Ok guys, here's an update:

Harrelson Stanley called me after receiving my GDLP today.

He's going to soak it and lap some ceramic stones on it this weekend to check its performance. According to him, the initial observation is that the stone looks as it should after being broken in as it has.

He's also going to most likely take a ceramic disc to it to lap the GDLP. I told him I was concerned that this would alter the flatness. He explained and stressed that the Shapton .5 micron flatness claim is the flatness of the FLOAT GLASS substrate and not the lapping surface given the fact that each diamond will be slightly different than the other.

I've always used very light pressure with my lapping plates, DMT or Shapton letting/expecting the diamonds do the work. Harrelson said that when he laps on the GDLP he (direct quote here) "puts his shoulders into it". He says that using the GDLP, he can true even severely used ceramic on glass stones in less than 30 seconds. He is going to mail my photos to Shapton in Japan for viewing. Harrelson says his understanding of the GDLP manufacturing process is that the edges of the stone do have a higher concentration of diamonds than the middle or "field" (his reference) of the GDLP has.

Harrelson said he has a beverage cooler that he keeps filled with water, and usually has about 10 GDLPs soaking and submerged continually in that water with no ill effects to the GDLP. He does this to prevent slurry from hardening on the GDLP surface.

He also said that hot water will not harm the GDLP. He said he's actually contemplated putting his GDLP in the dishwasher but has not done it yet, and he stressed that he doesn't think that Shapton would endorse such a practice, but given that the hot water in a dishwasher wouldn't melt glass, diamonds, nickel or rubber, it most likely would not harm the GDLP.

That's the current update for now.

Chris L