Thread: DMT Re-freshing / Cleaning kit

Has anyone ever seen or used this before...

Whetstone care Kit by D.M.T. It is designed and manufactured to last for many years. It contains everything you need to keep your Diamond Whetstone in like-new condition. It contains a Brass Wire brush for vigorous scrubbing action used with the special Oxy-abrasive cleanser, without any surface damage. Easily removes all swarf from the diamond whetstone surface. Also , a High Polymer block. Easy to hold high molecular weight polymer rubbing block that is perfect for routine dry cleaning of the Diamond whetstone and the new DMT unbreakable Ceramic sharpeners. Simply rub the block strongly against the diamond or ceramic surface and watch the dirt dis-appear.

Seen it online, never been interested. I figured I could do the same with any cheap brass brush and kitchen cleanser. I don't understand the benefit of the polymer block.

Glen, I once returned a 325 plate to them because it wasn't flat within their specs. They replaced it and sent the kit for free, along with some other free stuff. Nice folks. At a later date I was talking with their main hone guy on the phone and mentioned the brass brush. He recommended I use a nylon bristle brush. It is a neat kit and I use the brass brush anyway but Comet cleanser or the like and a fingernail brush will do just as well. The 'cleaner' they include is about the same thing. I never have used the polymer thingie.

That was what I had always used in the past, was Comet and a nylon bristle brush,,, But I snagged the actual kit off e-bay for $6 shipped so I figured I would give it a shot...

It is a neat kit and I do like the brass brush. I mainly lap with the 325 and the 120 and don't do much honing on the other plates. I'll hit the 600 and the 1200 once in a blue moon but that's about it. Not that they ain't good but I usually use stones rather than diamond plates for honing. I'll have to try that polymer thing. I had forgotten all about it.

I did not even know it existed, but I have used a wire brush on a 1,2k when I was a newbie and ended up scraping off a decent amount of diamond coating...
Having in mind how freely diamonds are released from DMT plates, I personally am skeptical on the wire brush. I have found that the VDH boar brush works great for cleaning, I trimmed it to make the bristle stiffer and it has worked great for me since.

Could a product that is not only designed to clean your DMT, but to also wear it faster, so as to get the end consumer (that's you) to buy another one. First rule of business: Why sell one when you can sell two for twice the cost?

Originally Posted by aeon

Could a product that is not only designed to clean your DMT, but to also wear it faster, so as to get the end consumer (that's you) to buy another one. First rule of business: Why sell one when you can sell two for twice the cost?

Reading Stefan's post the same premise entered my mind. OTOH, brass ain't steel. So the brass, being much softer and less abrasive, wouldn't tend to wear the plate IMO. I doubt that Dia-sharp (DMT) would deliberately sell a product that would ruin their plates.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Reading Stefan's post the same premise entered my mind. OTOH, brass ain't steel. So the brass, being much softer and less abrasive, wouldn't tend to wear the plate IMO. I doubt that Dia-sharp (DMT) would deliberately sell a product that would ruin their plates.

Jimmy you are right, it all will be cleared when Glen tries it.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Reading Stefan's post the same premise entered my mind. OTOH, brass ain't steel. So the brass, being much softer and less abrasive, wouldn't tend to wear the plate IMO. I doubt that Dia-sharp (DMT) would deliberately sell a product that would ruin their plates.

That's true, and like anything, I imagine it has a lot with HOW you use it, and not so much with WHAT you use. I'm sure it's designed to be lightly brushed along, and not harshly rubbed, like you would to clean a bbq grill. You have to keep in mind, though, that what I described above wouldn't ruin the plates, per se, it would just cause them to wear out more prematurely (whether that is due to the brush, the technique, or the surface being renewed, and thus more abrasive, would be tough to say).

However, I also don't think it's likely that DMT would sell something with that intent.