Pros: Durability
Cons: Effectiveness, Overall Quality
FLat plate Not Flat diamonds
Bought just this month. Was only able to use for just an hour on three sharpening stones (though I had intended to use them on more of my sharpening stones.) I was concerned at first because the diamond surface had a few spots that seem like higher peaks in it and also the back had what looked like cut marks through the surface coating. Figure the peaks and back side didn't matter, I was wrong. Being certified as flat does not include the abrasive coating. First was a 10"combination grit india stone, with less then a 1/16th of an inch depression. Yes 10"x3"x2" - and can take everything I throw at it, from my cleaver and butcher knives down to fine pairing and chef knives. I use oil on my stones and the coarse side took 40 minutes ( in running water per the manufacture instructions). It took 40 minutes because of the peaks in the lapping plate had put gouges into the face of the stone. I ended up using an area of the lapping plate that was rather more uniform to lessen the gouges. Next was an old cheap Chinese sharpening stone. Had no intention of using this stone again until the lapping plate needed flatting itself! I tried to knock off the peaks on the flattening plate by flattening this cheap stone. Didn't take long, 5-8 minutes and I couldn't feel the peaks. Stone two was a Medium Arkansas 8x2 stone. Wanted to see what the lapping plate would do. At this point it did OK. The peaks had worn enough not to gouge the face to be visible. ( I know this because of next test.) Stone three was my Fine Arkansas stone. Took this risk, since I have more than one and I wouldn't be down a grit. Yeah, glad I tested this. Sure enough the peaks weren't gone, just not as high. So many swirls in the face of the stone, I have some work ahead of me. Now remember I mentioned the back side of the diamond plate had cuts past the coating. Turns out I was right. When I was testing the the plate on the Medium Arkansas stone, I notices my hand was red. Turns out the cuts showed rust stains coming from them. WoW, cuts from a new product and rust after what an hour of running water? Now DMT makes some really good diamond plates products for sharpening and I do own some. So, either I got a lemon or this particular product isn't up to their standards. Either way I am disappointed. By the way, I do have to give a shout out to the Knifecenter's customer reply member, I'm leaving it as "M". She was helpful in getting my order to me and responded in a timely manner via e-mail.
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