Smith's 6" Fine Diamond stone

[Richo B]

This past week I've been down at the beach for some much needed R&R. This took me away from my shop, projects and most importantly my normal job. While I was down there I saw a diamond sharpening stone for only $29.99 at Bass Pro Shop - Outdoor World. I looked up reviews on-line before buying it as the price seemed too cheap to be true. One person said that it wore out too fast but they were a professional knife repairer and used it everyday. Won't be an issue for me. Another person said that they sharpened a block plane very well on it which gave me hope. Since it was sold at Bass Pro Shop it tends to be primarily sold for sharpening knives so I was glad to see that someone was able to use it on a hand plane.


Does anyone have any experience with this particular diamond stone or one from the maker? I have no problem if it is not a high quality woodworking tool but am curious if anyone has used one. I won't be returning it either way because that store is a good 100 miles away and it only cost $29.99. I figured it would be a good introduction to diamond stones because honestly I had absolutely no interest in getting into that style of sharpening yet. I primarily use an oil whetstone I bought off Amazon.

 

[Mike Davis]

I had a Smith stone many years ago, wore it out, tried some other brand, wore it out, got DMT and they last a long time. Like 15 years or more.

that stone is a little short for plane irons, being that short you tend to rock the iron which gives you more of a convex grind.

if you are careful, learn to keep the iron steady, and don't apply too much pressure you can get good results. It will work great for chisels too. But, you will sharpen so much faster you will want to get bigger stones and different grits to improve your sharpening even more.

 

[Sealeveler]

I have had one for several years. Mine is well worn. But someone told me not to put much pressure on the knife or iron and let the diamonds do the work. After the smith got worn I also bought a set of DMT. They last much longer.
Tony

 

[KenOfCary]

I don't like the stones with holes (either that brand or DMT's similar version) but prefer the ones that are just flat metal with diamonds embedded in them (either DMT or Trend.) Just a personal preference. The ones with holes seem cheaply made and easier to damage. They should work fine though.

 

[Richo B]

Actually what I was planning to use on it was chisels. They tend to get used more than my plane blades and therefore require sharpening more often. From the comments here I see that this is indeed a good beginner diamond stone to get used to the style before moving onto the better DMT. Also comforting to see that others have owned one in the past. I wanted to be sure this wasn't a totally unheard of brand or it was specifically made for hunting knives and no one in woodworking would be using them. Thanks.

 

[Gofor]

if you use it with water as a lubricant, use soapy water, and rinse and dry well after use. Drying is needed or the metal substrate will rust quickly. Try to use the entire surface to let it wear evenly. It will take a couple of uses to get it all the same smoothness, with the edges usually the coarsest starting out, so start with your least-favorite chisels. (At least that was my experience).

I too have gone on to the DiaSharp plates for both plane irons and chisels after wearing out a couple of the perforated type.

Go

 

[KenOfCary]

I prefer to use Trend's lubricant rather than soapy water which DMT recommends. It is a very thin oil product so camelia oil would probably work as well.

This is mostly because I'm forgetful and would likely leave the water on too long and end up with rust. The Trend lubricant works well and you'll never have a rust problem. But again this is a personal preference.

 

[Mike Davis]

I work my DMT plates dry, but clean with WD40 frequently.

 

[Jeff]

A bit of additional info for Richo's benefit; re, Care & Use instructions.

http://www.smithsproducts.com/product/dbsf/

Most of these diamond based sharpening systems use nickel metal to "hold" the diamonds in the plate matrix; nickel should not rust if it's left damp/wet. However, the leftover metal swarf from tool sharpening can rust so it's important to clean and dry the diamond plates before storage.

 

[danmart77]

Ken a couple drops of anti freeze in the spray bottle of water and you won't have rust. The anti freeze is a little lubricant to boot. I use water with a little anti freeze in my cast iron double boiler for my hide glue and haven't seen a trace of rust on cast surfaces in years. It works.

 

[Richo B]

Jeff thanks for the post with the website link. I'll definitely check that out.

I haven't checked this thread since the weekend but when I told one of my volunteers about the sharpener today he suggested using water. I now see that that is a common suggestion. And you are right in that the pieces of steel coming off the blade will likely cause the corrosion before the nickel-plated surface. Still I'll be sure to wipe it down. Being one that cleans and treats corrosion at work on a near daily basis, I'm pretty observant of keeping my stuff from getting that way.

Thanks again for all this useful help. Once I get past the training period of this Smith stone perhaps I'll take the training wheels off and buy a DMT and the lubricant that Ken suggested. I've heard people who use Diamond stones rarely go back to whetstones.

 

[Gofor]

Thanks for the info on the nickel-based substrate. You are correct in that I did not have substrate rust problems with the Smith brand ones like the OP pictured, nor with the DMT folding one I have for touching up a knife blade. The ones I had problems with were the first ones I ever bought which I picked up at one of the tent tool sales held at tour local NG Armoury. Despite being cheap, I do not recommend them at all. The grit was inconsistent in size and had little uniformity across the "stone". They were definitely steel based, as they actually rusted so bad they delaminated. Not even good for sharpening an axe or cane knife. Another case of sometimes you just get what you pay for.

Go