Is this splitting hairs or is there an advantage to this: Atoma 140 / 400 Lapping

J

J Thomas

Joined
Feb 26, 2003
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I currently have an Atoma 400 that I use to lap Shapton Glass Stones: 500 - 2,000 and 16,000.

Would there be an advantage to get an Atoma 140 to lap the Shapton Glass 500 and maybe a future 1,000 thus using the Atoma 400 for the higher grit Shapton Glass Stones?

I'm wondering if the Atoma 400 is too close to the Shapton Glass 500, maybe the 400 doesn't groom the stone like a Atoma 140 would?

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The Shapton Glass stone is grid J400 or 29,4µ . The Atoma 400 (400ANSI?) is 45µ. Since both are quite similar, you stress the atoma if you do that all the time. And you have no advantage: the Glass stone doesn't get better or faster.

For trueing the Atoma 150 ist the best option for all stones J180 or higher. For maintenance only, a grid near (although a bit rougher -> higher µ gridsize) the stone you want to condition is acceptable.

The best investment to start with is the Atoma 400 since it provides the best option for grids above J1000 for trueing and maintenance. Further down the road or with more stones you have to initialy true the Atoma 150 would be a wise investment, since it prolongs the lifespan of your Atoma 400 significantly.
 
The Atoma 140 is too coarse for anything beyond 500 grit in the glass series and beyond about 1k in the pro series, IMO. I have switched from my SGLP to my Atoma 140 on my SG500 and while the surface texture feels coarser the stone does not perform any differently. The reason I stopped using my SGLP is not because it didn't texture the surface of the 500 properly, but because I didn't want to send my nearly $400 lapping plate to an early grave. If I ever have to replace the SGLP it will probably be with an Atoma 400... FYI.

The real reason to get the 140 or even another 400 would to use one as the dedicated lapping plate. Technically, you don't want to sharpen with the same plate you lap with, you can wear the surface of the diamond plate unevenly which will give you a surface that is no longer flat. Not really a big deal unless you sharpen a lot.
 
Jason B. said:
The Atoma 140 is too coarse for anything beyond 500 grit in the glass series and beyond about 1k in the pro series, IMO. I have switched from my SGLP to my Atoma 140 on my SG500 and while the surface texture feels coarser the stone does not perform any differently. The reason I stopped using my SGLP is not because it didn't texture the surface of the 500 properly, but because I didn't want to send my nearly $400 lapping plate to an early grave. If I ever have to replace the SGLP it will probably be with an Atoma 400... FYI.

The real reason to get the 140 or even another 400 would to use one as the dedicated lapping plate. Technically, you don't want to sharpen with the same plate you lap with, you can wear the surface of the diamond plate unevenly which will give you a surface that is no longer flat. Not really a big deal unless you sharpen a lot.
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I just want to confirm my understanding of what you said. For 500 grit and coarser, you use the atoma 140. But for finer grit shapton glass stones, you still use the Shapton Diamond Lapping Plate? And you're not saying I can use the atoma 400 for the finer grit shapton glass stones, right? Just for the coarse stones?
 
Kinda, but not really.

The Atoma 400 for 500-30k Shapton.
The Atoma 140 for bevel setting and coarse stones. Although, not recommended on the 120, it will actually smooth the stone and can damage the diamond plate.
 
Thank You Jason for the experienced insights.

It sounds like the Atoma 140 on the Shapton Glass 500 would help save some wear and tear on my Atoma 400. Overall, for my needs right now the Atoma 140 is not a necessity, but would be nice to add to my sharpening table someday. At this time, I have used my Atoma 400 twice to lightly sharpen a blade, I'll make sure to stop that and use it exclusively for lapping my Shapton Glass stones.

Jason - I have the Shapton Glass 120 and 220 ... do you have any experience with the Shapton Glass 320? I'm not crazy about the SG 120, but it does work. However, I like the SG 220. I'm wondering what the 320 would be like. I use the SG 500 but the edge it leaves is not as toothy as I would like. I'm thinking the 320 might be that "Aha" stone I'm looking for in the roughter edge search.

Thank You.
 
Jason B. said:
Kinda, but not really.

The Atoma 400 for 500-30k Shapton.
The Atoma 140 for bevel setting and coarse stones. Although, not recommended on the 120, it will actually smooth the stone and can damage the diamond plate.
Click to expand...

Okay, so you are saying the Atoma 400 with its rated 45 micron and, more importantly, $96 tag will do the work of the $400 Shapton lapping plate, right?

Because I am considering the benefits of lapping flat but the $400 price is making me gulp along with the idea that it too will eventually wear out and need replacing.
 
J Thomas said:
Thank You Jason for the experienced insights.

It sounds like the Atoma 140 on the Shapton Glass 500 would help save some wear and tear on my Atoma 400. Overall, for my needs right now the Atoma 140 is not a necessity, but would be nice to add to my sharpening table someday. At this time, I have used my Atoma 400 twice to lightly sharpen a blade, I'll make sure to stop that and use it exclusively for lapping my Shapton Glass stones.

Jason - I have the Shapton Glass 120 and 220 ... do you have any experience with the Shapton Glass 320? I'm not crazy about the SG 120, but it does work. However, I like the SG 220. I'm wondering what the 320 would be like. I use the SG 500 but the edge it leaves is not as toothy as I would like. I'm thinking the 320 might be that "Aha" stone I'm looking for in the roughter edge search.

Thank You.
Click to expand...

I don't have the 320, it's the one coarse SG I don't have. Totally agree on the 120, it seems to work great on PM steels like S30V but for kitchen knives or most anything else it kinda sucks. The 220 is better but they both need to be lapped with SiC powder to provide proper surface texture otherwise they don't work very well. it's my personal opinion that their binder is too strong on the 120 and 220 for the stone to remove metal like it should. I'll be ordering the 320 tonight so I can let you know in a few days what it's like.
 
Rey HRH said:
Okay, so you are saying the Atoma 400 with its rated 45 micron and, more importantly, $96 tag will do the work of the $400 Shapton lapping plate, right?

Because I am considering the benefits of lapping flat but the $400 price is making me gulp along with the idea that it too will eventually wear out and need replacing.
Click to expand...

The SGLP is 320 grit but not that aggressive when compared to the Atoma 400. Now, I'm not bashing the SGLP in any way, it is very expensive but it is also very high quality and is by far the best lapping tool I own. That said, its not so amazing that the average sharpener should even consider buying it, it's not $300 more amazing than the Atoma 400 and yes, it's going to wear out like any diamond plate. Harrelson, told me that it was designed to last a professional woodworker 3 years. If it makes it two in my hands I will be throughly impressed.
 
Thanks for the answer. My concern was to get at fresher surface, not so much bowing although I can see that an extreme dip would definitely affect the angle.
 
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