Leveling waterstones

[Keith]

I used to use those coarse type stone fixers,to me they do not work that well.Now I use a diamond xx coarse plate that is much better.

I have heard on this forum of people using Sandpaper & drywall.Can I get some specifics like what kind of drywall to buy & how to use it?:o

[aja]

Hi Keith, it is drywall sanding screen. It looks like pieces of screen with grit glued to it. Just put a piece of it on something flat then rub your stone on it. Although messier, I had better luck when the stone was dry.

[Keith]

thanks Aja I will pick some up & try it on one of my stones,like to see how well it works & how long it lasts.Trying to keep cost low for begining freehand sharpeners.I noticed Japan Knife Imports sells a diamond Flattening plate for 65.00. which he likes better than the DMT which I have & like alot.

[99Limited]

thanks Aja I will pick some up & try it on one of my stones,like to see how well it works & how long it lasts.Trying to keep cost low for begining freehand sharpeners.I noticed Japan Knife Imports sells a diamond Flattening plate for 65.00. which he likes better than the DMT which I have & like alot.

You can pick up a DMT 8XXC for the same price on Amazon if ... you check the price daily. The price on Amazon goes up and down all the time. Set a Price Alert for $70 or less and within a week or two you'll get a hit. Also I ran across someone on ebay selling them for the same price.

[Schtoo]

thanks Aja I will pick some up & try it on one of my stones,like to see how well it works & how long it lasts.Trying to keep cost low for begining freehand sharpeners.I noticed Japan Knife Imports sells a diamond Flattening plate for 65.00. which he likes better than the DMT which I have & like alot.

Looks VERY familiar to me does that diamond plate at JKI. If it's the one I think it is (and there's no reason to think it isn't) then yes, they do work a lot better than a DMT in my experience. I prefer the #300 version myself though, enough that I give them away at any reasonable opportunity, and they're universally liked.

You wouldn't think the grooves make that much of a difference, but they do. Highly recommended.

Stu.

[-dg]

I use the DMT 8XC which seems to be fast enough for flattening and leaves a good surface on the stones. But it's main advantage is it is only $42 from Amazon.

[Keith]

I use the DMT 8XC which seems to be fast enough for flattening and leaves a good surface on the stones. But it's main advantage is it is only $42 from Amazon.

Wow I did not know you could get them at that price,I found the DMT D8X extra coarse for 41.99 wt. free shipping.Thanks DG I paid quite a bit more than that for my DMT plate.Even the high quality flattening plate at JKI is a decent price at 65.00

[EdipisReks]

I use the DMT 8XC which seems to be fast enough for flattening and leaves a good surface on the stones. But it's main advantage is it is only $42 from Amazon.

i just bought one the other day to replace my well worn 10 inch DMT duosharp coarse/fine. i found that the duosharp isn't quite as flat as i would like, so i hope the diasharp will work better. the coarse duo was plenty fast, so i'm sure the xc will be great.

[LennyD]

I find myself intrigued by the XX DMT and am so curious of just how well it will flatten, but on the other hand I have had no problem using the drywall screen to flatten.

The plates look nice, and from nearly every ones review of them they are supposed to work well, but when you compare the price of the screen it is a difficult decision to make the purchase of the plate.

I have been telling myself that for the typical price of a plate I could pick up another knife or at least cover part of the cost of a better one etc.

Guess I will continue to use the screen until it gives me a problem that would need to be solved.

[Wagstaff]

I find myself intrigued by the XX DMT and am so curious of just how well it will flatten, but on the other hand I have had no problem using the drywall screen to flatten.
The plates look nice, and from nearly every ones review of them they are supposed to work well, but when you compare the price of the screen it is a difficult decision to make the purchase of the plate.


I've got the DMT XXC plate. I paid too much for it. It works great -- and I trust JKI enough to be certain the plate they sell *is* better, and it is less costly than my DMT plate was. I haven't seen it get as low-priced on Amazon as others on this thread. I have looked a lot, actually, but NOT every day, so... I dunno. Price seems stable, and high, across my observations.

Haven't tried the drywall screen, but had I tried it and had it worked for the purpose, I wouldn't be looking to spend a bunch for something "better". Flattening is just not *that* big a deal to me -- I don't have to flatten several stones daily, for a start. I also have the little DMT snowboard/ski files that JKI links to. An ersatz-nagura, for working up some mud. I like those, too.

[thombrogan]

The D8X can get low priced (it was just under $40 this morning), but the D8XX hasn't gone below $56 and that was over a year ago.

[racineboxer]

The XC is $55 and the XXC is $70 at CKTG right now. I'm not sure the $15 bucks is that big of a deal...