DMT D8C Dia-Sharp Diamond Knife Sharpener, Coarse Diamond Sharpening Stone, 8-Inch

This is a good tool for sharpening your chisels, plane irons, etc. It is durable, well made and as flat as advertised. I thought it was supposed to come with plastic, anti-skid feet. Mine didn't so I put some stick-on foam rubber pads and they work nicely. It is low profile so you might want to elevate it an inch or so to avoid dragging a chisel handle on your bench when you abrade the burr off of the back. You'll need to use a lubricant in order to help your edge tool move smoothly and carry away the abraded metal particles. DMT sells a solution to do this. I'm sure it works great and it is probably safe. However, I use vegetable oil. After use I wipe the plate clean with a paper towel to prevent oily grime build up. I suppose you can use a spritz of water but that will make the steel rust. This is not the first DMT product I have owned. The quality is reflected in DMT's prices but they are not outrageously expensive.

I wanted a diamond stone that could do triple-duty as a japanese waterstone flattener and knife repair type work, maybe even scissors or other household items. This stone seems to fit the bill but it did have some rough spots or raised diamond flecks that gouged-up my softer 5000 grit waterstone when new. To break in this DMT stone I ground off the the broken tip of an older chef's knife and used another smaller diamond stone to polish off the edges of this stone. It seems pretty uniform and OK for use on my waterstones now. Use caution if you decide to attack this diamond stone with another diamond stone in an attempt to speed up the break-in process. The edges of my new DMT coarse stone are now a bit too smooth and polished. The stone has lost its bite in those areas and I am unsure if it will return in time with use. Aside from the few aberrant rough spots out of the box, this DMT coarse stone isn't as coarse as I thought it would be. It produces a not-too-rough toothy edge that is appropriate as a final edge on some of my knives that I like to use for tougher chores. This 325 mesh DMT stone seems like a good compromise for people who want a diamond stone that can multi-task like myself.

This is my third DMT Diamond stone. I made the mistake of purchasing a “bargain brand” of the same description, but I quickly learned that I had made a horrid mistake. DMT really makes great stones…I do lathe work for a living, and I use these to keep my skews razor sharp. It is quick and easy to pause in the middle of a lathe turning (when my chisel is becoming dull), an touch up the edge on this stone with a bit of water. In like 45 seconds, it’s done and my tool is again cutting with smoothness and precision. Yes, these stones do wear out…yes, every time you use it, it loses a bit of “cutting power effectiveness”, as the Diamond bits slowly wear off of the surface. But hey, that’s to be expected, as nothing lasts forever. But I can tell you, these last a long time for my uses, and when they become worn/cumbersome, I just order another one and I’m happy! I find that one of these 8” DMT stones last me almost a full year before I finally admit that it’s time for a new one. Not a bad price for a year’s service, and I literally use it daily.

I bought this to do two things: flatten my Sharpton pro stones, and as a coarse step in honing. For both processes, this excels. The one performance issue I don't like is that the Shaptons tend to stick to it, when rubbing together. This is called stickion, and is not uncommon when flattening stones. It's quite heavy - a plus - and has non-slip feet that the user attaches. They have held up very well. In any case, this is a terrific coarse diamond stone that may very well outlive me.