Thread: Questions of DMT Dia-Sharp 8000 vs Norton

I have recently read through a lot of honing information and eventually came across joel's guide on badger & blade comparing a bunch of different honing equipment using dovo blades.

He states that his personal opinion was that the DMT Dia-Sharp 8000 plate cut faster than the 4000 side of the norton and was smoother than the 8k side. Has anyone else found this to be true? I will eventually have a need for something more coarse than my chinese 12k. If it does in face cut faster do you think it would be able to put a bevel on ebay razors or would I need something more coarse?

My experience has been that stones whether natural or synthetic are a bit gentler on the edge then diamond plates. I have a D8C 325 for lapping certain stones and removing serious chips in blade edges and a D8E 1200 for setting bevels on certain razors. If I was going to recommend a setup for someone who already had the Chinese 12K it would be the above along with the Norton 4/8.

For beveling an E=bay special you would probably want something more coarse. The time it takes to put a bevel on some razors with a 4000 grit stone is quite long, even as fast as the DMT is reputed to cut, I would think the bevel settign time could be kind of astronomical.

I've bread knifed four of my seven old blades now, and set the bevel using a DMT 8E (1.2k grit equiv). Each one has been *alot* of work. I can't imagine how long it would have taken to set the bevel on the DMT 8EE (8k equiv). Of course, setting the bevel on a bread knifed blade is the extreme end of the scale, but then again, if you're getting alot of ebay blades, you might end up bread knifing the majority of them.

Just a newb's point of view, but I really like the 8E for setting bevels. I wouldn't attempt it on the 8EE.

Joel's thread is what talked me into getting the 8EE in the first place, but now I find myself wishing I would have gone with the Norton (or other 8k stone) instead. As many of the more experienced guys around here have said, the DMT 8EE is just too harsh on the blade; it leaves very deep scratch patterns that are a PITA to remove on higher grits.

I really like the DMT 8E for setting bevels, though. It cuts fast. If I had it to do over again, I'd get the DMT 8C (for lapping and extreme reshaping), the DMT 8E for bevel setting (it's sooo fast!), then I'd completely get out of the DMT series for the rest of the grits. Probably a Norton 4/8, and a chinese 12k.

Even after you've found that 50 laps on the 12k eliminates the scratch pattern of the DMT EEF, floorpizza? That doesn't sound too bad to me, considering that you don't have to lap the DMT.

Originally Posted by Ben325e

Even after you've found that 50 laps on the 12k eliminates the scratch pattern of the DMT EEF, floorpizza? That doesn't sound too bad to me, considering that you don't have to lap the DMT.

Yeah, for two reasons...

1. For me, using the DMT 8EE means I *have* to use another stone in my progression. I've read that alot of guys can go straight from a *good* 8k stone right to the strop. Or at least to diamond pastes with good results.

2. It's too easy (for me, at least) to remove too much metal with the DMT. I'm sure it's just me being a total newb, but I think I'd prefer a slower cutting stone at the 8k level.

Honestly, though, I'm still so new at all this that I'm sure my opinion is gonna change daily/hourly. Or all this could just be a lame attempt at justifying a new stone acquisition to satisfy my HAD. That Shapton 8k is drop dead sehksy...

Seriously, though.. this newb wishes he woulda bought a Norton 4k/8k instead of the DMT 8EE.

My perfect hone list (taking money into consideration):

DMT 8C (lapping, reshaping)
DMT 8E (bevel setting)
Norton 4k/8k
Chinese 12k (with slurry stone)
Diamond pastes: 1.0, .50, .25

In my humble newb opinion, that setup would do someone just stepping into the honing game pretty darn well, without breaking the bank.

I guess I'll wait and get a norton combo and a lower grit dmt I can use to do big repairs and also to lap the norton. I just don't know when I will have that much to drop at once....

What a bad time to pick up such an addictive hobby...

My personal experience mirrors Joel's. I follow the D8EE with a coticule and it's very smooth. 20 more laps on the CH12K and then off to the strop. Very smooth shaves that last quite a while.

I have jumped straight from the DMT to the CH12K but it took about 80-100 laps to smooth it out. So yes, you could save some money on a coticule by spending more time on the CH12K.

That is what I was thinking. If I use something after the DMT (Chinese 12k) won't it not matter then if it is a bit rougher than the Norton? The thing is I could buy a DMT 8EE and thats it, or I could buy a norton but then I would also have to worry about re-lapping it.

Originally Posted by mziter

That is what I was thinking. If I use something after the DMT (Chinese 12k) won't it not matter then if it is a bit rougher than the Norton? The thing is I could buy a DMT 8EE and thats it, or I could buy a norton but then I would also have to worry about re-lapping it.

I'm doing DMT 8E, DMT 8EE, Chinese 12k with slurry until the 8EE scratches are removed, then another 50 without slurry. Today will be the first time I've shaved with this exact progression (I've been using a variation of it on blades I've shaved with for the passed week), but it looks very promising. Using a slurry with the Chinese 12k speeds up removing the scratches from the 8k stone quite a bit, but it's still a pretty slow cutting stone.