Who doesn't know that James bond film?
Well, we're not starting the age-old "who's
the best James Bond?" argument.
I'm going to talk about Diamond sharpening plates.
Diamond sharpening plates are machined flat metal
plates with industrial grade diamonds held on with
nickel plating. They are available at many stores
and come in many options.
Machined Flat Plate
Unlike traditional stones, diamond flat plates don't
round over or become dished with use, which is important
in maintaining a straight edge on skew & flat
chisels, and straight edged knives. If you use flat
ground tools like chisels or scandinavian flat ground
knives that have a flat angle, these plates are
almost essential to maintaining the flat angle.
The machined flat plate is used to resurface traditional
water and oil stones to their original flat surface.
You can purchase the plate with a kind of a grid
format with eye shaped holes in the sharpening surface
or a flat continuous piece of steel. The reason
that there are these holes is to help contain the
"swarf" of metal shavings below the sharpening
surface and not hurt your edge. This is great if
you sharpen large format knives like kitchen or
hunting knives. BUT if you sharpen micro tools or
fine chisels that are sometimes 1/16 inch wide these
holes sure get in the way and a continuous surface
plate is a better choice.
Industrial Grade Diamonds
Diamond is a pretty useful and valuable mineral
due to its many characteristics.
I think Bristol University Dept Of Chemistry in
the UK said it best:
When compared to almost any other material, diamond
almost always comes out on top. As well as being
the hardest known material, it is also the least
compressible, and the stiffest material, the best
thermal conductor with an extremely low thermal
expansion, chemically inert to most acids and alkalis,
transparent from the deep uv through the visible
to the far infrared, and is one of the few materials
known with a negative electron affinity (or work
function).
These diamonds aren't the same kind of diamonds
that you gave your wife when you dropped to one
knee and proposed.They don't have the same standards
like cut & clarity and often have micro fractures,
and can be opaque. These diamonds are the ones that
failed that cut & clarity test.
Nickel Plating
nickel plating is used to hold the diamonds in place.
The reason that nickel is used is to resist water
and prohibit rust.
Grits
Using a micron scale from as low as 4 (Extra Extra
Fine) on up past 60 (Extra Coarse) I would get at
least two grits. If you strop, and you should, this
will eliminate the need for a third grit plate.
Remember that stropping compound gets down to as
low as .5 micron and will eliminate that burr you
work to achieve with a plate or stone giving you
that carvers edge.
Water or not?
I use water. It just helps keep things clean. Some
manufacturers and sharpening Gurus say it's not
necessary.
The Wave
Sharpening Plates are great for knives but not so
much for gouges. But wait, just when you thought
you've seen it all, DMT comes out with the Wave.
Its a dual curved diamond plate shaped much like
a slipstone for sharpening gouges that has 1/16
to 1-1/4 inch diameter. I’m sure there are
others on the market also, I just found this one
interesting.
Check it out the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkexAVbNzBs
Polycrystaline, MonoCrystaline or Synthetic...
I could go on but it really isn't necessary. I just
wanted to extol the virtues of owning a Diamond
plate for sharpening and also to say that.....
I like Pierce Brosnan for James bond but Sean Connery
will always be the best.
There. I got my 2 cents in. Keep carving!
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