Flattening Yet Again

Knifemakers Bevels

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>Bill wrote:

I always pull that to be sharpened toward me. If it makes a slight convex bevel, all the better I suspect. The knife makers believe this sort of bevel is more durable.

Do you suppose that this is because knives are typically used to cut at 90�? As opposed to a bench plane iron which always has a substantial scraping component to its angle of use.

Re: contact Klingspor for up to 400 grit

Steve Knight

>it must have been because of the cloth backing they could not go about 120.

how long does it take them to ship a order?

Re: did 35 last night

Patrick Gibbons, Houston, TX

>The use of cast iron plates charged with diamond seems to me to be a "home made" diamond plate. Why is it that diamond stones are pooh-poohed so? Perhaps one of the problems of diamond stones is the range of quality between manufacturers. Has anyone tried to compare Norton to DMT to EZE Lap, etc., etc,? My experience with cast iron planes makes me suspect that cast iron will also warp and go out of flat over time. Isn't this the main complaint I have heard against diamond stones?

Re: did 35 last night

Russell Seaton

>I think the main two complaints against diamond stones are 1. They are not 100% flat from the factory. Maybe not a big concern unless you are extremely particular. And 2. They wear out really fast when cutting steel. I can vouch for this complaint.

The cast iron lapping plate and diamond paste overcome these problems by starting with a cast iron alpping plate which is supposed to be super flat. And you can just put 10 cents worth of more diamond paste on the plate and have a new and refreshed cutting surface. I don't think you can recharge a diamond stone because the diamonds are glued onto the substrate. Simply putting paste onto this hard surface will not allow them to imbed themselves and will instead imbed into the plane iron or chisel and cause the imbedded new diamonds in the plane iron or chisel to abrade the still glued in place diamonds on the stone.

Re: did 35 last night

Patrick Gibbons, Houston, TX

>I understand your points but I still wonder if there is a great difference between different manufacturers. I know there is a difference between monocrystalline and polycrystalline stones. I wonder about the issue of flatness. Norton seems to be the only one that guarantees a certain standard of flatness for their diamond stones.