Thread: DMT 325

I finally bought one of these from a member here. From what I understand the stone has seen very little use. Is there anything I need to do to get it ready to lap hones, and what kind of maintenance does it require? Cleaning and what not.

Nothing special needs to be done, just start lapping. Use plenty of water (I just lap in the sink with a slight stream of water running from the faucet). Use reasonably light pressure, leaning on it hard might cause some of the diamonds to get dislodged. To clean I just rinse the hone with more water, pat it dry with a towel and let it air dry before putting away.

Regards

Christian

that sounds about right to me. I saw someone selling a special cleaning kit for DMT hones though and it got me thinking that maybe they needed something special.

I've seen the kits but never needed one. When I get picky, I'll use something like Comet with a Scotch-Brite pad or nylon brush.

Mostly I just wipe it off with my hand and do as kaptain_zero does.

I sold the DMT 325 grit with a DMT cleaning kit. The cleaning kit actually was a gift from DMT when they sent back a brand new replacement for a DMT 1200 grit that had a minor defect in it. I had never heard about a DMT cleaning kit prior to receiving it and it said the kit was only available directly through DMT.

I agree Comet, soap, baking soda, etc would work well to clean the DMTs.

I will say I was very impressed with whatever DMT does put in their cleaning kit since it made the surface of the 325 like new. Very impressive. Worth $19? IMO stick with some of the other previously mentioned cleaning methods.

Chris L

Comet works wonders on DMTs, as has been mentioned. My 1200-grit gets a rust-tint to it from honing swarf, and the cleanser takes it right off. I gave up on that a while ago, though. It looks nice but with all the razors I hone it's a losing battle ...

Matt, you may find that the DMT scratches the surface of the hone you're lapping. If that happens, the usual DMT break-in routine of rubbing some metal over the surface will fix the problem. A properly broken in DMT will not leave scratches on a Norton, Belgian hone or barber hone.

Josh

Should I just run a kitchen knife over it? I don't have any razors that I want to ruin. Actually I could use my chipped dovo. Its junk now any ways.

A kitchen knife, an old plane blade, an old chisel... Anything metal would probably work. Just be careful that whatever you use doesn't gouge the DMT. Watch out for using a lot of pressure on something with an edge or a point.

Josh