Thread: DMT Lapping plate

Hi kropa,

the Shapton Pros are excellent stones; I'd recommend them. I routinely finish my razors on a 12k Shapton. They have an advantage over many other synthetics in that they don't need soaking - they're essentially splash and go. I would however recommend lapping new ones on a flat tile with several sheets of wet and dry, say 320 and 600 grit using a pencil grid to determine when flatness has been achieved.

Interestingly, not a lot of honers on this forum use them as their primary stones; the Naniwa superstones are much more popular but they do need soaking and are possibly a bit more prone to dishing out. The Shaptons are quite hard and don't wear easily but they benefit from a trip over a DMT to remove swarf every now and again.

Haven't had anything to do with the shaptons but for that price you could have a full progression of the Naniwa stones. Many use them splash and go but I find they are more stable with a short soak. That said if you are only maintaining then you will rarely be doing more than a touch up so you could splash and go as stability doesn't seem to be an issue straight away only with longer usage times like bevel setting. If buying try to buy all at once as you will save on yhe postage so it works out cheaper than buying separately. I have used toolsfromjapan.com and sharpeningsupplies.com. Tfj I got my choosera, atomas and gokumyo 20k. Sharpening supplies I got the naniwa ss. I found it cheaper to import tjan get locally but haven't looked in a while as I have all the synthetic stones I need and will probably only buy the odd natural.

I think Eddy's right about Tools from Japan - they seem to be a bit cheaper for Shaptons and they do have an excellent reputation. I've bought locally (Henry Eckert in Adelaide) and they are significantly more expensive - they used to be the only source of Norton waterstones in Australia but no longer handle them.

Originally Posted by kropa

Hey Eddy. I'm looking for the Dmt d8c, if that's the one that gets referred to everywhere. I am just looking to get into honing. I only want to start refreshing my razor. I have found some Shapton Professional stones from knivesandstones.com. He sells a set of 1k, 5k and 12k for $265 incl postage. Heres the link Shapton Professional Kuromaku Japanese waterstone set I was looking to buy these stones. I don't have experience with any stones so I am open to advice.

Been using the Kuromaku stones for years & I recommend that a softer, less aggressive stone is better for beginners.
If you're really keen on them I suggest you add a 2k to that lineup or the 5k will be your most worn hone.

As for sellers there is also Japan-tool.com from Taree NSW but he seems to be sold out atm on the Shaps you want.

Thr Naniwa stones are very popular now for razors. Maybe worth considering.

Thanks for all the feedback and advice

Forgot to mention for the extra dollars I much prefer the atoma over the dmt. The dmt is heavy and needs a stone holder to use it the atoma is light and easy to use and works better. Jmo

Fellas, I bought both the DMT and the Atoma 400. The Atoma is the winner hands down.
Cheers