Just got a DMT aligner..quick review

W

wongKI

Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
1,472
Hey all. My DMT Aligner arrived today. Here's a few thoughts on it.

I got this Aligner after seeing it highly recommended. I already had a Lansky, but it wasn't cutting it in a few areas, so I decided to pick up the Aligner.

The DMT Aligner feels to me like an optimised Lansky, keeping most of the advantages of the Lansky system and shoring up its weaknesses.

For example, in the Lansky, to maintain a constant angle, you have to do three things:

-Put the rod in the correct slot
-Screw the rod into the stone correctly
-Attach the blade at the same depth in the clamp.

The DMT aligner only requires the first one-there's a clamp stop which prevents the blade spine from going too deep, and the stones switch in and out of the rod and stone holder, which are always connected. This is a lot more convenient.

The diamond stones of the DMT Aligner certainly cut much faster. I used these for the first time on my Spyderco Military. I only had 3 hones-coarse, fine and extra fine- and they worked well. Strangely, the hones didn't polish the blade at all. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, or if they just need to be broken in.

I'm looking forward to getting a extra-extra fine hone for the DMT, so I can see what it's truly capable of. Meanwhile, it'll be replacing the Lansky.

One problem I have though-the DMT's lowest angle setting is too high for me. (17 degrees per side on a 1-inch-wide blade) It'd be nice if they added an 8th angle setting at maybe 10 degrees per side for mad knife nuts:) Then again, real mad knife nuts would learn to freehand:D (Anyone with a DMT care to add a tip or trick to thinning the edge angle?)

Speaking of which, the DMT is much better for freehanding than the Lansky hones, as they're flat. You have to hold the Lanskys in one hand, but you can just set the DMT on the table and get going. I'm currently learning freehand on an Opinel.

Overall, great sharpening kit. I look forward to using it more in the future.
 
I just hold the stone in the holder left hand and draw the knife freehand at the angle i want first toward me then away from me dont even use the clamp anymore gives you any angle you want .
 
wongKI said:
One problem I have though-the DMT's lowest angle setting is too high for me. (17 degrees per side on a 1-inch-wide blade) It'd be nice if they added an 8th angle setting at maybe 10 degrees per side for mad knife nuts:) Then again, real mad knife nuts would learn to freehand:D (Anyone with a DMT care to add a tip or trick to thinning the edge angle?)
Click to expand...

Are you sure it is 17 deg per side?

If the chart provided is listing the per side angle then the recommendations for the angle settings would include:
Fixed blade military and survival knives - over 70 deg inclusive.
Machetes - 80 deg inclusive.

This really seems a bit much to me, I have been assuming that it must be the total angle given on the charts because the numbers make much more sense that way. I think that the lowest setting gives 16 deg total on a 1" wide blade, they recommend that setting for razors, X-ACTO blades & Craft Knives. I doubt you really need to go lower than that.
 
I have the aligner which I use with my folding DMT's I love it. I do most of my knives free hand now but the aligner really helped me learn to free hand beter. I sometimes use it to check my free hand jobs. IMO the DMT stones are the cream of the crop of diamond stones.
 
The Aligner flexes so much that specific angles don't mean much.

My first one popped the brass bushing on the clamp scew and was useless after that. My second one had a short life as the little plastic bumps that that hold the angles in the clamp broke off.

My opinion - great diamond stones. Crappy clamp and non existent customer service.
 
2manyknives said:
The Aligner flexes so much that specific angles don't mean much.

My first one popped the brass bushing on the clamp scew and was useless after that. My second one had a short life as the little plastic bumps that that hold the angles in the clamp broke off.

My opinion - great diamond stones. Crappy clamp and non existent customer service.
Click to expand...

My experience is somewhat different - I find that the aligner is pretty consistent on the angle for a given knife, much more so than I could ever achieve freehand anyway. Once clamped I can sharpen a knife through 6 different stones while maintaining a very consistent angle from stroke to stroke all the way from XXC to EEF.

My aligner clamp is still in one piece and working well - though it is also nice to know that I can buy a replacement clamp separately for a fair price at any time. I have used it on a bunch of different blades - fixed & folding, small & large, thick & thin, survival & kitchen - it has worked well in every case.

I paid $46 and got 4 diamond hones as well as a conical rod for sharpening serrations and the clamp. I feel I got what I paid for - in fact the hones bought separately would have cost more (they cost ~$15 so 4 x 15 = $60).

If my clamp breaks I'll just shrug and order 2 more so I can have a good working clamp and a spare. One clamp costs less than 1 diamond hone - I don't see it being a big deal to replace one now & then, I've already had good value out of the one I have.
 
It's probably 17 per side, but the length of the blade I'm using (Spyderco Mili) means that when I clamp at the centre, the tip and ricasso are a bit more acute.
 
Gadgetaholic said:
Are you sure it is 17 deg per side?

If the chart provided is listing the per side angle then the recommendations for the angle settings would include:
Fixed blade military and survival knives - over 70 deg inclusive.
Machetes - 80 deg inclusive.

This really seems a bit much to me, I have been assuming that it must be the total angle given on the charts because the numbers make much more sense that way. I think that the lowest setting gives 16 deg total on a 1" wide blade, they recommend that setting for razors, X-ACTO blades & Craft Knives. I doubt you really need to go lower than that.
Click to expand...

I wish we knew for SURE whether it was inclusive or per-side. I agree with your argument as to why it would be inclusive, however, I don't really believe that the edge I've been putting on my Griptilian is 8 degress per side so I'm torn as to what the correct answer is. I suppose I could just measure the angle with a protractor.....
 
It's per side.
If your edge was 17 degrees inclusive it would roll on cardboard :)
 
jfn said:
It's per side.
If your edge was 17 degrees inclusive it would roll on cardboard :)
Click to expand...

I agree, however what about people who want that angle anyways? I assumed that with 7 adjustable levels there would be some thin options as well as thick. The system is sorely lacking if a person wanted to take their angle down to maybe 10-13 degrees
 
Setting "6" w/ a 1/2" blade....

P1020333.jpg

(All measurements are approximate)

nickE10mm said:
The system is sorely lacking if a person wanted to take their angle down to maybe 10-13 degrees
Click to expand...

If someone knows enough to put a 10-13 deg. angle on their blade, they're probably not using an Aligner.

cbw
 
A quick update:

My EEF stone, ordered two weeks after this post, still hasn't arrived at the dealer's.

I found a way to reprofile lower, though-bend the guide rods. This also gives a convex edge.

However, the stones will scrape the clamp at certain angles.
 
Too bad the DMT Aligner doesnt have some kind of a table stand. I prefer to not have to hold the entire set up when sharpening.
 
ricklee4570 said:
Too bad the DMT Aligner doesnt have some kind of a table stand. I prefer to not have to hold the entire set up when sharpening.
Click to expand...

Try using it without its stones and guide rods. Use regular bench stones or even sandpaper flat on the table and the end of the guide rod holder running along side ON the table (not on the stone) That's my method for backpack sharpening as I don't carry any stones with me, just the clamp. Works great and you only have to hold the knife handle.


Stitchawl
 
My second one had a short life as the little plastic bumps that that hold the angles in the clamp broke off.
Click to expand...

That's what I've experienced. One of the bumps broke off while I was first handling the kit before I ever got to putting a knife into it. :(

I have two solutions. One, be more careful with it. :confused:

Two, if I continue to have that problem with the new clamps, I will buy a clamp for each position I need (about $11 for a new clamp from Amazon) and just glue the rod to that position in the clamp, and add a label for quick identification of that position. Adds to my cost, obviously; I think I'll just need to cover about four of the seven positions. It will reduce setup time, though.

By the way, I did some trigonometric extrapolation on other blade widths, and I found that you can pretty much take a linear extrapolation between any two blade width sizes to get the new angle. For 3/4" specifically, I calculated 41.9, 37.3, 33.5, 28.7, 24.9, 20.3, and 16.5 degrees for positions 1 thru 7, respectively. for 1.5", I calculated 36.5, 32.7, 29.5, 25.3, 22.1, 18.4, and 15.2 degrees. The geometric model I was using of the setup might not be totally correct, but as an approximation it seems to work fine as my results matched the documentation on the provided blade widths.
 
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