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I don't have any personal experience with DMT but after a lot of research on the same subject I decided the Atoma 140 was the best value. There's a vendor here that sells them with a handle that makes flattening very easy.
 
madelinez said:
I don't have any personal experience with DMT but after a lot of research on the same subject I decided the Atoma 140 was the best value. There's a vendor here that sells them with a handle that makes flattening very easy.
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Yup. I have both 140 and 400 Atoma with handle. The handle makes it super easy to flatten with. It does pretty much prevent you from using as a thinning stone (although I tend to use sandpaper for heavy duty thinning, so no real loss there).
 
Anyone have experience with both dMT and Atoma? Atoma is 40$ more expensive.
 
Twas me,I'd go with what Paraffin suggested.I have the DMT dia flat lapping plate,160 grit,I believe it is and while it is a great flattening plate,I was always afraid of cracking my stones because it stuck so badly if I wasn't careful.I ended up buying an Atoma 140 to be safe but that thing ain't cheap either.Give JKI's lapping plate a try,I would have if I knew about it at the time. Might save you a bunch of money.
 
charlesquik said:
Seem like a really good options, but unfortunately I'm in Canada and shipping is prohibitive at 36.87$ USD for shipping such a small plate.

It bring the total to 91.87$ USD so 122$ CAD. This is out of my budget.
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Ugh, sorry to hear that. It's probably related to the weight. The plate is a thick metal bar, fairly heavy, which helps keep it mated to the stone surface when lapping.
 
Paraffin said:
Ugh, sorry to hear that. It's probably related to the weight. The plate is a thick metal bar, fairly heavy, which helps keep it mated to the stone surface when lapping.
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Nah. Shippig from US to Canada always was a major PITA. It has always been around $30. You can ship cheaper but you won’t get insurance or tracking (minimal tracking). So most shops don’t use that option. And on top of that you will get to pay import tax+province tax + brokerage fees. So all in all $55 plate could end up costing you $100+

On topic - I prefer Atoma to JKI plate. JKI plate is smaller and wears much faster.
 
I have the atoma 400, dmt C, and dmt diaflat 160.

dmt 325: best for knives, and slowest for stones. Its very good for high grit stones imo.

atoma 400: better than dmt 325 for stones since it doesn't stick to the stones.
also removes material faster. Does not leave as good finish on high grit stones as the 325. I tried flattening 2 missarka stones with it but it seemed like it didn't remove any stone material at all.

I dislike it for knives, since its feels like its not actually cutting. Durability is uncertain i'd say.

dmt diaflat 160: ultra destructive for knife edges. removes metal really fast though. I suggest you follow up with a low grit stone after this, like a 220-500.

works very fast on stones. Even missarkas. no stiction.

atoma 140: (borrowed) ultra destructive on edges. feels like its not cutting anything just like the 400, but it removes metal faster obviously.

Seems to work fast on stones. no stiction.
 
I would get any of the tried and proven brands for diamonds, the big 3. that is: DMT/Atoma/EZ-lap
 
inferno said:
I have the atoma 400, dmt C, and dmt diaflat 160.

dmt 325: best for knives, and slowest for stones. Its very good for high grit stones imo.

atoma 400: better than dmt 325 for stones since it doesn't stick to the stones.
also removes material faster. Does not leave as good finish on high grit stones as the 325. I tried flattening 2 missarka stones with it but it seemed like it didn't remove any stone material at all.

I dislike it for knives, since its feels like its not actually cutting. Durability is uncertain i'd say.

dmt diaflat 160: ultra destructive for knife edges. removes metal really fast though. I suggest you follow up with a low grit stone after this, like a 220-500.

works very fast on stones. Even missarkas. no stiction.

atoma 140: (borrowed) ultra destructive on edges. feels like its not cutting anything just like the 400, but it removes metal faster obviously.

Seems to work fast on stones. no stiction.
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I always enjoy and appreciate your reviews. Good job.
 
I now use the Atoma 140 and the DMT I had didn't seem to last as long as my Atoma. I only use the plates for flattening stones as i have low grit stones for repair work.
 
I have a full set of DMT 8" (from XXC to XXF) and ATOMA 140, 400, and 1200. I've had the DMTs longer, and have used the coarser ends of the lineup to flatten my synthetics for 2-3 years. I think they both have pros and cons, but none of them are compelling enough to say one is better than the other. I like that DMT stones are heavier, so I like that I can more or less use the weight of the stone to apply the downward pressure (not that I put much on with my Atoma's), and I tend to do Atoma's leave a more consistent "scratch pattern" but that could be just a wishful thinking.

From sharpening aspect of it though, I prefer sharpening on my DMTs as it not only has more grit ranges, but I think it provides better feedback. I use it exclusively for all my high alloyed folders.

I've heard here and there that DMTs tend to let lose their diamond particles more easily, which could be problematic if some get lodged into the stones you're flattening. I honestly haven't had issues with either brand, but since I've heard this a few times, I also tend to go with Atoma's for flattening (though I've heard of them having similar issues.....).

In all, you couldn't go wrong with either.
 
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