Thread: Do diamonds wear

If water dripping off a roof edge can wear through a granite stone (so it took 100 years, so what!) then a solid material like a hone can certainly wear a diamond over time. Or are you going to argue that it was "really hard water"

Originally Posted by prodigy

Well, that's my point. They do erode, but no one will be around in 1 billion years to measure the .00000001 millimeter that goes missing....

Some folks just have to have something to worry about. It makes them happy.

Moved to "Quantum Lapping" forum.. I make joke

Originally Posted by rhensley

Some folks just have to have something to worry about. It makes them happy.

Reminds me of this old sign ;

Originally Posted by prodigy

Well, that's my point. They do erode, but no one will be around in 1 billion years to measure the .00000001 millimeter that goes missing....

And our point is that it doesn't take a billion years for this to happen. Actually very little time even with a diamond plate containing thousands of diamonds used for hand lapping hones - lapping one hard Arkansas stone is enough to make a significant difference in the cutting speed of a new diamond plate.

Originally Posted by eKretz

And our point is that it doesn't take a billion years for this to happen. Actually very little time even with a diamond plate containing thousands of diamonds used for hand lapping hones - lapping one hard Arkansas stone is enough to make a significant difference in the cutting speed of a new diamond plate.

You are verifying my point as you tell me I'm wrong. The plate IS wearing out. The DIAMONDS are not. We are in agreement. Somewhere along the lines of our discussion we created confusion. Diamonds are doing 1 of 2 things in this scenario. They are fracturing, or they are coming loose from the plate. There are no particles that can erode them, not even an ark...

Nope, diamonds wear and fracture. As said, do a quick Google search.

Or, lap an Ark with a new diamond plate…

Chipped Diamonds (the agonizing reality) 3 Examples

"Everybody knows that diamond is the hardest mineral substance on earth. So you might be wondering why we have a page about chipped diamonds. Well, the key word to focus upon here is mineral.

Diamond is not the hardest thing on earth, it is simply the hardest mineral. The reality is that you can scratch the surface of a diamond with the pop-top from a can of soda.

Right about now, your mind is probably swimming with the possibilities, so we might as well finish it off. You can actually crack a diamond trying to scratch glass! Understand that I’m not saying the old myth that diamonds scratch glass isn’t true, because it is. I’m simply advising you not to rely upon that method to determine whether a diamond is real. Holding the diamond at the wrong angle, or applying too much pressure can cleave the diamond in two. Imagine the look on little Johnny’s face when that little science experiment fails!"

Originally Posted by prodigy

You are verifying my point as you tell me I'm wrong. The plate IS wearing out. The DIAMONDS are not. We are in agreement. Somewhere along the lines of our discussion we created confusion. Diamonds are doing 1 of 2 things in this scenario. They are fracturing, or they are coming loose from the plate. There are no particles that can erode them, not even an ark...

No, we aren't in agreement. Yes, diamonds CAN and DO "erode" as you put it - actually it's abrasion, not erosion, but that's semantics. How do you think they are cut into faceted shapes? They are abraded using - wait for it - diamond dust! Or did you think that all the facets just happened to lie along the stones' natural cleavage lines? There is also a significant difference in their ability to be abraded based on the direction that they are abraded. This can be as much as a two order of magnitude difference. This is one of the reasons that the diamonds are carefully examined and oriented before they are faceted as jewels.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

or applying too much pressure can cleave the diamond in two.

Originally Posted by eKretz

How do you think they are cut into faceted shapes? They are abraded using - wait for it - diamond dust! Or did you think that all the facets just happened to lie along the stones' natural cleavage lines?

Brings to mind a show I saw on TV when I was a kid. A diamond cutter with a mallet and a wedge taking a huge diamond and cutting it into different shapes. IIRC they said that one miscue and he would end up with dust. Needed to be an expert in the field.

https://scienceofsharp.wordpress.com...eak-in-part-2/