Thread: Diamond Lapping Plates Atoma 400 vs ??

Anything better than the Atoma 400 for keeping my Naninwa progression flat for every day use? Was going to buy something in the next few days, but wanted to ask if there were any better options under $100? What are you pros using?

If you are going to flatten waterstones, it does not matter that much. I have Atoma’s, Ez-lap, DMT, Trend, Chef Knife to Go and eBay no name plates. All work the same as far as flatting a soft waterstones. Some of my plates are over 20 years old, flattened hundreds of stones and still in use lapping stone, sharpening tools and knives.

Atoma’s are pricy, but you can replace the plates or make a 2-sided plate, by buying a replacement plate for the back side, DMT were the standard and are still good plates. Probably the best value is the CKTG 400/1000 combo diamond plate at $30. They look and perform just like the trend plate and the 400/1k option is nice, the 1k finish is fine for a quick refresh or lapping a soft natural.

If you are lapping a lot of stones or sharpening tools, CKTG has a 140 grit at $30, that is a work horse, I have beat mine for years and it still cut quick.

For $60 you would have diamond plates that would handle most any task.

Some say, some plates are flatter than others, but really, you do not need to get a stone dead flat, you just must remove the valleys and keep it reasonably flat and swarf free. A razor, knife or tool will ride on the high spots, and once you start honing it will go out of perfectly flat.

If you don’t purposely abuse it, most any plate is a lifetime investment for most folks.

For flattening a synthetic waterstone or other soft hone I use the Trend 300 grit side because it has channels to remove the swarf. I would not use any of the diamond stones to flatten an Arkie or other quartz type hone. For that I would use loose abrasive grain silicon carbide grit mixed in oil on a flat marble or granite plate.

Just my 2¢

Probably the best value is the CKTG 400/1000 combo diamond plate at $30
Okay, now I want this! I was gonna save money shaving with straights haha-that does seem like a bargain for a diamond plate, though-looking for one now.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

For flattening a synthetic waterstone or other soft hone I use the Trend 300 grit side because it has channels to remove the swarf. I would not use any of the diamond stones to flatten an Arkie or other quartz type hone. For that I would use loose abrasive grain silicon carbide grit mixed in oil on a flat marble or granite plate.

Just my 2¢

Would a silicon carbide encrusted sandpaper, layed flat on a stone, serve the same purpose? I can get the paper easily enough here... but getting the powder will be dicier (and messier).

edit: specifically looking at Arks... have Atoma plates for my synthetics and JNats...

When a whetstone is new, you might need a lower grit lapping plate to get it flat for the first time. Once a stone is flat, you are basically just keeping it flat and perhaps producing some slurry. I like using an Atoma 1200 grit for that purpose.

A good source for silicone carbide grit is GotGrit.com. you can buy an assortment of grit from60-500 for about $15. Works great for Arks a Teaspoon of 60 grit and a steel cookie sheet will get you flat, add grit as needed.

Wet and Dry works, but if you refresh often it is a pain to set up, I lap my stones before each used and before the final laps. As said if you keep them lapped it just takes seconds.

The 400-1k is also great for sharpening kitchen knives, the 1k diamond edge is perfect for most kitchen knife use.

Originally Posted by HungeJ0e

Would a silicon carbide encrusted sandpaper, layed flat on a stone, serve the same purpose? I can get the paper easily enough here... but getting the powder will be dicier (and messier).

edit: specifically looking at Arks... have Atoma plates for my synthetics and JNats...

Yes,........... but you will go thru a lot of sandpaper.!

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I put an order in for the Atoma #400 this morning. I intend to hone more this year so wanted to ensure my stones are lapped properly.

Thanks,
Jason