DMT D6X 6-Inch Dia-Sharp Continuous Diamond Bench Stone Extra-Coarse

by DMT (Diamond Machining Technology)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Expect cutting edge performance with DMT 's Dia-Sharp 6-Inch continuous diamond sharpening bench stone. For knives, blades and fine tools. Extra-Coarse diamond (60 micron/220) when significant removal of material is needed for damaged edges. Size: 6-Inch by 2-Inch by 1/4-Inch Includes non-skid rubber feet. Diamond grade clearly marked on side of stone. Sharpening with diamonds is fast and easy. No messy oils needed-sharpen dry or with water. Durable construction will provide years of consistent performance and reliable service . For proper tool maintenance, woodworkers, chefs and other professionals rely on the superior quality and versatility of DMT products. Made in USA.

Product Description

ATTRIBUTES Grit: Extra-Coarse Material: Diamond Size: 6 in. Special Features: Cutting edge performance in 6 Type: Bench

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001BYDLUK
• Item model number: D6X
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,715 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great stone fixer and awesome for setting bevels!, January 2, 2011

By 

Robert C. Babcock (Sioux Falls, SD United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DMT D6X 6-Inch Dia-Sharp Continuous Diamond Bench Stone Extra-Coarse (Tools & Home Improvement)

I've used this DMT Extra-Coarse "stone" for about a year and absolutely love it! I use it both for sharpening knives and for flattening synthetic water stones. The XC is terrific for both purposes. I prefer to do most of my knife sharpening with water stones but when I have a knife that's in bad shape or needs a major reprofiling nothing is faster than the DMT. It out-cuts every water stone in my arsenal, including the 400 Chocera, 320 & 120 Shapton Pro and Beston 500. If the DMT won't do it, it goes on the belt grinder.

When compared to conventional synthetic water stones the Dia-Sharps have a couple of major advantages. The first and most noteworthy is that they won't dish- ever. Those of you who've seen the old-school "saddle shaped" Arkansas or India tri-stones can appreciate what I'm talking about. The DMT will stay reference-flat for the life of the stone. And my experience has been that the DMTs last for a good while. My XC has been used heavily for sharpening and for flattening other stones for about a year and I can hardly even detect any wear wear on it. That leads me to the other advantage- it's flat enough out of the box and durable enough to use for flattening your other stones. The 220/XC is fast enough for all but the very coarsest Aratos; for them I reach for the DMT XXC. But that one's only available in the larger 8" x 3" size and costs about three times what this one does.

I think for the final polishing water stones leave a superior finish vs the DMTs, but the Dia-Sharps really shine when used in the coarser grits. I'd hate to be without mine. When mine does finally wear out I'll be using Amazon Prime to 1-day a replacement!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent stone for an excellent price, August 24, 2011

By 

Christopher Lazzaro (DENVER, COLORADO, US) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DMT D6X 6-Inch Dia-Sharp Continuous Diamond Bench Stone Extra-Coarse (Tools & Home Improvement)

Out of the box impressions were that the stone was dead-flat and completely rust free (I was a bit concerned after reading other reviews about the rust, and pleasantly surprised). The stone is about 1/4 inch thick and has no abrasive surfaces other than the top. You will not be able to sharpen a knife with a thick handle while this stone is directly on your workbench. For example I used 1/4 inch neoprene with adhesive backing on the back of my DMT and I stack that on top of another waterstone while I'm sharpening to give me about an inch of total clearance since a lot of the work I do on this stone can benefit from several grip positions. Obviously the height of the stone isn't a concern for repairs chisels and the like. The bottom is as smooth as still water and requires a non-slip surface or the stone will not remain stationary during sharpening. The diamond surface is monocrystaline and was incredibly rough--at first.

I first used this stone to re-profile a pretty badly damaged D2 Ka-bar. The stone began about as "grippy" as fresh 120 grit sandpaper on the D2 steel (This stone is 220 grit, however) and took off metal at a very respectable speed.

After about an hour of stroking I was shocked to feel the stone and it felt almost as smooth as my 1000 grit waterstone. To clarify, the stone *felt* smooth to my finger, but was still ripping through D2 steel, admittedly at a somewhat slower pace than the first couple minutes I owned the thing. But I wasn't altogether surprised that this was the case.

I've put a few more hours of blade maintenance on this stone and the surface doesn't seem to have deteriorated any further; I am still concerned that paying $30 instead of $90 means that shortly it will. The edges *appear* to be diamond free, although I cannot tell if the edges are, in fact, not longer cutting. The stone does feel as though the cutting speed and "grippiness" has not changed since it first felt a bit smoother. It is still performing admirably.

The stone makes quick work of leveling my other waterstones and even functions as a nagura stone for my 12000 grit Chinese waterstone that's hard as slate. It makes a slurry that's about as thick as milk without depositing particles of itself.

I did notice some some rust spots forming on the stone, very light surface rust from my general lack of TLC, but rust will form if you do not care for the tool properly.

Overall, this stone is "excellent" for the price and still a "very good" choice for softer steel, even compared to expensive diamond stones. For very hard tool steel which is badly damaged, this stone is still a "good" choice, however I do not have full confidence it will last more than a few battles against these particular conditions. You are getting a monocrystaline diamond stone for around 30 bucks, and it certainly has the ability to pay for itself a few times over in professional blade repair costs before the stone itself dies. Just how many I can't say for sure. Obviously your mileage may very depending on what steels and techniques you subject it to. If I'm still using this DMT in a year I'll definitely come back and give it all 5 stars. Right now it just looks like a 4 star product.

5.0 out of 5 stars Just As Promised, January 9, 2012

By 

D. Brown "MechEng" (Wenatchee, WA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DMT D6X 6-Inch Dia-Sharp Continuous Diamond Bench Stone Extra-Coarse (Tools & Home Improvement)

I purchased the Extra-Coarse DMT in April of 2011, it is now January of 2012. The plate was purchased for the express purpose of mounting to an aluminum blank and being used as my profiling plate on an EdgePro Apex, as well as for stone-flattening of waterstones, and freehand work when required. In all of those capacities it has performed as well as I could ask, and even in a couple odd areas that I would not have thought of when I made my initial purchase. For sharpening knives, of course, it performed exceptionally well. This is a VERY aggressive plate, and takes metal off quite quickly. For setting your initial bevel or cleaning up edge damage, either this or the XXC option is a great choice. It also serves very well as a waterstone lapping plate when used under running water to keep the stone slurry from building up excessively.

It was pressed into a definitely un-intended use here about three weeks ago when I built a case to hold a model ship. I cut the glass myself, and was concerned about the multitude of very sharp edges on the sheets. In a flash of brilliance (or insanity, either way) I pulled out the DMT plate and used it like a sanding block with a very light touch to break the sharp edges on the glass. The diamond quite un-protestingly sliced off the sharp edge and rendered the panels safe to handle without the risk of a slight slip leaving me bleeding all over my project.

Side-uses aside, I have used this plate on perhaps 50 knives now, with no degradation of performance at all. As a previous reviewer noted, the DMT plates (as with ALL diamond plates) have a short break-in period. The first three or four times you use the plate, you will notice a distinct feeling that the plate is rapidly becoming less-aggressive. Which is true! But this is part of the design of the plate, and calculated in. When the diamonds are plated onto the steel substrate, some of them are more tightly bonded than others. Over the first few uses, the loosely-attached particles will detach, and the plate will "break in" with just the tightly-bonded particles remaining. It will then remain at that same grit indefinitely, barring abuse or excess pressure on the plate. Excess pressure will tear the particles off of ANY diamond plate, but you really have to lean on it. Overall, I am quite happy with this plate's performance, and look forward to many more years of use!