Thread: DMT 325 or 600 for lapping coticules?

Originally Posted by Marshal

FYI Chef Knives To Go has a 400/1000 diamond plate. Much cheaper, and looks like it's actually a pretty decent quality plate. I might pick one up myself, I'm interested in a 1000 grit to save a little bit of green on sand paper. But the Trend can be found at Straight Razor Designs.

Nice find! I'm interested in the trend because I hear Black Arks eat DMTs for breakfast. Of course theres always SiC in 60, 90, 400 to seal the deal.

But a dan's black ark (sold relatively flat) lapped on a bulletproof diamond plate that goes up to a 1000, 200 laps afterwhich you take a beater razor too... cost is high but you have a better time lapping. Sounds like a good deal.

I got HAD hard today. I got so excited about arks my humble law-student budget just opened up (gee, wonder how that happened?)

Well, if you've got a straight edge I would definitely hold it up to the light and check before burning any time trying to lap them. I got a pair of Best brand Soft and Hard Arkansas and I'm happy to report no actual lapping was necessary - which is good because after the PHIG my DMT 325 wasn't having any of that Arkansas stone nonsense lol. It's become MUCH smoother than it was when I first got it, I'm not sure how much more of this abuse the poor guy can handle - and I think* I have a translucent inbound in a lot I found on Ebay.

nice score! hopefully you got yourself a nice tranny you can take into the bathroom

I should have mentioned: I would take a decent beater razor, not a haggard one to smooth out the black ark. I'll prob start a thread when I get one to doc the whole process. I have a soft ark coming in, I'm excited to partcipate in the "coticule slurry on ark" experiment, but I welcome my first ark regardless.

I'm in the market for a lapping plate. I'm such a lazy bum who uses sandpaper. It works like a charm on cotis, but I know I gotta pony up and grab a lapping plate soon. I can't make a decision, but the Trend sounds like what I'm looking for after a black ark comes in the mail.

Cheers.

I've got a nice sized throwing knife made of carbon steel from Cold Steel that needs some chips ground out. It may or may not have missed the target (squirrel), dug into the ground, and found a stone on it's way in. When the stone arrives and I have it prepped, I'll probably burnish it with that as the last phase of sharpening that knife.

That chef's plate is quite a deal, I am going to get one and have several diamond hones now.

Over the years I have watched sandpaper go UP^ in price and Diamond plates/hones go Down~
So much so it is shocking. If you look carefully at the price of sand paper retail from body and paint supplier's or hardware stores, you are NOt getting a deal, the diamond plates ARE THE Deal, they simply outlast the sandpaper by a wide margin. YMMV.

Originally Posted by FAL

That chef's plate is quite a deal, I am going to get one and have several diamond hones now.

Over the years I have watched sandpaper go UP^ in price and Diamond plates/hones go Down~
So much so it is shocking. If you look carefully at the price of sand paper retail from body and paint supplier's or hardware stores, you are NOt getting a deal, the diamond plates ARE THE Deal, they simply outlast the sandpaper by a wide margin. YMMV.

Yeah, it wasn't that long ago I could buy sand paper packets for a dollar and change. Now if I have to restock it'll run 15 to 20 bucks for 3 to 4 packs. Not worth it at all considering how fast it gets worn through.

EGGZACTLY!!!! Heck, even the harbor freight abrasives, for their quality(lower) are no deal either.

So, that leaves us with SIC, not a bad deal if you make or get yourself a lapping wheel, OR, you can get well made Chinese discs with center hole or not for say an 24" 320grit for a 100-125$, I built my turning motor up from a scrapyard grain mill motor with reduction drive, works like a champ and built Very stout, cost me $5 and time cleaning (1hr) it up as it went thru a flood.

I wanted to expand on the scrapyard building materials for a lapping plate: Treadmills, they get used very little and end up at the dump or scrapyard, the better ones have variable speed clutch and belt assemblies, they lend themselves to be decent donors for occasional use lapping and grinding equipment.

Going to start a study on the new digital motors, like come in washing machines, now those babies are powerful, FullOTorque and variable speed too if you are handy with electronics.

The Japanese Sk-11 400/1000 on Amazon is the same plate and a little cheaper. I use one for lapping and it has held up well. Quite a bit stouter than the Harbor Freight diamond plates.