Looking for affordable diamond sharpening stones
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- This topic has 46 replies, 21 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 1 month ago by rustifer.
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Hi all
I’m looking for some diamond stone sharpeners but the prices below are very expensive.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/hand-tools/sharpening-tools/diamond-sharpening-stones
Does anyone buy their stones from elsewhere? I do have a diamond stone, but it’s the one with little holes in its surface and I’d much rather working on the smooth diamond stone surface.
Any suggestions? I did have a little look on the forums but the two threads I saw seemed to deal with USA markets. I’m in the UK.
Thanks all
EDIT: Also found these
http://www.ezelap.co.uk/tools/3-x-8—Eze-lap-Diamond-Sharpening-Stones.html
They have the 1200, but not the 800 and 250 grit it was recommended I get.
- This topic was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by Mark68.
Since it has come up recently I’ll share this again BUT I have only had them for a few weeks (so I don’t know about their long-term durability) and nobody knows anything about how “flat” they are (though this has not been a problem for me). I got the set of 3 UltraSharp 3″x8″ diamond stones on Amazon recently–about $100 for the set (vs. EZE Laps around $60-70 per stone and almost never available). These replaced some 2×6 stones I had but they aren’t EZE Lap either so I don’t even have a good benchmark to compare to. But anyway, that MAY be one option for you if $100 is in your ballpark. I have had good results so far but again, have only had them for a few weeks.
8 January 2017 at 3:44 pm #143999Hej Mark,
Somewhat mixed experiences from Axminster’s diamond stones. The DMT line is to highest standards, but also charged at premium. Trend and Axminster stones are less expensive, but might be manufactured to lower tolerances. Not all of those I have are acceptably flat. Others have made the same remark on Eze-Lap stones (https://www.fine-tools.com/diasharpener.html)
Perhaps Tormek is the way to go, particularly when there are dents in edges to be grind away…
/soj
8 January 2017 at 5:01 pm #144002http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/
This is where I bought my diamond plates. They are 3×8 and have lasted sinceAug.2015 without any obvious signs of wear. They are DMT plates and are $20.00 less than other sellers
I just checked their prices and they are a lot higher than when I got mine. They are still less expensive than getting them from DMT directly. Watch for sales on Sharpening Supplies. I got mine for $55.00 on sale. Since I haven’t been doing this for 50 years I use a Veritas guide and have been very pleased with the results. Good Luck.- This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by oltexasboy.
I looked at those EZ-Lap plates a couple of months back but the availability was poor when I wanted mine so bought DMT’s from Amazon here in the UK for around £60 per plate.
For the Coarse I recently bought DMT brand… only because no-one seems to have the EZE-lap in stock…
I got it from here, because it was the best price, (inc postage), by some margin.And it arrived quickly too.
Note that the DMT ones are a little thicker than the EZE lap so you may want to make allowance for that if planing a holder like Paul’s…
Also, I’ve read somewhere that the DMT one tend to “wear down” to a finer grit equivalent a little quicker than the eze-lap ones… I have no idea if that’s so, but I bought the Xtra coarse, which is a nominal 220 grit.
I have an eze-lap fine for my middle, then a DMT extra fine as my final. This setup is working just great. I’ve had it up and running since Christmas.
Good luck,
Regards,
Matt
It depends on too many variables, imo. I would sharpen them when a) they don’t feel as sharp as they did and you think you are getting tear-out vs. clean cuts or b) when you can visibly see the blades have imperfections/damage and need sharpening. I think there is nothing wrong with sharpening too often as you will get more practice and your edges will generally be sharper vs. duller. Part of why it is nice to have a sharpening station handy b/c whenever you have the whim or sense the need, you have the station nearby and can sharpen on the fly and go back to your work.
The former–I routed out 3 3×8 recesses in a piece of plywood like Paul though I also add the strop to my station so it is all in one place. For that part, I cut a groove between the stones and the strop (just to prevent any liquid from accidentally touching the leather). If nothing else it is good practice to make a sharpening station b/c it can employ similar skills to cutting out a dado, groove, etc.
I also use silicone under the stones as 1) an adhesive to hold them in place, 2) to give them a cushion to sit on and 3) hopefully offset any potential negative effects from the glass cleaner getting into the wood and causing things to loosen or what have you.
9 January 2017 at 9:52 pm #144063Hi,
Amazon.com is selling the DMT W6EFC Three 6-Inch Diamond Whetstone Models in Hard Wood Box at present. Not sure what the shipping to the UK It is definitely less than to Africa, where the shipping is almost 30% of the price.
And the same sold locally seem to have an additional 60 to 70% markup.
Regards,
Marc- This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by Marc Mitsialis.
10 January 2017 at 1:01 am #144068They do on narrow cutting edges, like 1/8 or 1/4 chisels.
You want the edge you are sharpening to span at least a couple of those gaps.On wider blades it’s not an issue.
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