Which stones can be flattened with Atoma 400?

[konsuke]

Is there some rule for the grit of trueing stone to work stone? Everybody seems to recommend the Atoma 140, but I "accidentally" got a Atoma 400. Can I use it on all stones, does it matter?

 

[1315]

Many if not most use the 140 for trueing. I have the 400, and have never thought it was lacking. I'm just a year into sharpening, so half of my synthetics are new, so flattening is minimal. I guess i figured since most of my sharpening and flattening is not radical, the 400 might give slightly better range when flattening finishing stones. In grinding metal, obviously the 140 is better. In working stones, i prefer the 400. It's always erased the pencil grids easily, and should leave a smoother finishing surface on a higher range of finishing product (high grit stones).

 

[konsuke]

It's not so much about "lacking", but maybe an Atoma 400 leaves too deep scratches in the stone, from a certain grit and up? Although maybe that's countered by the produced slurry, so not important? As I understood, the slurry is the real "important" medium? More so, if you true it just before the sharpening session it might not matter?

 

[NickMinton]

I mean pretty much anything that’s 400 or above. Try it on some stones and see if anything comes up.

Let’s say you rub a Atoma 400 on a 200 stone and nothing happens….then you know it’s not working

I would draw a quick grid on the top of a stone before rubbing it with an Atoma 400 and see if the marks start coming off

 

[gentiscid]

A worn Atoma 400 for every stone

 

[konsuke]

My Atoma 400 can produce a slurry on anything, it's just a question of if it's counter productive on let's say - in my case - a 3k or 6k. The working stone looks worse afterwards, but still I got slurry, so it's fine? There must be a reason why everybody seems to use a Atoma 140 instead?

 

[Rangen]

A worn Atoma 400 for every stone

The key word is worn. Someday I will have to take some microscope pictures, but for now I can say that I don't experience any surface effects on waterstones when I flatten or raise slurry with worn-out diamond plates.

I think I'd exempt Hard Arkansas stones from your rule, unless your goal is to quickly wear out your Atoma and buy a new one. Same for anything sintered, like Spyderco.

 

[DHunter86]

If you're looking for speed (of both flattening and leaving a more aggressive working surface on the stone), then the 140 atoma works better. The 400 or 600 bring out the potential of high grit Japanese naturals better.

The 400 would also wear faster when used to flatten coarser synthetic stones.

 

[M1k3]

I'd use it on stones above 400 grit. That don't need a ton of flattening.

 

[naader]

A worn Atoma 400 for every stone

all of my naturals get this treatment

Synthetics can benefit from coarse flattening stones because deep grooves left by something like a new 140 on the surface of the synth can significantly change how it'll interact with the knife but that's something you gotta experiment with to really get it.

 

[konsuke]

all of my naturals get this treatment

Synthetics can benefit from coarse flattening stones because deep grooves left by something like a new 140 on the surface of the synth can significantly change how it'll interact with the knife but that's something you gotta experiment with to really get it.

Did I understand correct, that you mean the deep grooves left behind by a 140 on a S&G are beneficial?

 

[1315]

re: Belgian rocks~
Although many use Atomas to flatten or raise slurry on Belgian blues or coticules, id read that the diamonds fracture the garnets and cause some ill effect...i don't recall exactly what. Unless its major work, i try to limit using atoma diamonds on Belgians. In an effort to be a purist on those great rocks, I use a combo bout for maintenance or to raise slurry.

 

[naader]

Did I understand correct, that you mean the deep grooves left behind by a 140 on a S&G are beneficial?

Not necessarily better, it changes how the stone will interact with the knife, here's an example;

One of the things I like to do is put 80 grit diamond scratches on a naniwa super 3k and rinse+ rub all the mud off with running water, leave a good pool of fresh water on the face, then use it to put perpendicular scratches on a bevel. If the progression has been perfect to this point, i'll get a mirror finish on the iron with absolutely no mud raised from the stone with a single push localized to where I am putting pressure. The stone will just look like it's loading up with metal, turns black basically as the shavings get trapped on the surface. If the bevel is perfectly shaped and there are no stray scratches, this makes the 3k phase basically take 2 minutes after which the knife is ready for naturals.

I like doing this because any kasumi spots will either be low or have deeper scratches that are abrading the stone and raising mud, putting a spotlight on any mistakes. Just a neat trick I noticed with the finer naniwa super stones, works with the 5k super and 2k green brick too, really good skill check for those retarded enough (me) to go for perfection on bevels, mess-ups become immediately obvious.

 

[konsuke]

Uff, that's far too sophisticated for me mere mortal noob but good to know ty

 

[ReiHamono]

I used a new 140 atoma on 120-5k when I used to use shapton. You just scrub the surface to ensure no contamination.

I’ll even use fresh atoma 140 or 400 on fine natural finishing stones as well. Just scrub the surface well.

This significantly increases cutting power as well which I prefer.

 

[Legion74]

I use my 400 for everything except hard novaculite, which can still be done, but wears out the Atoma prematurely.

If I need something to remove material faster (like a dished vintage stone) I use SIC powder on glass.

 

[cotedupy]

Is there some rule for the grit of trueing stone to work stone? Everybody seems to recommend the Atoma 140, but I "accidentally" got a Atoma 400. Can I use it on all stones, does it matter?

A happy accident I think...

Assuming you haven't got one of the ones with a handle, then Atoma plates are two sided. Wait for the 400 to get slightly worn in, then buy a replacement 140 sheet, stick it on the other side, and you've got the perfect flattening and conditioning combi. I've got three or four of these 140x400s, and I use them every day: