Diamond plate for flattening stones.

I've been looking at getting a diamond plate for beveling the edges of and flattening stones and I have a couple of questions.

Is this the recommended method? or is it better to get a flattening stone?
Are there specialised flattening plates?
If using a plate designed for sharpening knives is there a grit size that is good to use on all stone?

I'm starting to feel like I may be over-thinking this.

I use an Atoma 140 for flattening. Works great

is 140 the grit #, is that the way it works?

GriffinChef said:

is 140 the grit #, is that the way it works?

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you can read more information about Atoma 140 Here & Here
my Atoma 140 flattening power is way better than many flattening stone & yes, 140 is grit#

I can't really afford something like an atoma, atleast for flattening stones. I found a $20 stone flattener at the best of things website and it works just fine.

Best is Atoma in every way but cost, followed by DMT XXC, followed by stone flattener followed by sandpaper mounted on a relatively flat wooden block, a drywall screen or a nice sidewalk. I've used all of them and unless you are sharpening razors, it's not gonna matter much.

Dmt also has pretty reasonable 2 sided plates, xxcourse and course, second side maybe for finer stones. They're not Atomas but if your only using them for flattening stones, they'll last a loooong time.

i use a DMT extra coarse for thinning knives...and a cheap stone flattener for flatting stones...if an atoma 140 can do both of these tasks better then its worth it to purchase the atoma...

I bought the diamond plate from CKTG and am happy with both it's performance and price.

jon broida sells one for like $70, i've had one for several months and would recommend without hesitation. plus he's a good dude.

El Pescador said:

I bought the diamond plate from CKTG and am happy with both it's performance and price.

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For me it does 90% of what the atoma did for me. I only with it was a tad thicker so that I could get a better grip on it.

No idea if its somehow superior for grinding metal but its what I'd recommend for stone flattening.

TheDispossessed said:

jon broida sells one for like $70, i've had one for several months and would recommend without hesitation. plus he's a good dude.

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I wonder how that one compares to the Atoma?

from what i know the atomas are the best and longest lasting, but dmt is pretty good to.

i just use a cheap diamond plate from cktg for flattening. works well enough for me.

I have the atomas nd DMT, Both work fine. DMT is a little more useful if you are ever going to use it on a knife IMO. Atomas flatten stone a little faster maybe? I'd like to try the big size DMT, think its 4x10 or something like that? But it goes for 200.00 not dropping that money for a flattening plate

eshua said:

For me it does 90% of what the atoma did for me. I only with it was a tad thicker so that I could get a better grip on it.

No idea if its somehow superior for grinding metal but its what I'd recommend for stone flattening.

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just put it in a stone holder; then it's both easier to grip, or you can just lay it flat and hold the stone.

Agree a stone holder works well for my Atoma's when doing knife work.Stones mostly wet rag on wood.

Have any of you looked at Tools from Japan? I think they (well, Stuart) offers the lowest Atoma prices around - meaning of the sites KKF members usually look at. His prices are similar to what's available in Japan as of course he's selling from Japan. US-based sellers, for example sell at a much higher prices. Not sure what his shipping would be to where you are, but I've bought from him and know it's reasonable.

Going back to the question of grit, I've got the 400 and it's really useful and can certainly flatten my lowest grit stone, a 400 too, in no time ... flat. I've also used it on my medium and higher synthetics too. However, I'm wondering if anyone owns a 1200 and what they use it for? Jnats anyone?

I started using recently an oversize DMT plate in 120 grit. I really like it. It's 10"X4", so you get your stones dead flat in no time.

M

Marko Tsourkan said:

I started using recently an oversize DMT plate in 120 grit. I really like it. It's 10"X4", so you get your stones dead flat in no time.

M

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What's the best price you have seen it. Don't know if it would work or not but seeing how handy you are. what do you think anout building a holder that would fit 2 of the Standard size xxc's? might be. Cheaper than the 10 x 4?

Thanks. You people are awesome.

Chef Niloc said:

What's the best price you have seen it. Don't know if it would work or not but seeing how handy you are. what do you think about building a holder that would fit 2 of the Standard size xxc's? might be. Cheaper than the 10 x 4?

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What I like about 10x4, is that it is larger than any water stone I have used, and flattening is fast and efficient. I don't use a base for it, but have oversize bumper feet on it, raising it up by 1/2" above the surface.

Two 8x3 plates side-by-side, would give you the width but not the lengh. Wooden base would not be practical, as there will be quite a bit of water runoff and mud, but gluing it on a granite or glass base would work (though not very practical). Two 11.5x2.5 would be better for hhe lengh, but those would need to be custom ordered, as DMT doesn't offer them in 120 grit, and in this case it might cheaper to order 10x4.

I need to finish the 8K custom project, and maybe I will think of a group buy for 10x4".

Marko Tsourkan said:

I need to finish the 8K custom project, and maybe I will think of a group buy for 10x4".

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What's the ball park price for 10x4 group buy?

If I go that route, I will post the info in my subforum. At this time, I have no plans to consider another, until 8K project is completed.

M

Sandpaper on glass. I use like 120 grit wet/dry. Works great and is cheap