have yet to replace a DMT product. A 'fine' 2.5" x 11.5" plate I have is many years old.

[Allan Speers]

^ What Glenn said, which is why I don't use them for direct honing. DMT uses a different, more expensive type of diamond, which does make them last longer. (& DMT still doesn't recommend using them for steel.) A set of DMT's is so expensive, that IMO it makes more sense to go with the (still water-free) Spydecos, plus a diamond leveler.

[Matt Bainton]

@Allan Speers, can you point me to any more info on the Spyderco? The 3x8 bench stone Ultra Fine seems to be more expensive on Amazon than the DMT Dia-Sharp Extra Extra Fine ($85 vs $75). But I wonder if Spyderco is a better value if the entire stone can be used vs the single sided Dia-Sharps.

I'm trying to figure out my move from scary sharp, but still have a limited budget and work space.

[Allan Speers]

@Allan Speers, can you point me to any more info on the Spyderco? The 3x8 bench stone Ultra Fine seems to be more expensive on Amazon than the DMT Dia-Sharp Extra Extra Fine ($85 vs $75). But I wonder if Spyderco is a better value if the entire stone can be used vs the single sided Dia-Sharps.

I'm trying to figure out my move from scary sharp, but still have a limited budget and work space.

Matt, Derek Cohen has excellent information re Spyderco benchstones on his website. They are somewhat expensive, but they don't wear much at all, once you get them flat, and you can use them without water. (The medium supposedly wears a little tiny bit over time, but I haven't used mine enough to even see that yet, since January 2015) I suppose you could use both sides, but there's no need to.

[Clay Parrish]

No kidding, Charles. I have been watching them for 4 or 5 months and finally bit on the 81F and 81SF when they dropped a week ago. Right now the 81C is running $77, which is high and more than I want to spend, but now that I have the F and SF, I totally see a need for one. I am hoping for a price drop before I buy the C though.

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[lowell holmes]

I've had the diamond plates for probably 15 years and I can't remember how much they cost. It was probably half what it is now, but for the time, it was expensive.

I don't care how much they cost. The arkansas stones they replaced were expensive too. I have 3 grades. They stay out on the bench.

My suggestion is to quit quibbling and get them. They are worth the expense.

I checked my sharpening box, and I have two large arkansas stones, one black and one white. I also have the Woodcraft box of slips with a oil bottle.
I'm sure the arkansas stones are as expensive as the diamond hones, and the box of slips is the same. They all are in the $40 range. So I have
$120 worth of sharpening stones that never get used.

Are the diamond plates or the stones more expensive?

[glenn bradley]

^ What Glenn said, which is why I don't use them for direct honing. DMT uses a different, more expensive type of diamond, which does make them last longer. (& DMT still doesn't recommend using them for steel.) A set of DMT's is so expensive, that IMO it makes more sense to go with the (still water-free) Spydecos, plus a diamond leveler.

Hmm, from their website regarding the DiaSharp "Stones":

"A short list of edges this model can address:Ceramic Knife, Chef Knife, Carving Knife, Fillet Knife, Paring Knife, Cleaver, Chisel, Plane Iron, Spoke Shave, Scrapers, Adze"

These would be some sort of steel, yes?

[Allan Speers]

Hmm, from their website regarding the DiaSharp "Stones":....

I am talking about their dia-FLAT plates, not their dia-sharp stones.

You're right, the smaller DIA-SHARPS are specifically made for direct honing.