Thread: My new Japanese diamond plate - A Revelation!

could you post a link?

To the eBay item?

SK-11 Japanese Diamond whetstone Double-sided sharpening stone #150 #600 | eBay

There are a couple of Chinese makers of these that produce a quality product so don't be too disturbed by the country of manufacture.

So how sharp is sharp? I just sharpened another plane blade and the first test I did was the sharp knife test i.e. to cut a piece of paper held vertically. Easy peasy. It took off the tiniest slivers all the way along the edge till it got dangerously close to my thumb! Then I shaved some hairs off my forearm - no problem. Finally I tried shaving the back of my thumbnail and it was able to take off thin shavings.

The final test of course was to use it for what it was meant to be used for - planing wood. With a 300mm length of 19mm wide pine in the vice I was able to remove a shaving 19mm wide and 300mm long. Well pretty close anyway...

So there's no question it will do the job but does anyone know how long these plates last? And yes I know if I leave it on the shelf and never use it, it will last forever .

This video explains why some diamond plates last longer than others.



Japanese Atoma plates have a replaceable diamond sheet that can be replaced when it wears. These are very good too use and available in many grits.

Thanks Chris, two very informative videos. I wonder how much the good one in the first video costs compared to my $80 cheapie...

Originally Posted by aldav

There are a couple of Chinese makers of these that produce a quality product so don't be too disturbed by the country of manufacture.

As I always say, China manufactures to the specified price; they will make the same product for $50 or $5 with a commensurate quality difference. They've come a long way in the past 10-15 years and I think we're going to see a lot more genuinely good Chinese stuff.

They do have a bit of cheek describing it as a 'Japanese Diamond whetstone' though don't they.

Originally Posted by Tccp123

Thanks Chris, two very informative videos. I wonder how much the good one in the first video costs compared to my $80 cheapie...

I suppose it comes down to the individual's perception of price V's performance and the old saying of cry once when buying tools or anything for that matter. The only diamond plates I have bought/used/been given have all lost their original high metal removing rate in the first few times of use or even quicker. My perception is by the time you fork out for good diamond plates you could have bought a CBN wheel for a bench grinder and it never wears out for all intents and purposes. We all go through the journey learning about sharpening but if anyone asked me now what to buy it would be a CBN wheel, a half speed grinder and a couple of water stones. The stones are not mandatory as a simple scary sharp system off the CBN would do well followed by stropping on a piece of MDF with green paste, this would give an excellent result.

I have a complete Veritas honing guide system I bought before the CBN wheels and I haven't touched it since as using the system of the wheel straight to a stone or W&D paper the guides are not needed, the micro bevel is so small you in effect only polish the edge and it basically can't be seen without a really good hard look and the angle of the micro bevel is nearly irrelevant or at least can't be measured but it sure is bloody sharp, Fletty can attest to that as a band aid was needed!

All diamond plates cut aggressively to begin with and then bed in.

The Atoma replacement sheets look like a good idea. IIRC though one Japanese seller (Stu) found it difficult to remove the old one.

Originally Posted by rsser

All diamond plates cut aggressively to begin with and then bed in.

The Atoma replacement sheets look like a good idea. IIRC though one Japanese seller (Stu) found it difficult to remove the old one.

It was Stu replacing the plate in the video.

Well there you go.
I was recalling a blog post of his.

I've been using an Atoma 400 from Stu to flatten my ceramic whetstones for some years now. Haven't seen a compromising of the diamond grain bond that some folk warn about with this kind of application.

Timbecon recently started stocking M-Power diamond stones. They come in some interesting forms.
https://www.timbecon.com.au/sharpening/diamond-stones
(No financial interest).