Atoma lapping plate

Got my atoma 400 today. Broke it in on some angle iron and went to work on my phig first to break it in some more, then my j nats.Cuts incredibly fast. Hit my suehiros and choseras. Very fast. My question is is the 1200 useable to lap as well as the 400 grit would leave the edge too rough maybe? i have dmts and the 1200 just kind of gets stuck on the j nats and phig.would the atoma do the same? My jnats i will work with the naguras and tomo to resurface but the 1200 i think might be my next purchase depending on what you guys tellme. Thanks.

I'd go for the tomo, a fine plate like 1200 can be damaged fast from lapping, but it's your plate, try it if you like.
... and always use water, water, plenty of running water!

I only bought the Atoma 1200 for lapping after I was assured by some people, whose experience/opinion I respect, that it was fine for lapping waterstones. It is not the same construction as the DMTs. With DMT anything over 325 is not recommended for lapping.

How would you think it would do with a hard jnat or phig? If I can get these nicely resurface th$100 might be worth it. And any use on steel(chips). Maybe a bonus.

I used the A-1200 on my Choseras, 3,5,10 and the 20k gokumyo with no problem. Went through them like Grant took Richmond. I'm not inclined to try the 1200 on razors as I think it is too much of a good thing for that, but I could be wrong. I was wrong once before.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I only bought the Atoma 1200 for lapping after I was assured by some people, whose experience/opinion I respect, that it was fine for lapping waterstones. It is not the same construction as the DMTs. With DMT anything over 325 is not recommended for lapping.

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Yes I've heard that, have to get one myself and try it out.
Any info on how fast they wear when used for lapping?

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Originally Posted by Lemur

Yes I've heard that, have to get one myself and try it out.
Any info on how fast they wear when used for lapping?

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I don't know. I intend to get a 600 and do the preliminary lapping with that. Finish lapping with the 1200. Right now I'm using the DMT or GDLP 325 for the preliminary . They are slow as molasses on a fall morning but that may be because they are worn. The 1200 cuts through waterstones very fast at this stage of the game. Some of the members who've had their's longer may see this thread and let us know more.

I have both the 400 and 1200 but mostly use the 1200. I don't usually let my stones wear so bad that it takes the 400 to level them off. The 400 is great for a new stone that needs lapping and for lapping the 1k after an extended bevel setting session. Both the 400 and 1200 ATOMA plates are worth the money.

I just ordered it. Thanks for the feedback guys. All I can say is the 400 really slides and laps very quickly. After my phig I rubbed one of my tomonaguras on it and man that did grind some stone fast!

Anyone tried the 600?

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Originally Posted by Lemur

Yes I've heard that, have to get one myself and try it out.
Any info on how fast they wear when used for lapping?

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I think when I first met So Yamashita who suggested these plates he had his for about 7-8 years. I'm sure he still has it as he uses it to create slurry & the more wear the better in that case but they lose their aggression after a few years or if you deliberately break them in hard. The 400 is good for faster flattening & of course there are situations when even the 140 is not enough but the 400 & 1200 are the ones I use most.

I never tried the 600. Never saw the point. Also I don't like how razors feel on them but I have a feeling maybe Jimbo has done a few bevels that way. I might be imagining that tho.

I've done a few resto hones on the 400 but not many. Actually the 400 gets used very little.

I do (nearly) all my bevel sets on the 1200. I also use the 1200 to regularly lap my Norton 4/8 and all stones of finer grit. I specifically bought it to make slurry on (and I guess lap) a very hard Jnat I have, and my understanding and experience is that they are made for that task.

If you don't do anything too silly with them they should last a long time. Besides that, you can get the versions that have a replaceable diamond sheet so that if you wear it out the expense is not so high next time.

James.

Well, that does it, I'm going for a 1200 Atoma.

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Originally Posted by Jimbo

Besides that, you can get the versions that have a replaceable diamond sheet so that if you wear it out the expense is not so high next time.

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AFAIK that is the only way you can buy them nowadays. Someone suggested they were going to buy a 1200 plate and a replacement 400 sheet to apply to the reverse side of the 1200. Best of both worlds. I don't know if they ever went ahead with that plan.

The reason I mentioned that I was going to buy a 600 is due to one of the members I asked about the Atomas to begin with, telling me that if he had it to do over he would get the 600 instead of the 400. He said the 400 was very aggressive and left scratches in his stones that he had to work harder to remove with the 1200. IIRC he already had the 600 and it didn't scratch the stones up as much, and was aggressive enough to do the job. Anyway, $ being what they are I'm holding off for the time being. If I ever get the 6 I'll letcha all know what I think. :beer2:

I also have a 1200 Atoma and love it. I use it on my King 1000, PHIG, Norton 4/8, and also use it to raise slurry on my coticile and Oozuku. Ive also used it to flatten a few barber hones and it worked awesome. Its still like the day I bought it. I find it to be slightly coarser than a DMT 325 IMO.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

AFAIK that is the only way you can buy them nowadays. Someone suggested they were going to buy a 1200 plate and a replacement 400 sheet to apply to the reverse side of the 1200. Best of both worlds. I don't know if they ever went ahead with that plan.

The reason I mentioned that I was going to buy a 600 is due to one of the members I asked about the Atomas to begin with, telling me that if he had it to do over he would get the 600 instead of the 400. He said the 400 was very aggressive and left scratches in his stones that he had to work harder to remove with the 1200. IIRC he already had the 600 and it didn't scratch the stones up as much, and was aggressive enough to do the job. Anyway, $ being what they are I'm holding off for the time being. If I ever get the 6 I'll letcha all know what I think. :beer2:

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That's good to hear. I ordered the 600 with that reasoning, but was starting to think I may have made a mistake. It should be here soonish so will report how it goes.

Best price I could find was here; ATOMA Diamantschleifsteine
Anyone know any cheaper place in the EU?

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Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY

I also have a 1200 Atoma and love it. I use it on my King 1000, PHIG, Norton 4/8, and also use it to raise slurry on my coticile and Oozuku. Ive also used it to flatten a few barber hones and it worked awesome. Its still like the day I bought it. I find it to be slightly coarser than a DMT 325 IMO.

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It is impossible a 1200 is coarser than a 325 but because of the pimpled surface of the Atoma you can gouge a stone with too much pressure.

Took a junker blade to the 400 just to see. Its very new but I did break it in. What a mess! Wreaks way more havoc on steel than a 325. Cuts very fast. But you will be up all day and night honing out scratches. I don't think I would use it on any razor.

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Originally Posted by bill3152

Took a junker blade to the 400 just to see. Its very new but I did break it in. What a mess! Wreaks way more havoc on steel than a 325. Cuts very fast. But you will be up all day and night honing out scratches. I don't think I would use it on any razor.

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Yeah that's my experience. The 1200 is a bit gentler but I don't even use DMT's on razors any more.

I use a 6 micron (4k equivalent ) for chips or wavy bevels on TIs or other hard steels. It doesn't dish and it gets me through the chips plenty fast. Then back to the chosera 1k and up. This one doesn't leave any scratches that the 1k can't easily remove.

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Yeah that's my experience. The 1200 is a bit gentler but I don't even use DMT's on razors any more.

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+1 on that for me too. With the Chosera 1k I don't need anything else. Bill looking forward to hear how the 600 works for you.

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Originally Posted by bill3152

I use a 6 micron (4k equivalent ) for chips or wavy bevels on TIs or other hard steels. It doesn't dish and it gets me through the chips plenty fast. Then back to the chosera 1k and up. This one doesn't leave any scratches that the 1k can't easily remove.

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You find a 6 micron plate cuts faster than a 14 micron stone ? Seems a redundant step to me. :shrug:

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

You find a 6 micron plate cuts faster than a 14 micron stone ? Seems a redundant step to me. :shrug:

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Actually wouldn't surprise me, diamonds cut more aggressively than AlO, especially on hard steels.
Sometimes even a finer diamond plate can cut faster than a course, it's like the courser one can't grip the steel, it just skips over with a few scratches left behind.

AlO is more gentle in removing steel.

Using abrasives is a science but it sure is strange sometimes!

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

You find a 6 micron plate cuts faster than a 14 micron stone ? Seems a redundant step to me. :shrug:

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It seems that it does cut faster. And no worry about dishing(not that choseras dish easily either).

Yes , Al Ox is a slower cutter but some stones also contain Si C which puts them not too far behind diamonds in speed but without the depth of scratches. It's interesting that even some Jnats can cut out of all proportion to their fineness. Yet another YMMV . :)

Just an update. The six hundred arrived a while ago and I've done a few stones with it. It laps well, no question. I find the scratch marks quite deep, so the 1000 would probably be better on stones over one thousand. But it works, and it's an excellent plate.

I can say that I used my Atoma 1200 on razors, no problem at all. Some swedish and sheffield razors are so hard that if i should set a bevel with a stone it would take ages..

If you just hold the edge at a 90 degree angle to the atoma you will get a very nice scratch pattern. As soon as you turn the edge a little the scratch pattern will be uneven. Thatis because the layout of the diamonds on the atoma.

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