Thread: DMT8C Questions

Hi
I just received my DMT8C yesterday and looking forward to lap my hones. I read that the diamond plate requires a break in. Is that so for lapping too? How would one go about braking it in?

I also have a really nasty ebay razor I picked up to practice honing, it has a couple of chips on the blade. Can I hone in on the 8C to get rid of chips faster then the norton 4k,8k?

There are some knifes in the house that could use some sharpening as well can someone point me to a good resoure to lears the technique.

Thanks

Just IMO, if I was just going to lap with the D8C I wouldn't do anything to it except check the edges for divots sticking up. If there were any I would take something like the shank of a large screwdriver and rub the edges down. If I was going to sharpen knives with it I would rub the whole plate down with the screwdriver shank or a plane iron. For a razor it would have to be a really bad chip before I would us the D8C for it. It will get it out of there though.

When i bought my dmt 3 pack special from woodcraft. i used an old chipped razor to break in the dmts.

Put soap and water on them. then ran it up and down a couple hundred times.

That razor is now the sharpest letter opener in town.

I don't know if you have to, but I did break mine in before lapping with it. I've seen some pics on here of people who had swirlies or scratches in their hones (like the Chinese 12k) after lapping with the DMT 325 and I've not had this experience whatsoever. The hones I lap with it come out super smooth. I don't know if that's because I broke it in first or not.

To break it in, I just ran the backside (spine) of an old kitchen knife over it as if trying to sharpen it, until I was satisfied that the rough edge had calmed down some.

With regard to taking chips out out of razors with it, depending on how big the chips are, I'll either hone them out or breadknife the edge on my D8C. I guess I don't have to drop to this level, but I'm impatient. If they are just micro or very small chips, I wouldn't go this low, though. When I do use a razor on it, I always move to a ~1k grit stone after. I don't know how it would fare jumping straight to the 4k norton, never tried it.

I break 'em in about the same way JimmyHAD does, except with a block of hardened stainless. Same idea. Something reasonably hard and kinda' flat will work. The harder hones will do some break-in of the DMT too.

The Buck Knives website used to have a nice sharpening tutorial on knives.
EDIT: try here for an introduction to knife sharpening Sharpening FAQ by Joe Talmadge - Custom Knives at Knife Art Unlike Joe, I recommend alternating sides every 20 to 40 strokes to keep the bevels somewhat equal (when setting the first bevels). A single bevel edge will work on knives (many serrated knives are sharpened this way), but I personally prefer the bevels to be roughly equal for all-around uses.

I find that keeping the DMT wet is much better for my knives. Lansky, Smith, and DMT all make sharpening guide clamps to hold the same angle on knives, until you get the hang of freehanding it. In some ways, learning to freehand it without using the clamps can be easier in the long run; YMMV here.

Thanks for all the replies.
I will try to break it in. I should be doing it under running water right? How long approximately?

Originally Posted by kozak

Thanks for all the replies.
I will try to break it in. I should be doing it under running water right? How long approximately?

When I did mine, I just wet it and honed on it like I said. Probably 50-100 strokes with medium pressure. It will go from feeling very very rough as if brand new to rough but smooth.

Running water is safest. I use a spray bottle or sink nozzle to wash the swarf off as soon as I notice it starting to build up. I wouldn't repeatedly dip the hone in the same tray of contaminated water to rinse it (it's not unheard of).

It can take anywhere from 10 to 50 minutes for a light break-in. Don't use too much pressure or you might tear the diamonds from the nickel plating. You should be able to notice it smoothing up.

For lapping and break-in: Imagine using maybe 4 pounds of pressure on a 2"x6" surface, or a 2 to 4 pound bag of sugar sitting on the back of your hand. For honing, of course, use far less pressure than that.