Diamond Whetstone Sharpening Stone, 6", with Plastic Case, Fine Grit

After reading the many positive reviews on this sharpener, I finally purchased the Fine and Extra Fine units from Amazon. As usual, Amazon's service was exceptional. These sharpeners come with great directions. The devices are easy to use - just a few sprinkles of water and all is well. Our kitchen knives are like new. I have a large Henkels Chef's Knife I use for chopping onions. After sharpening it on the Fine and Extra Fine devices, that Chef's Knife is fabulous. I am very pleased with the ease of use of these DMT sharpeners and recommend them to those who want a simple but effective way to keep their blades sharp. UPDATE - OCTOBER 2011 -- This sharpener continues to amaze me. I do 5 passes per side per knife blade and the sharpness is great. I have used this sharpener many times since I got it and it always yields a very sharp edge. I still highly recommend this product.

I purchased this to replace the fine stone out of a three-stone set I purchased a while back. This one -> DMT W6EFC Three 6-Inch Diamond Whetstone Models in Hard Wood Box <- . As in my review of that set, this stone has proven no different. It is still in great shape, and still sharpens exceedingly well, even on blades up to 8 inches. That's about the size limit I use on these stones. The only reason I've had to purchase this replacement stone is simply because I use this particular grit quite a lot; I own quite a few knives and other bladed tools that I use on a regular basis for a variety of reasons, and ALL stones will eventually wear out...especially if used as much as I use this one. This particular grit will get you a very sharp edge on your blades, but in order to get that razor- or scary-sharp edge, you'll need to fine-hone your blades with something of a higher grit, like the extra-fine version of this stone, a leather strop, etc. Personally, I'll switch to the extra-fine stone, then use the leather strop afterward. On good knives, this combination never fails to allow me to produce an edge that will cut into darn near anything I've tried to cut. You will, however, need at least a small modicum of hand-eye coordination and developed skill to hand-sharpen blades. It's not difficult to learn, but you need to have patience to learn to use stone properly.

I used this stone after putting a proper bevel on several high quality knives with another diamond stone. This stone is large enough and thick enough to use for any knife even with a thick handle. I used water to keep the particles suspended during the sharpening process, and cleaned up with soapy water and dried the stone when finished. Light careful strokes slightly steeper (22 degrees) than the bevel edge (20 degrees) "slicing" into the stone very lightly, quickly put a razor edge on the knives. The stone worked slightly better after about 3 uses and it started to get broken in, and did not remove metal quite so fast. It is a great stone for the money, and I plan to buy a few more so I will always have one.

Very nice.

I sharpen my kitchen cutleries by hand using this DMT diamond stone and a Japanese combination water stone: Woodstock D1130 1000 Grit and 6000 Grit Japanese Waterstone . Despite this is called a "fine" grit stone, it is plenty aggressive for a typical kitchen knife. My friend has a chef's knife which had a broken tip (~1/4") and a chipped edge, and I was able to restore the tip and the edge by using this "fine" stone. The DMT diamond stones need a small amount of water during sharpening. It is to help prevent metal fines from sticking to the sharpening surface. In my opinion, water lubricant stones are superior to oil assisted stones for two reasons. First, it is easy to apply water and to clean up afterward. Second, water is less slippy than oil and therefore it is safer to sharpen a knife with wet hands than oiled hands. DMT makes interrupted surface and continuous surface diamond stones. This belongs to the former. For most applications, the interrupted surface is slightly superior because it allows metal fines to fall into the slightly recessed area and remains out of the sharpening surface. This allows greater sharpening performance by reducing the frequency of washing and removing the metal fines from the surface. However, if your tools have very small blades, then they will get caught in the recessed area. You will need a continuous surface diamond stone for these small blade tools. I have upload a closeup customer picture of the diamond stone. The stone is 6" X 2", adequate for most kitchen knives, though a wider one would be nicer. The receded red dot areas are 1/8" in diameter. In my experience, your blade needs to be at least 1" in length to comfortably take advantage of the interrupted surface. I bought this DMT fine diamond stone for $35. I find this diamond stone to be very versatile. It cut fast and uniform, and yet gives you full control. The DMT grinding surface is extremely flat, so I also use it to flatten my Japanese water stones. If you have never used a diamond stone, then you will be surprised how fast this stone can cut/grind. I certainly was. I have an aluminum oxide oil stone and I have to push my knives downward at the stone to sharpen them. Whereas I simply slide my knives back and forth on this diamond stone. This saves time, energy and improve sharpening results. Frankly, it is probably safer too. Because the diamond stones cut faster than other stones, I like to suggest new users to check on their progress a bit more often. Despite this DMT stone is advertised as fine grit, the grit size is 600 (25 microns) which is too coarse to be a finishing stone for knives. Knife edges ground by this diamond stone should be polished on finer stones. Assuming you are into sharpening your knives or tools, I highly recommend this or one of the other diamond stones. You won't regret getting a DMT diamond stone. *Updated on Dec 27 2009* Yesterday, I noticed my Shun bread knife has two very tiny but visible chips, not quiet sure where they come about. I put it on this diamond stone and it managed to grind out the chipped area. I then finished it on my 1000 and 6000 grit water stones. This DMT diamond stone is not only able to restore my friend's damaged budget knife, but it also worked for a VG-10 core Shun knife. *Update on Mar 02, 2010* I bought the DMT W6XP 6" Diamond Whetstone Sharpener - Extra-Coarse With Plastic Box for knife reprofiling. The extra coarse stone makes reprofiling an knife edge/bevel very easy. However, for regular knife maintaince, this fine DMT stone is probably more suitable. *Update on Jun 08, 2010* I have retired my Woodstock Japanese waterstone for a couple of months because it is essentially worn out. I have since bought Naniwa Super waterstones for replacement. Nevertheless, I am still using the DMT diamond stone and it is part of my setup. It seems to be running strong. *Update on Apr 08, 2012* Sorry about not updating earlier, but the diamond stone started to show wear at the corners at about end of 2010 or beginning of 2011.

I have owned an array of knife sharpeners, cheap and expensive. Some results were good, some poor and others just ok. I had used oil stones previously with mixed results and electric well rated models that sometimes seemed more damaging then sharpening....to be honest I was gun shy and reluctant to spend more money on sharpening products. The only solution seemed to be to have them done professionaly. Before I ordered this stone I went to You Tube (now remember I am a retired male who just had his 70th birthday) You Tube is not somewhere I frequent often. However after watching a few videos demonstrating this stone and sharpening technique, I said to myself I can do that. I ordered this stone and when it arrived I practiced on some old pocket knives with fantastic results. I then moved on to my kitchen cutlery with the same satisfaction. However when it came to my very expensive Shun Japenese knives I was reluctant to proceed. My hands would actually shake when I attempted to try. Well I practiced some more on my friends knives and after receiving so many compliments I mustered up the courage to go ahead. Well the results were amazing. I have since purchased the DMT exra fine and a Naniwa Japenese Super Stone 5000 Grit that I use with a stropping technique that puts a long lasting polished edge on my knives that seems to make them just glide through food and vegetables effortlessly. If your knives aren't extremely dull and damaged and you only want to purchase one stone..........this is it believe me. It is a fast easily learned no mess way to keep your knives so sharp you will look forward to using them.

I’ve used these in my shop for years on high speed steel cutting tools, wood chisels, and hand plane blades. They do a good job.

I purchased this DMT Whetstone as part of my expanding line-up of DMT products for home and "hobby sharpening". I love the DMT Serrated "ice pik" sharpeners! I used a Red as my primary diamond surface for 15 years and lost it. I KEEP my edges sharp, honing and refining so that actual heavy metal removal is rarely needed. A dear friend once told me "You KEEP a Cold Steel Tanto razor sharp, never let it get dull to start with!" If I notice the slightest drop in edge performance, they're gettin' honed! If honing and stropping doesn't restore the edge, THATS when you need to sharpen! I use DMT Red for the first step in sharpening a well maintained tool. This stone is an absolute must-have if you ever use the DMT Blue stones. Blue produces a rough but defined edge angle, and Red refines that surface to make it suitable for everyday usage. The stone has a break in period, and you should never use anything but water to lube them up. This stone will not "dish", or "gulley", and provides a complete flat surface for straight edge tools. Excellent quality and performance was expected, I wasn't disappointed. I would suggest an alternate company to purchase diamond stones from, but unless you choose a Japanese vendor that makes stones that are far more costly, DMT has no equal, IMHO. You can follow up the Red DMT sharpeners w/ a Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker white stone setup, or the DMT Green to produce a razors edge. Very little pressure is needed to use DMT products. Excellent shipping and reception time. Im doing everything possible to avoid heavy belt grinders and waterstones when somebody brings me a knife to "re-design??!?" WOW! GOOD LUCK on that one boys, I'll tell you.