Reply To: longevity of coarse EZE lap diamond plate
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vips- Are you getting “thick edges” or are you getting edges that aren’t square to the edge? The latter definitely happens to me. In general, I find I can correct these things on my diamond plates if I watch for them and correct them before they become too big. For the thick edge, I think this is why Paul emphasizes grinding the back portion of the convex edge and spending a lot of time there compared to just a few strokes to move things up to the edge. Much of the grinding is done at a lower angle, then you lift the handle. For me, rather than focusing on lifting the angle, I set my guess at the angle near the middle of the stone and then let the stroke become longer on the draw (pulling back toward myself). I let it get longer stroke by stroke and at some point, you can feel it wants to catch and the sound takes on a more scratchy sound. That’s when I know I’ve reached the edge and don’t go further steepening the angle. For being off-square, I just rock to the other side but, honestly, occasionally put narrower blades in a jig to square them back up…but don’t wait too long to do this!
I have a junk chisel I use for carpentry. Yesterday, I was able to take a couple chips out. They were tiny, so this worked. Otherwise, I’d have needed the grinder. So, I do think this set of stones works, but really just for routine sharpening with some corrections when you’re being diligent to detect problems when they are small. I’ve never had luck flattening blades on the stones. I make rapid initial progress, but then it stalls out and I don’t get to the edge. I hate flattening irons. It takes me *forever* no matter what method I use, even sandpaper on a block with frequent changes.