DMT BENCHSTONES a review, first impression

J

Justabuyer

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May 7, 2006
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3,338
DMT Large continuos Surface Benchstones (review)

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Well I got a set of DMT 8 x 3 inch Diamond stones with Holders.

X course 220
Course 320
Fine 600
X Fine 1200

I wanted to try them out and break them in a bit since I THINK that diamond stones needs a use or two before they settle down.

I grabbed a HYPER DULL Chicago Cutlery 8 inch chefs knife that has been in a utility drawer for about 5 years and the Edge was almost the same as the spine!! Totally needed a Edge bevel set...not just reset... LOL.

Splashed a little 99 percent alcohol on the Xcourse stone as it works even better than water and helps with clean up. and did 15 strokes on the edge on one side. Done. Burr fully formed and edge bevel set on the entire blade. I almost loaded my pants. Flipped it over and did the other side.

Went to course then fine and finally pulled out the extra fine.

The results were a excellent edge from a TOTALLY dull abused knife in under 10 Min's start to finish. I did polish the blade a bit on some 2000 grit sandpaper not because it needed it but because I am a freak like that.


I really feel these stones take this to a whole new level in speed and control. Fewer strokes mean less human error and more consistent edges.
Fast sharpening sessions mean less user fatigue and better results.


Bottom line gadgets like edge pros and lanskys have their place but there is just something so cool about some hand skills and being able to quickly effectively bring a knife edge to a high level of sharpness.

No I have not given up or changed my mind about the excellence of sandpaper derived convex edges but these DMT stones are really something!

LOTS OF $$$$ your looking about 300 dollars for all four stones and optional holders.

But I sharpen almost every night for relaxation and pleasure. Everyone around me is getting hooked on sharp knives. My wife brings her kitchen knife to me every four or five uses for a quick touch up. She swears she can tell the difference....

I did a lot of reading before chooseing the DMT stones. DMT says with use of water and keeping the stones clean the will last for years of heavy use.

For the occasional user they can last for a life time. This puts them on par with other stones in terms of longevity.
 
thombrogan said:
Nice review, Justabuyer! Are those the Duo-Sharps?
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Not sure on model names...its the big solid metal 8 inch solid surface ones.

Not the interupted surface ones. I read your reply on the other thread.

You see no value in using the Diamond stones as the fastest way to reach that level of finish? Are water stones faster to get you to 3000 grit finish?

Careful what you say.... You must justify my world view.
 
Justabuyer said:
Not sure on model names...its the big solid metal 8 inch solid surface ones.
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The Dia-Sharps. Didn't know they had 220 in that size. Thought it went 120, 325, 600, 1200, 8000 and the 220 fans were Outtalucko.

Justabuyer said:
You see no value in using the Diamond stones as the fastest way to reach that level of finish? Are water stones faster to get you to 3000 grit finish?
Click to expand...

Faster and more forgiveable of user error. Gouge a fine-grit waterstone and it's fixed with a few minutes (2-3) work on a 600 grit DMT or less than a minute on a 325 grit DMT (a stone I now crave thanks to Gunmike1's reports on it). Gouge a diamond stone and the fix is learning to live with a gouged stone.

As for speed, I haven't noticed much difference between DMT's 8000 diamond and Norton's 8000 waterstone or Shapton's 4000 Glasstone - only those waterstones leave much finer finishes than the DMT D8EE. At the other end of the spectrum, my 80 grit waterstone was useless as a coarse waterstone, but DMT's D8XX 120 grit stone is a beautiful beast - a noble steed of stock-removal.

If you want to touch water when sharpening, get some float glass, a restickable glue stick, and some 3M polishing cloth ( www.ottofrei.com ) or some PSA-back 3M lapping film ( www.toolsforworkingwood.com ). For under $3 for a PSA-back lapping film sheet or under $2 for a sheet of polishing cloth (plus $2 for the restickable glue stick), you'll get a fast-cutting, low-maintenance hone which will outperform the DMT D8EE. If HandAmerican is still taking orders, their green SiC paper (4000 and 9000 grit) is great, too (and is waterproof and works fine with regular glue sticks whereas washing gluestick goo off polishing cloth can ruin the polishing cloth).

That's my opinion and experience on that stuff.
 
OK ..yes your correct the extra course is 120 grit! Expains why it eats metal like it does.

I also ordered a 8000 mesh stone as well. Wanted the whole set.

I let you know what I think after I run it for a bit!

Jim
 
I have them in all the grits but the xx coarse. They are the best knife sharpening equipment on the market IMHO. You will love the 8000 mesh when you get it. It puts a hell of a razor edge on a knife.
 
samhain73 said:
I have a extra coarse/fine one and that is 220 grit. I have a weird deal going on with it though, it has rusted somehow?! I thought the diamonds were in Nickel?
Click to expand...

It is a nickle surface but the metal you grind of knives is not. Need to dry cleanand dry them before you put them away.

That is why I use alcohol
 
samhain73 said:
I have a extra coarse/fine one and that is 220 grit. I have a weird deal going on with it though, it has rusted somehow?! I thought the diamonds were in Nickel?
Click to expand...
It is the steel filings that are rusting not the stone. Cleaning the stone before putting it up will resolve this problem.
 
There is no medium grit they go as follows
xx coarse
x coarse
coarse
fine
ultra fine
ultra ultra fine
 
I have diasharps in XX coarse, Coarse, Fine, and Extra Fine. I mainly use the XX coarse (my personal favorite for pummeling an edge into proper geometry), and the Coarse (as a sharpener and stone flattener) and the Fine (mainly for sharpening, though also for minor flattening). After that I go to Spyderco Ceramics or Sharpton Glasstones for finer finishes. Then, as Thom said, for that last level of sharpness, it is hard to beat 3M lapping films in 1 micron and .3 micron on a glass float plate. All of this talk has me ready to go to the kitchen and whip some edges inte proper shape!

Mike
 
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