david weaver
I don't think the lapping problems are confined to the ezelap. DMT hones have a reputation for "breaking in" quickly, but one of the bloggers (science or sharp or something) actually took pictures of the plate surface years ago and the "breaking in" is the release of absurdly large diamonds. What's left after the break in is still some mono diamonds that should never have been on the plate in the first place.

My ezelap feels very fine to the touch with metal (probably because metal doesn't provide any resistance to the diamonds cutting). You could feel the pull on the watch face, and by the time you figure out what it is, too late, the damage is done.

I don't have a newer DMT or I'd take the edge picture of various tools on each brand of hone.

As far as the flattening issue, make sure you're using the entire surface of the atoma. I've used mine for both sharpening and flattening (more stones in the long run than tools, now) and they have no issues with flatness. They are the only two diamond hones that I have (my duosharp is beat and without diamonds in the middle) that can be used interchangeably.

Unless you're using hap40 or something, though, I can't think of any good reason to sharpen with diamond hones. A grinder is better for grinding, and stones are better for honing. And if you're using hap40 on a regular basis, I hope you're cutting through staples - otherwise, it's sort of a nuisance that still drops its initial edge pretty quickly and then holds whatever is left for a long time.