Thread: Can you hone on a DMT?

Just curious. I know you can hone tools and knives but do they work well on razors?

I know some use the coarser ones to work on "ebay-specials" and some will use a progression of them.

To me, they are way too scratchy and agressive.

Seemed to me like a possibility so I tried one on an ebay special. Since the DMT green is 1200 grit compared with 1000 grit for bevel setting Norton, I decided to give it a shot. On review at 45X under a microscope after a go at it I saw lots of scratches and a few microchips. Could have been my technique -- I have a lot to learn. But I wouldn't try a DMT on anything I valued.

I have found that the scratches left by a DMT seem to be either deeper or harsher than those left by other stones of "equal" grit ratings, so I prefer not to use them. The exception is if I'm doing "bevel restoration," which is removing large chips or substantial frowns or dealing with severely blunted razors. But I don't consider those things "honing."

Honing is one thing, finishing and having it shave ready is another. Yes you can repair with 600, and/or set bevel with 1.2K and progression with DMT 8k. So yes you can hone with DMTs, but from the 8K you will have to use something else to finish it off.

Originally Posted by mumpig

Seemed to me like a possibility so I tried one on an ebay special. Since the DMT green is 1200 grit compared with 1000 grit for bevel setting Norton, I decided to give it a shot. On review at 45X under a microscope after a go at it I saw lots of scratches and a few microchips. Could have been my technique -- I have a lot to learn. But I wouldn't try a DMT on anything I valued.

Dont forget that its very wise to break in a DMT, before and after breaking in is HUGE

They are indeed not so straight forward as waterstones, but they have their uses. The 325 is good for lapping and heavy metal lifting (chips, breadknifing, wedges with a lot of wear), the 1200 can be used as a bevel setter when properly broken in, just make sure you use a fast 4-5k stone after it, or put a 2-3k stone in between those two. They have an odd feeling while honin, the interrupted and the continuus one too, so peple tend to not like it who hone a lot, and hone snobs like me They are really fast however, so they can be used of course, just make sure you remove those deep scrathes after you use them.

At this point I use a DMT 1k and a DMT 8k, then polish the bevel with a nice grade CNAT. The edges off my Norton look nicer, but the DMT + CNAT edges shave just as well.

You can't chamfer the edges of a DMT, and for me that makes it a little unpleasant.

Michael

Diamond's are for ladies, knives, and stones...not for razors except for serious blade work/corrections.