Diamond Sharpening Stone

So I decided I wanted to learn how to sharpen chisels and knives free hand a la Paul Sellers and Rex Kreuger. I knew I wanted to go with diamond stones because I'm just not into the idea of having to flatten my stones all the time or risk bad results. I also don't want to use a water stone because of the hassle and mess. I just want something that can live in the kitchen and do double duty for my chisels but also for kitchen knives. I didn't have the price of the three stone set like Paul Sellers uses although I'll probably upgrade at some point. Meantime, this one works really well for my purposes. It worked WAY faster to flatten the backs of my chisels than the Arkansas stone that came with the set. Once basic sharpening is accomplished, I almost never use the 400 grit side; just a brief workout on the 1000 grit side, some polishing on the strop, and plenty sharp enough for my needs. I haven't been able to achieve true razor sharpness but that's on my and my still developing technique. Making progress. I really don't think I'm ever going to go for crazy fine grain stones in the multiples of thousands. Just not needed in my very real, pragmatic world. I especially like the holder that comes with it. Super easy to use and keeps the thing from sliding on my counter top. The stone, itself, is nice and heavy and the whole set up feels well made and quality. For the money, and at this stage of my experience/expertise in using a sharpening stone, it's just about right.

I have been sharpeing dull stuff for 50 plus years, especially salon scissors -- this is a very good tool, especially due to it keeping its horizontal flat face; a very quick fix for dull kitchen knifes. Also broad [wide] enough for most uses and easy to maintain vis a vis whetstones.

Sharpening with diamond plates is a game-changer and this is a very economical way to get started. Be aware that there is a break-in period, the grits seem a lot more coarse right out of the box and then stabilize at a smoother feel after some use. The surfaces seem very consistent and the overall quality is high. I probably won't ever use the 400 grit side unless I am repairing a damaged edge or reshaping a bevel. 1000 grit followed by a leather strop charged with polishing compound is all I need to keep my tools in great shape (although I am not a "fine woodworker"). The base is great, heavy and stable and can be used to hold other stones too. I use window cleaner or water with a few drops of dish soap as a lubricant, clean up is a breeze. I used to use sandpaper on glass and this plate will pay for itself in a month or two. If you are considering a change to diamond sharpening, give this a try.

I got this diamond plate in 2019 as a low maintenance alternative to waterstones and to help with restoring found chisels and plane irons as I started woodworking as a hobby. It didn't have the bottle, but eh, nothing a cup to drip some water from can't fix. Plus it might have been before they offered the bottle, I can't remember. It worked great and was fairly quick at grinding down metal with the 1000 side leaving a pretty nice edge that's refined and polished further with a compound laden strop (though it does take a bit of doing since the scratches even after breaking in are a bit persistent). The holder is great too, super handy for both this plate and strop since I like to sharpen freehand. I had to knock off a star though. While the 400 side was as flat as my straightedge told me, the 1000 grit had a slight hollow. Again, not that big of an issue since I put cambers on my irons, but it's been on my mind when it comes to the chisels and the irons of other planes that don't need a camber or when/if I do get a waterstone or two for edges finer than what the 1000 grit side and a strop gave me. However, it's still handy to have out for quick and dirty touch ups when I don't want to drag out the oilstones for a more involved edge maintenance. I do wish that I could have just taken half a star off though, because this plate has been pretty good to me!

Mountain your sharpener is always an extra decision and it’s easy to get it wrong; this kit comes with a mini vice and really sticky rubber stoppers. Makes a huge difference with sharpening experience, you’ll enjoy an otherwise pain-in-the-butt process. The plate is longer than most, this saves time and gives you a feel of the instruments edge mid-way through the stroke. I can’t believe I used plates that were 7-8” long. This things like 12”. The other problem with cheap Diamond sharpening stones (China, typically,, the no name brand) is flatness maintaining its flatness. This plate has been machined perfectly and has zero flaws in all four corners. You could use it probably to flatten out your other “Almost flat” whetting stones. Me, I’ll probably throw out my whet stones because this is the best sharpener on the market and the set up was well thought-out. Feels like it’s made in Germany.

Purchased this after reading about diamond sharpening stones, types of diamond, methods diamonds are attached to the substrate, etc. I selected this tool and am glad I did. I received it today and everything arrived in perfect condition. Excited to try it out, I immediately started sharpening the three ceramic kitchen knives I haven't been able to sharpen without a diamond stone. I've included pitchers of one know, which is representative of the condition of each of the others. Did a nice job creating a new edge to get rid of the chips and providing a very nice working edge. I didn't attempt to go for an extreme edge, but the edge easily cuts through paper and I'm certain typical foods won't be a challenge. Took about 15-minutes or so per knife. Then went to sharpening two bench plane blades in bad need of sharpening. I also purchased a honing guide, which was indispensable for this task and made it easy and quick to get a razor sharp edge on both plane blades. Took about 10 minutes per blade! Very nice product and I wish I had purchased this years ago.

I restore old hand planes and use this diamond sharpening stone to get the blades back into shape before sharpening them. With finer grit stones. I have sharpened a bunch of them and it is holding up well.

The only problem is that the 1000 grit side is 1000% not 1000 grit. I know this b/c a) it feels different and b) 600 grit sandpaper leaves significantly more of a shine on an edge than the "1000" of this stone. The 400 side is closer to 400 but still id say its like 320ish. But overall its a diamond plate, two grits, and a good holder to use for whatever else may fit, so its a decent buy.