2K +Diamond Stones?
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I’ve used up to 8K DMT diamond plates for hand sharpening tools. I’m wondering if WE is or has ever looked into going that high with their diamond stones?
These are the same 3 micron stones that we used to carry and discontinued for quality reasons, namely that the manufacturing method hasn’t been perfected and there are often very large clusters of diamonds on the stones, sometimes measuring 50-100 microns. My understanding is that localized magnetic fields are created during the plating process around the very small, 3 micron, diamonds and they can attract each other (agglomerate) creating these large, rogue clusters.
-Clay
Thanks Clay. I thought as much. DMT must have a patented process that makes this possible. Its a nice plate and works very well. It’s just slightly more abrasive than an 8K ceramic.
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Unless it wasn’t clear from Clay’s comments, the 8,000 grit DMT diamond plates used to be sold by WE but were replaced in the lineup with the 1500 grit diamond stone. The 1500 grit stone actually produces scratches that are between 2.5-3.5 microns wide. See this old thread from when the stone was introduced.
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I’ve used up to 8K DMT diamond plates for hand sharpening tools. I’m wondering if WE is or has ever looked into going that high with their diamond stones?
These are the same 3 micron stones that we used to carry and discontinued for quality reasons, namely that the manufacturing method hasn’t been perfected and there are often very large clusters of diamonds on the stones, sometimes measuring 50-100 microns. My understanding is that localized magnetic fields are created during the plating process around the very small, 3 micron, diamonds and they can attract each other (agglomerate) creating these large, rogue clusters.
This seems to suggest that DMT does not deliberately add the oversized diamonds, although the one EEF and the three EF plates I looked at all had a small number of large diamonds dispersed across the surface. They are definitely single crystal diamonds, not clusters of smaller diamonds. The WE 1500 doesn’t seem to have these (although I can’t analyze mine without removing one from the paddle). Are the WE plates manufactured by DMT (or is that a trade secret)?
I’m not convinced that these large particles aren’t added deliberately. They serve two positive purposes – they dramatically increase the abrasion rate (without too much negative impact to the apex) and they should also increase the wear resistance and lifespan of the plates. However, if your goal is to polish the bevel, they are bad news.
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Wicked Edge has their own manufacturer for diamond plates. They treat the identity of that manufacturer as a trade secret.
“We keep the source of our diamond stones a carefully guarded trade secret ;-). I can tell you that they are monocrystalline diamonds.”
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Consistency in particle size and scratch pattern is very important to me. I do not want stray deep or large scratches, if avoidable.
Marc
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