Uses for 1200 Atoma, Experience Ordering from Metalmaster?

Thinking of getting a 1200 atoma to use on jnats to flatten. I currently have the 140 and 400, but even from using on synths it seems like the 400 would be too coarse for the higher grit/fineness stones without some additional work with a nagura or something. Anyone else use the 1200 for this, or other tasks?

Also while researching the purchase, it looks like Metalmaster is the best value for price and shipping… it looks like even if I use EMS which is over 3x the cost of SAL, it'll still be over $35CAD less than picking up locally at Lee Valley (their prices have gone up about 20-30% since last year)… assuming they ship similar to other Japanese vendors

I'm not too familiar with this seller, but know the name comes up on the forums from time to time. I just wouldn't want to try and save a few bucks (well, more than a few) if there's risk of the product being a dud or if MM is difficult to deal with.

Communication is not great but they are a good/safe vendor. Definitely want ems. Don't think my J-nats have gone out of flat with moderate home use...but may help with initial slurry if not using a nagura?

Hi T

There have been a few similar 'experience with MM?' threads and you should hear the same thing: Takeshi, I think his name is (I only 2nd guess myself because there's more than 1 Takeshi around), is very low-key and obviously does sales as a sideline. He's not much of a communicator, but on the other hand his website offers some good information and for many products he's at the source, in Kyoto. He won't ship stuff right away but it will come, so you might question whether you should pay more for EMS. His prices may often be the best and I like how he's under the radar and doesn't describe everything as 'super'.

Yes, I think Atoma 1200 would be a nice, gentler plate for dealing with finer stones. Don't be afraid of coarse plates, though. Easy to rub with a nagura after, or you can rub 2 stones together. I've go a 140, 400 and Aframe's 600 mini-Atoma.

Only problem with the atoma 1200 is it sticks something fierce. Mine wore out kinda quickly as well.

ThEoRy said:

Only problem with the atoma 1200 is it sticks something fierce. Mine wore out kinda quickly as well.

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On the plus side, a more seasoned Atoma can be gentler on nat stones.

I've actually just been slow and used the SAL cheapest shipping option with him and things do eventually get here (I have even had sporadic/irregularly updated tracking, though the insurance value is like either really small or 0). Bought a knife and 4 stones no problem. My experience has been that orders get shipped out end of the week, Friday-ish, which is kind of vexing since I'll make impulse buys late Sunday night

Can concur that shipping from Metal Master is on the slow side but items are well packed. Good prices on Tanaka but many knives are "out of stock". Communication is not their strong suit. This is possibly due to a language barrier - or at least that's my impression from looking at their web site. Can't comment on the Atoma.

Thanks for the input all, the trigger shall most likely be pulled.

Like Asteger said, I use a 150/600 combo diamond plate and then go over it with another stone or nagura to get rid of the scratches.

I am using my 120 on my jns and it worked just fine

i have a 600 atoma and a coarse dmt.. both so run down that they would never scratch my jnats.
bought them from http://www.fine-tools.com/diasharpener.html

I had ordered a Suita stone ( http://www.metalmaster-ww.com/product/675 ) ten days ago from MM and today it arrived at my house.

Was a pleasure doing business with Takeshi.

Always ordered my Tanaka's from him. Shipping is a wait. He did communicate in English, informing me that Tanaka will no longer be making the G3 pear finish blades using VG10 instead.

Atoma 1200 is what i use as well. its nice because under the microscope it does not show deep scratches.
i use it for setting bevels on my straight razors as well. Just be sure not to drop it, it will bend.

probably want to get another in the near future.

Wow, kinda surprised to hear the aluminum plate would bend if dropped… presuming we're talking about reasonable heights that is

Pulled the trigger yesterday on the 1200, will update when it arrives.

UPDATE
I got my 1200 atoma plate yesterday (September 10th). I ordered on August 15th and it shipped on September 1st by EMS.

It actually arrived on the 6th but MM sent it to the wrong address… it went to my "customer information" address and not my "shipping address" so it was awhile before I could pick it up. I'm kinda annoyed by the mixup but what can you do… it was worth the wait and cost less than buying locally.

tjangula said:

UPDATE
I got my 1200 atoma plate yesterday (September 10th). I ordered on August 15th and it shipped on September 1st by EMS.

It actually arrived on the 6th but MM sent it to the wrong address… it went to my "customer information" address and not my "shipping address" so it was awhile before I could pick it up. I'm kinda annoyed by the mixup but what can you do… it was worth the wait and cost less than buying locally.

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Glad to hear you got yours so "quickly" TJ. My first order only took ~two weeks - quite acceptable, prompting another order. However this time I've been waiting since August 8th without any contact from them despite sending emails requesting an update.
A KKF member told me that it can take up to 2 months to receive an order so I guess I just have to keep waiting... and hoping.

I wonder if he's away for something. The last addition to his ebay shop was August 8th. My experiences ordering with him is that he starts sending stuff off at the weeks end (Friday-ish) following an order

foody518 - you could be right about him being away. His last update coincides with my order date... hmmm. Others have mentioned that he tends to ship weekly. I received shipping information from him about a week after my first order. This time no shipping information has been received at all.

It took about 2.5 weeks for my order to ship, but it's puzzling that Marek07 hasn't gotten an update since he ordered a week before me. Was it shipped by SAL instead of EMS? Not sure if it has tracking as I've never used it, and if it doesn't have it, maybe no order update was sent? Just tossing around ideas…

My order was meant to be shipped SAL as was my first order. From memory, the EMS option was $27 vs only $10 for EMS and yes, I'm a cheapskate. Bottom line is that I used PayPal so I guess I have some recourse if my knives don't arrive. Guess I might be a tad impatient...

tjangula said:

It took about 2.5 weeks for my order to ship, but it's puzzling that Marek07 hasn't gotten an update since he ordered a week before me. Was it shipped by SAL instead of EMS? Not sure if it has tracking as I've never used it, and if it doesn't have it, maybe no order update was sent? Just tossing around ideas…

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This may actually be the case as I've heard that there is no tracking available...perhaps the knife is on the way and you won't know until it arrives? As for the shipping, for whatever reason I believe my last order by ems was ~9$ but I guess it is dependent on destination?

Just checked MM's shipping rates.
SAL is $10 for over 1kg but less than 1.5kg (but Africa & South America pay $20). EMS for the same weight range is $35 to any destination.
See: http://www.metalmaster-ww.com/help/shipping/ for full rates.
I'd be OK if I could just get a response to my emails or a shipping confirmation. Waiting seems to be the only course of action for the moment.

3 or 4 different SAL (or whatever was the cheapest shipping option available for the products) orders with MM this year came with tracking. Sparse tracking, but tracking nonetheless. I think as far as his SAL vs EMS options go, they lack in having as much insurance (if any at all) and obviously the shipping speed differs.

I am in the same boat. Ordered Ohira and did not even receive confirmation of the sale nor any info about shipping. I also used PayPal so I am not so worried...

I tired to contact the seller a couple of time of inquiries. No answer after two weeks.

But you saved a few bucks?

Never heard of a non delivery from mm. Just makes for an interesting ride.

i asked for a shipping confirmation via the text box and got a nice mail plus tracking number for sal. stone arrived 4 weeks later. i ordered there 4 times and received every item.

+1
had some good experience with Takashi
got some very nice Nakayama Koppa from him for a good price ~$50, all eventually arrived.

BTW
tjangula, love the Shig I got from you

thanks