Thread: New Dia-Sharp with Discoloration

Hi SRP Expert Honers,

I recently purchased a new DMT D8C 8-Inch Dia-Sharp Continuous Diamond Coarse which showed up with a discoloration in the center of one side. This has not rinsed off with water or rubbed off using my fingers.

Just wondering if I should exchange it before trying to use it for lapping as I know sometimes these stones show up with "bare" areas.



Edit: updated title since I posted too quickly and forgot to finish it

It does not look like a bare area, more like a bit of oil or something. Rub you fingernail across the area and you will know if it is bare or not.

Originally Posted by Utopian

It does not look like a bare area, more like a bit of oil or something. Rub you fingernail across the area and you will know if it is bare or not.

Feels like plenty of grit there, thanks, wasn't sure what it might be. Looks like a keeper!

I had a couple like that. Nothing to worry about.

Originally Posted by kelbro

I had a couple like that. Nothing to worry about.

Do they need replacing that often?

Originally Posted by Kees

Do they need replacing that often?

A couple of different grit dia-sharps had that issue.

The only one that I've ever needed to replace was a coarse duo-sharp that I used to lap stones. Bore down on it a little too much It still works, just slower.

Thanks for the insight, gents! Still somewhat new to the sharpening game.

I am going to pick up a USB microscope ($30) from Amazon to get a better visual on the edges in addition to the 30x/60x loupe I currently use

I sure hope that stone is for a restoration. With that grit 'it's gonna leave a mark" if it's used on any razor that's not in real sad shape.

It's for lapping/flattening the other stones, I don't think I would go too far under a 1k stone for bevel setting, though I have heard others go down to 600 if a blade is real beat up.

I own several of these from coarse to EEF, this is not uncommon at all and doesn't have an affect on the capabilities of the stone. DMT is sort of a weird company in that they concentrate a LOT on the technical conformance and performance of their products, but do not care much at all about how it looks. I remember getting my EEF and couldnt believe what it looked like because it looked all jacked up, but the customer service told me that it was just a magnification/reflection effect of the diamonds on the surface of the stone. Sure enough after running a rod over it a few times, it's a rockstar - just not real pretty. Another time I ordered their diamond suspension spray (not for my razors) and the contents came in a bottle that was only half full, but on inspection the amount in the bottle was the amount i ordered. just a really big bottle. It was taped shut with packing tape - again, not very pretty but very practical.
All in all they serve a customer base that tends to be a lot different than what we're used to, but their products are great in my opinion.