DMT WM8CX-WB Coarse/Extra-Coarse Duo Sharp Plus Bench Stone with Base, Grey, 8-Inch
The DMT Difference
Since 1976, DMT has been in business to do just one thing: make the world’s best diamond sharpeners. Product innovations such as our signature polka-dot interrupted surface, and others with our continuous surface of high-performance diamond, are praised worldwide for their superior quality.
From pocket-sized whetstones to heavy-duty bench stones, the difference arrives time and again through our undivided pursuit of sharpening excellence.
For DMT products, no oil or pressure must be used to sharpen the tool or knife.
Quality must be manufactured, not fabricated
Diamond Coverage differs widely from one manufacturer to the next. For long-lasting performance, DMT makes certain that each sharpening surface carries the most diamonds per square inch in the industry.
Diamond Uniformity is also key to sharpener performance. DMT uses a proprietary process that ensures near-perfect consistency in grit size. The result is a micronised monocrystalline diamond that covers evenly across the sharpening surface to prove effective with every use, year after year.
Beware of imitators!
Surface Flatness can mean the difference between a well-honed tool and one that is barely serviceable. Flat surfaces maintain consistent, even contact with the edge to produce a bevel that carries the same degree of sharpness from end to end. DMT sharpeners are engineered to be the flattest on the market, and built to outlast other products, which are variable in surface, and often warped, hollowed or grooved.
DMT Benefits
- The most diamonds per square inch in the industry
- Near-perfect consistency in grit size
- The DMT sharpener produces a clean, razor-sharp edge
- Best Surface Flatness
DMT – Applications
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Home and CulinaryDMT Diamond Sharpeners will quickly sharpen the hardest stainless steel kitchen cutlery while removing a minimum of material from the blade, unlike electric sharpeners. Whether you have a Chef’s knife, a Sashimi Knife, Ceramic knife or even a steep angled meat cleaver, DMT kitchen knife sharpeners can do it all. | Gardening and LandscapingHone pruners, knives, loppers, edgers, axes, shears – even lawnmower blades. DMT sharpeners enable gardeners of all skill levels to keep all of their gardening and landscaping tools in top condition. With a sharp edge, garden and landscaping tools produce smooth, clean cuts that are better for plants. | Outdoor Sports and TacticalOutdoor Enthusiasts worldwide prefer the award winning DMT products to care for their edges. They withstand harsh environments and sharpen all kinds of knives, tools and edged equipment that hunters, hikers, rock climbers, adventurers, campers and sportsman rely on to survive and enjoy the outdoors. | WoodworkingSharp tools make every job easier. Unleash your creativity with woodworking tool sharpeners and chisel sharpeners that work with you, not against you. Our woodworking tool sharpeners are valued by woodworkers who want effective, precise sharpening for all of their tools. |
DMT – Product line
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DuoSharp and Dia-SharpThe first rule of shop maintenance is sharpen your tools. DMT Diamond Whetstones, DuoSharp Bench Stones and Dia-Sharp Bench Stones, are renowned by woodworkers and others for their remarkable sharpening speed, precision flatness and ease of use. | Diafold and Mini-SharpThe lightweight DMT Diafold and Mini-Sharp sharpeners are easy to use. The compact models are ideal for on the way. During transport, the handle is used as a protective cover for the diamond surfaces. | Guided SharpeningThe DMT grinding systems enable a professional edge care, regardless of the manual skill. Both novice and professional will enjoy precise, professional, consistent sharpening results. | Diamond SteelDMT Diamond Steel Sharpeners combine high performance diamond and ceramic sharpening surfaces with the realigning and convenience of traditional steels for sharper results! DMT sharpening steels truly sharpen- not just hone. |
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| Innovative, precision flat two grit diamond sharpener featuring both interrupted and continuous diamond sharpening. | A hardwood box of 3- 6 inches Diamond Whetstone sharpeners makes a perfect gift. | Dual purpose with compact convenience, the Double Sided Diafold Sharpener offers two 4 inches x 1 inches Diamond Whetstone surfaces in one light-weight, portable sharpener. | For professional sharpening results, regardless of skill, depend on DMT Aligner Kits and Accessories. | Fast honing diamond surface with the realigning function and convenience of traditional butcher’s steel. | DMT’s precisely engineered Dia-Sharp Bench Stone with continuous diamond surface assures consistent, even sharpening every time. | |
| Related Applications: Knifes, scissors, tools AND featuring a continuous zone for small and pointed tools | Related Applications: Woodworking, home, culinary, hunting, and more | Related Applications: Home, camping, toolbox, pavilion and more | Related Applications: Handworked, culinary and outdoor sports. | Related Applications: Chef knife, carving knife, fillet knife, paring knife, bread knife, skinning knife | Related Applications: Woodworking and culinary. | |
| Models: WM8CX, WM8FC, WM8EF, WM8EF-WB, W8EF-H-WB. | Models: W6X, W6XP, W6C, W6CP, W6F, W6FP, W6E, W6EP, W8X, W8XNB, W8C, W8CNB, W8F, W8FNB, W8E, W8ENB and available in durable plastic storage case. | Models: FWCX, FWEF, FWEEE. | Models: ADELUXE, AKFC, AKFNR. | Models: DS4F, DS2E, DSOF. | Models: D8XX, D8X, D8C, D8E, D8EE. Size: 6 inches, 8 inches, 10 inches and 11,5 inches. | |
| No oil is needed – sharpen dry or with water. | No oil is needed – sharpen dry or with water. | No oil is needed – sharpen dry or with water. | No oil is needed – sharpen dry or with water. | No oil is needed – sharpen dry or with water. | No oil is needed – sharpen dry or with water. |
| Weight: | 567 g |
| Size: | 8-Inch |
| Dimensions: | 33.66 x 33.66 x 29.21 cm; 566.99 Grams |
| Model: | WM8CX-WB |
| Colour: | Grey |
| Manufacture: | Acme United Corporation |
| Colour: | Grey |
| Size: | 8-Inch |
I use this to sharpen my kitchen knives. I was able to take an old dull knife and with some work make it nice and sharp again. It is easy to use and cleanup is minimal. I’m very happy with i
I purchased this dual sided diamond stone to replace an old one I’ve had for years. It is an excellent product with a well designed base that allows you to flip the stone from coarse to fine easily. I use the stone to do the initial sharpening on my chisels and plane blades before taking them to my water stones. I have save my old diamond plate to keep my water stones flat.
Amazing how quickly it takes knives to a sharper point than they ever were.
Second purchase of the same exact bench diamond part. Works extremely well. You must remember not to push down too hard on your blade as you use this. Let the diamonds do the work. Very light pressure only. I had to get another one of these and another stand alone coarse just because I was used to using a stone and pushed down too hard. My old fine flat is now “extra fine” LOL.
This product is the WAY TO GO when it comes to sharpening your kitchen blades, or pocket knives. Its worth every penny. I strongly recommend the DMT products. The cost may seem a bit high, but if you use light pressure and keep the flat wet, this part will last you for years if not decades. Get it!
My Knives are amazing!!!!! nice since I have pll coming over more for club meetings.
Amazing stone great product I am a professional chef of 12 years and wasted hundereds of dollars on sharpening stones and tools in the bast bye far this is the best I have ever purchased super easy to put a scary sharp edge on a knife. Buy one
This diamond bench stone is awesome and makes it very easy to sharp knives.
Good sharpener but seems like it’s not totally flat, some low and high spots. Not enough to worry about but worth mentioning.
Das Werkzeug hat eine unglaubliche Qualitt und bietet einen hohen Komfort bei der Arbeit. Im Vergleich zu anderen Modellen, ebenfalls mit Diamantbeschichtung, bewegt sich dieser DMT in einer anderen Liga! Uneingeschrnkte Kaufempfehlung. Auch fr sehr groe Messer geeignet.
My husband has sharpened all our knives and other family members knives. Works great!
For years, I’ve used a pair of ceramic sticks for fine sharpening of my knives, and they have provided excellent service.
After using this unit for a couple of months now, I can’t believe what crude, dull edges I have been allowing myself to live with!
This unit is fantastic, and I am not afraid to use it aggressively on any of my knives.
The key to success is to strop with green finishing compound as a final stage. I made a homemade strop with a bit of vegetable-tanned cowhide I picked up at Tandy Leather, epoxied onto a piece of scrap 2×4, and it REALLY makes a difference to the finished edge. Therefore, as great as the edge produced by the Extra Fine DMT stone is, you can’t really appreciate it until you have stropped out all the burrs and put the final polish on the edge with a strop covered with the green finishing compound — an easy, simple and cheap necessity for fine sharpening.
The little plastic stand included with this package is essential to use this stone to its maximum potential.
Finally, the shipping and packaging were excellent.
All in all, this product has actually made sharpening fun — almost to the point of being a therapeutic activity after a long day. This is why I don’t hesitate to give Five Stars.
This DMT diamond stone is huge step up from the inexpensive stones that I’ve previously purchased. It’s surface is large, flat, and it cuts quickly. It’s worth every penny.
For woodworking chisels and panes, unless in terrible shape, I use the DuoSharp, first a few passes on the fine side and then more on the 1200 mesh side. I finish off with a Shapton 5000 stone. I use to take my tools in to be sharpen but now am using this method. This method appears to work well. I restored by grandfathers plane, 1903, that I found in an old tool box. After rust removal, I flaten the sole with a progressive sandpaper, sharpen the blade to 5000 and also worked the cap iron a bit on the DMT fine side. It is my best plane. My kitchen knives are now very sharp after a few swipes on the DMT. My advice is once a sharping session is over, to dry the DMT before storing.
This is the only tool you need to get your knives paper cutting sharp. I even used the solid surface area to sharpen my drill bits. The quality of this tool is evident once you hold it in your hands. Highly recommend this product!
This is great for kitchen knives as it quickly reshapes nicked edges and leaves a nice toothy edges whether off the fine or extra fine side. Diamonds (and ceramic hone like the Spyderco’s) will spoil you with their ease of use( none of the silly flattening and mess) and consistent reliable results. If I want truly hair whittling refined polished edges I will continue after the DMT extra fine on my Spyderco fine ceramic bench hone then the ultra fine, then sometimes a 1 micron boron carbide loaded balsa strop if I want to do sharpness tricks with my pocket knife like shave my face etc. The other great thing about this rig is setting other stones right on top of it and continue sharpening. The spydercos sit nicely on top and the feet get very good traction on the table.
Large surface area makes quick work out of sharpening your knives.
I have 2 other DMT combo stones and couldn’t be without them. They sharpen true and flat and seem to be very long lived.
My kitchen knives are dangerously sharp now… which is a good thing. Very convenient to just sharpen a knife quickly and get back to cutting. Diamond sharpening is amazing and worth the money.
Thought I was not going to like, but I really do like it.. Want anothe
This is a very high quality sharpener. It is expensive and worth the money. Keep it wet to avoid clogging.
Keeps my kitchen knives and other tools like chisels, carving knives etc sharp!
WORKS PRETTY GOOD BUT THE HOLES TAKE AWAY FROM SHARPENING EFFICIENCY
Excellent product, easy to use and quick to clean using water and a towel. Made a wooden jig to help with the angle.
This is a fine sharpening stone. It cuts well and stays flat. Good for chisels, lath tools, chisels and plain irons. Not to mention knives. You will like it.
Better than Stones.
Bought this to sharpen our Wsthof knives and this bench stone did an excellent job bringing our blunt chefs knife back to life!
Great combo for knives and chisels alike. Easy and fast to switch sides in the base!
With the base it is easy to use on your counter top to sharpen most of your knives. No messy water and worn out sharpening stones. The course stone works for most people’s needs. Rotary sharpeners can ruin your knives this method is what professionals use.
Wow this tool is amazing! My knives are like new, with the exception of my kitchen shears. That was a lesson learned, and completely my error. I did not realize I would ruin them at the time of sharpening all my other knives. I was so excited about the results of my knives there might have been some overkill to my shears. lol This product refreshed my knives like a new set and I would totally buy it again.
This is the real deal. Industrial diamonds cut like nothing else. If you’re like me and have a drawer full of blunt knives, this will change all that. I don’t have the patience to sharpen knives to a fine edge with chinese sharpening stones. They can be used after initial sharpening with these stones if you wish and you’ll get as much as you’re willing to work for. This is not just for kitchen knives though. The Duo in duo sharp provides an area on the stone for sharpening chisels and scissors or whatever you can think of. I’m very satisfied.
My husband has had his for years, got this for our son who has asked for it for 2 years for Christmas and we finally got it. He loves it.
No better way to get a sharp edge!
It sharpens all my straight edges extremely well, including my Kyocera ceramic knife. I am not sure how long it will last. But for now, it’s doing me lot of good.
I have only had this for a couple of weeks and have sharpened several knives, a pocket knife, two filet knives, and 4 kitchen knives. Seems to sharpen easier, quicker, and better than my old honing stones.
Well-designed and constructed unit. Makes sharpening plane blades and chisels very easy.
Great for getting a practice razor with a medium quality steel blade ‘shave ready’. It takes some time, but learning to hone a straight razor shouldn’t be attempted on a cheap blade or on a worn stone. Once the edge takes on the “Fine”, you can go to “Extra Fine” and finish the edge to minimal ‘shave ready’. I use honing cream on my canvas strop (before I use the leather strop) to help with the edge and keep it sharp for nearly a month…I’ve read recommendations of 1800 waterstones or finer for the last honing (I have one somewhere in the shop, as soon as I find it and flatten it I’ll make an addendum but don’t hold your breath (LOL)).
Add this set of manufactured bench stones to a Wet-Shaving-Products practice razor and you may be very pleased in a few months time after you’ve mastered all the steps. If you want to sharpen chisels and such – go for it, the 600 side does marvelous work and the 1200 – primo for almost any hand tool. I haven’t started sharpening my own planes yet, so I still have some work of my own to do!
Wow! I have used small diamond embedded stones before but this brings sharpening to a new level. Use a spray bottle of windex with it and it works even better, it does not clog up and a simple Kleenex is all that is needed to refresh the surface.
great diamond stone and base this is all you will need to get your knives in working condition but if you need a high polish you will need some ceramics
j aime bien le s deux pierres tres efficaces pour mes couteaux de bushcraft et autres!!!!
Gets every blade I own razor sharp. Really well made. The base is a champ, it doesn’t wiggle at all once it’s on a flat surface.
Finally got a decent size sharpener that makes the job of sharpening all my knives , except serrated ones, fast and easy.
This is a great sharpener. The one I purchased has a course side and a fine side. I use it sharpen my knives on a regular basis and now they are always sharp.
Sharpens so fast compared to the old stone I had there is just no comparison. And the fact it is 8-inches wide and two-sided only adds to the 5 star review. It stays put, easy to flip to the other side and uses water as a lubricant. I couldn’t be more satisfied and have sharpened my knives to almost (and maybe actual) razor sharpness. Yes, you can cut paper with the knife after.
One minor drawback – no edge guide included, although they are available on Amazon.
With the various knives and single and double bevels, it isn’t hard to get a very sharp edge on any knife. I can slice a hoagie bun with a chef’s knife and hardly leave a crumb after using the sharpener and a steel for final edge straightening.
Not for use on serrated blades.
Great bench and stone combination, very easy to work with and cleans easily with some water and a towel. I might go and buyfor the coarse/very coarse stone in the future; but for now, this works nicely on my big knives – I do use a spydyco triangle for small blades though.
You need to know how to use one of these but if you do its grea
A great value. Have been using it for months and my workshop, fingers, and finished products are all the better for it. I like not having to worry about if it’s worn or needing to flatten it.
This sharpened really puts a fine edge on the knives. Note, if used frequently, clean it with a 3M pad or similar as it removes the metal quickly and will load up. Not a bad thing, just the by-product of doing a good job.
The product seem to meet all my requirements and with a little practice it will do fine. I would say to others to buy one.
Excellent product as advertised, I never had my knives sharpened to razor sharp by using other products like this before. I’m very happy with it.
I ordered this for my husband and he seems to like it. He sharpened all my knives very well with the stone and being on the little bench is nice…I would recommend this item.
This product has worked really well for me. I’m still learning as I go how to sharpen things, but I’m really impressed with the DMT products. This tool even has a handle on the reverse side you can hold onto and take it to the item that needs sharpened, like an axe for example.
Just recently bought this product. Followed how-to guidelines from an online video. Product works quite well. I use it wet. Would recommend.
I needed a sharpener for my kitchen and hunting knives. I have used this sharpener since it arrived and I have been very pleased with the results. I previously tried to use the lansky system and that was a disaster.
I used the DuoSharp on Cutco knives, Guy Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich knives, and Chicago Cutlery. With just a few strokes on both sides of each blade, first on the fine stone, then on the extra-fine stone, I had knives that would effortlessly slice a sheet of paper. I even used the DuoSharp on a Chicago Cutlery chef’s knife that was probably 25 years old and about as sharp as a butter knife. Within a couple of minutes, it was so sharp that as I was wiping it, I sliced a layer of skin off of the tip of my index finger.
Don’t let the low price fool you — the DuoSharp will bring your blades back to life.
A tab on the first one which I received broke off, but the replacement which Amazon sent is doing just fine.
It’s a pleasure to use – doesn’t slip on my table, and offers enough height for knuckles to clear the table and not interfere with moving the blade.
While some might find that price to be high, keep in mind that you’re getting a large 3″ x 8″ double-sided diamond sharpener (one side is fine 600-grit for all around sharpening, the other is extra fine 1200-grit for getting your blades to a razor sharp edge). Unlike natural stones, the polymer base also won’t deform. It stays perfectly flat over time. And the sharpening goes MUCH faster. 10 swipes on this stone is roughly equivalent to about 50 swipes on an Arkansas stone. Not only do you save time and energy, but it’s much easier to maintain a very consistent blade angle (crucial to effective sharpening) for 10 strokes than it is for 50.
This model includes the robust plastic base as well. The stone snaps into the base very snugly (no looseness) and the wide feet provide for a very stable platform while sharpening. For added security, you can fasten the base to a workbench or other large surface. However, I found the base stable enough on its own to be perfectly serviceable on a kitchen countertop. It would be nice if the base had grippy rubberized feet to reduce slippage on smooth surfaces for those like me who don’t want to permanently affix it to a workbench, but if you brace one end of the base against something (such as the edge of the sink or the stove) and draw the knife in that direction, it works fine and won’t slip.
I’ve used this stone to sharpen everything from my smallest Swiss Army blade (2″ stainless) up to my Ka-Bar/Becker BK7 blade (7″ 1095 cro-van steel). Sharpening a large 7″ knife on this stone is very easy. The general rule of thumb is that your stone should be at least as long as your blade, so if you have knife blades longer than 8″, you may want to spend more for the 10-inch version of this stone (which at the time of this review, is inexplicably listed at nearly three times the price!?). For my needs, the 8 inch stone is plenty long.
There’s nothing to complain about with regard to the quality and functionality of this product. It’s first rate and will do a very good job sharpening your knives, assuming you take time to learn the proper technique. Throw in an old belt with sharpening compound for stropping, and you will have the tools to put a scary sharp edge on most any knife.
The only shortcoming I notice with this product is the ambiguity of the stone in determining which side is fine (600-grit) and which extra fine (1200-grit). As it turns out, it is color coded by a small circle at one end of the stone, which then can be cross-compared with a list on the packaging to determine the grit. But it’s strange to me that they didn’t just stamp “600-grit” and “1200-grit” on the respective sides instead of the color-coding–which would be clearer and more convenient. I simply wrote the proper grit (with an appropriately pointed arrow) on either side of the stone in permanent black ink. Technically, you can tell by feel as well. Regardless, some people are sure to be inexperienced and inadvertently use the extra fine side to initially sharpen a very dull blade, and then will get dismayed by the slowness. The fine (600-grit) side will restore a fairly dull blade very quickly, however, and is probably the best “general purpose” grit for knives. For quick blade touch ups, you could skip using the extra fine side altogether unless you really need to get your blades shaving sharp or just enjoy bringing the edge up to a more polished look.
All in all, this is a great product and well worth the price. Sure, natural stone sets with comparable grits can be had for half as much money, but they require more effort and care, and thus, introduce more room for error. This is your best bet for faster, superb sharpening results. If idiot-proof convenience is your priority, you may prefer a pull-through sharpener. However, keep in mind that those kind will not put nearly as nice or as long-lasting of an edge on your knives. They are convenient thought. In my opinion, a diamond stone like this one is the best way to do it right.
[UPDATE 4-1-2014: I’ve been using this sharpener a lot for a month and a half now and it is the best diamond sharpener I’ve ever owned. It works very quickly on every blade and steel I’ve tried, and can take a blade from very dull to very sharp in only a few dozen strokes. The trick is to keep the sharpening angle consistent for each stroke (I sharpen at 21 degrees for wilderness knives, and about 17 degrees for kitchen knives), and apply the right amount of pressure as you stroke. Once you get a feel for it, this sharpener works superbly.]
I got this for a person who has a leather craft business. He actually chose it and passed along the gift suggestion. He was delighted to get it and says it does an outstanding job with keeping his many knives sharp.
Got this for my father in law for Christmas and he loves it. I have an old DMT sharpener that belonged to my Dad who passed away in 1999 and I still use it and it is the best. But you can bet that I am asking my wife for one of these sharpeners next year.
Use it to keep a set of Marples chisels in tip top working condition in the field and every knife in my kitchen is barber shop razor sharp, great product!
urns an incredibly dull knife amazingly shard couldnt get it sharp any other way and this is soo easy to take care of
I’ve had several different knife sharpening machines and methods … none of which actually put a nice sharp edge on the knife, and none I could accurately do on my own. The DuoSharp has fixed all of that. It’s simple and quick. A Christmas gift I still enjoy a year later.
You just cant beat the duo sharp bench stones. They are easy to work with and sharpen wonderfully. I am very happy to have this. It came as discribed and quickly. I have no problems with this site and would certianly shop them again. Cant wait to sharpen everything I have.
actually I was looking for something fine extra fine and or ultra fine to put a keen edge on my knives, sometimes I think 600 grit is all I need to do the job, but I have found that if you are steady and consistent in your movements you can surprise yourself!!! and this actually helped me, not only did I get some great abrasive material it also included a very versatile BASE there is a built in handle under the main body of the base so you can hold it in many different positions. I just can not think of enough great things to say about this item but it is exactly what I was looking for, at a reasonable price I can afford.
Great performance, and I appreciate the finer grit of this stone. I have used my original coarse and extra coarse DMT stones for over 15 years, so I know this stone will last for many years. Good value, highly recommended.
Still takes quite a bit of time but less than my old two side stone. Do not buy without the black stand, you won’t be happy.
I found the DuoSharp easy to use. I am a man with little spare time and need my edge to come back fast. With the two sided fine/course, I have it all right there. If you want to just get basic kitchen/field sharp, this will work by itself. If you want to get knife geek sharp/polished, you still need to get a finer stone and maybe even mix in a strop. The stand works great and doesn’t move. I have sharpened my 10 inch kitchen knives with ease.works well on the small stuff too. Bria
Arrived well packaged. Works really well and is easy to use and store. Glad I bought the base as that makes it easier to get the right angle for the blade when you sharpen it.
This is a great sharpening stone combo. Nice and big with a sturdy base that stays put. It’s solid too, so water doesn’t get trapped inside when rinsing, unlike another combo stone I have. Nice to have the flat unperforated area at the end for small tools.
I ended up buying this, along with an extra-course, course, and extra-extra fine stone (and the DMT Wave, too :)). I’ve sharpened about 7 lathe chisels and a kitchen knife and am very happy with the results. With the kitchen knife, I took it all the way from extra course to extra extra fine, and finished by honing on a leather belt… and it really came out with a very nice, sharp edge. Very happy with the stones, can’t wait for them to get “broken in” after prolonged use.
he shipment came in a very timely manner and the DMT sharpening stones are top quality. I use them to home my woodturning tools. Really helps to get a razor sharp edge on these tools.
1. Diamond Systems (e.g., DMT): Mess & Effort (Low), Sharpening Quality (Very High), Skill required (Moderate)
2. Arkansas stones: Mess & Effort (Moderate), Sharpening Quality (High, not good for steels >60HRC), Skill required (Moderate)
3. Japanese Waterstones: Mess & Effort (Very High), Sharpening Quality (The Best), Skill required (High)
4. Ceramic sharpening systems: Mess & Effort (Low), Sharpening Quality (High, touch up only), Skill required (Low)
I use dish detergent and water on the DMT plates to sharpen, having found that better than other solutions. It keeps everything clean as well. The DMT plates sharpen aggressively, so compared to the other systems, you will sharpen faster and with less effort.
I have seen several complaints about DMT plates not being perfectly flat, but I think these are bogus. I have considerable experience inspecting optical flats (these usually need to be flatter than 1/4 wave, which is quite flat) and used the same techniques to eyeball my plates. The extra fine plate is easy to inspect, since rainbow refractions from the diamonds show off any ripples; additionally, the regular pattern of pits on the plates highlights any unevenness. My plates are very flat. But interestingly enough, not one of my knives (not even my brand new Miyabi) is perfectly flat; certainly not as flat as the plate. Even if there were ripples, I couldn’t see them being more significant than you would get on a worn waterstone or Arkansas stone. Maybe there is the occasional bad plate; just send it back and get a new one. The DMT system is in my opinion a much less error prone approach to sharpening than other options.
Overall the cost is low for all the DMT plates you need: perhaps ~ $200. Add a ceramic steel, and/or strop pad for the final edge, and you will have a very effective system for sharpening your knives better than you received them from the factory.
After doing some research on Amazon, I found this “dual-sided” sharpening solution. I watched the YouTube videos to demonstrate the usage for the DuoSharp Plus Bench Stone and thought any idiot could use this thing. Sure enough, I’m that idiot. I took my 7″ chefs knife and began grinding away just like the guy in the videos. I may have to refine my technique, but my chefs knife is now as sharp as the day it was forged.
I’ve now used the bench stone on every non-serrated knife in my knife block and am looking for more things to sharpen. I’m going to dig out my pocket knives, ice skates, everything that needs an edge.
This sharpening stone was so easy to use (take a moment to watch the YouTube videos) that I’d be happy to recommend this product to anyone that feels a little dull. Very Very happy with this purchase!
This sharpener was everything I expected it to be and more. I have been able to quickly sharpen all my planer blades using the DMT and a rolling angle guide. There are many videos on YouTube showing how to do this. If the planer blade is only a little dull, it only takes 5 strokes to restore the edge.
Great tool to sharpen all your knives.
I was nervous at first, about getting the angle right, with no guides, but with a bit of practice, knives are razor sharp.
As none of my knife edges were damaged, I found the fine/extra fine the proper grit combination to maintain my tools.
I use it on my pocket knife at least once a week (Kershaw Chive, 2″ blade), and on our Kitchen knives (Wusthof Classic from 4″ utility, up to 8″ carving). Works great, I test the sharpness cutting through paper, and gives a clean cut with only the weight of the blade pulling through the paper.
Stable base helps with throwing a consistent angle on the knife edge.
I have tried all of the different whetstones out there, as well as sharpening stones, honing rods, etc..
I always sharpen my own tools and also my own chef’s knives as well as a few camping knives. This is the best diamond sharpening “stone” on the market. For example I must have used my first one for over four years and just a month ago bought this one to replace it! And I use this a lot. I do a lot of high end residential installation, so all of my equipment, as in cutting pliers, pocket knives, (we uncrate and unwrap tons of expensive art pieces) razor knives, and I even sharpen my awls. With this diamond bench stone I can get the edge back on my pocket knife to razor sharp in about 5 minutes.
One of my installers gets a kick shaving in front of the crew with one of my pocket knives that has an exceptionally good blade right after I sharpen it. I also cook a lot and I always sharpen my cooking knife set either before of after I used them. Depends on how many times I have used them that month. This bench stone does such a great job that I really have to remind myself not to put to much pressure on the edge of the blade as I stroke it along the bench stone.
Sooo… If you get one of these you will know what I am trying to describe in a minute. This bench stone is so useful, it works so well, and also so quickly that it is just a pleasure to sit down and use it. And don’t think that just because it has some diamond abrasive materials that it will ruin your blades. It is quite the opposite. The fact that you can really only use light strokes with very little pressure allows your blades a much longer “use” time. By like double or triple its usual lifetime. And that is because you aren’t grinding down the overall steel as much as you would using anything else every time you use it!
If you ever have your tools or knives sharpened by grinding, that process, although it gives you an incredibly sharp edge, also reduces the width of your blade each time it has been sharpened by grinding. And you can get a very very similar incredibly sharp edge just using this bench stone without losing any of your steel.
So I really love this bench stone. I couldn’t run my business without it. I really recommend trying this one out. And I am probably understating how long I had it before I replaced it. I probably used it for closer to six years now that I am writing and thinking about it.
I bought this to go with some new Japanese knives I previously bought. Works so well I have sharpened my old knives and now use them and keep the japanese knives out for show. Once you get used to sharpening your knives on this a few licks is all that is needed every so often to keep them sharp
Exceptional product. I own a number of very expensive knifes that need periodic sharpening. If you own any Asian cutlery you know that the recommended sharpening is on a stone. Well, this product is much steadier and easier to master and doesnt require advanced honing skills. Love it.
Success for me relied on two things: the correct angle and the correct pressure per pass. I used the recommended “lay two quarters on top of one another” in the manual to get the feel of the angle. Once I got the feel I don’t use them anymore. Initially I was putting about the amount of force I used to use with sharpening stones. It was too much. Now I used just enough pressure to keep the knife on the surface (either red or green). And by that I mean almost no pressure. If you have a kitchen scale I find about 1-2 oz of pressure works best for me. Any more than that and I just hone off good steel. It seems I use less pressure each time and the diamond surface works perfectly. I expect to get even better and the knives even sharper.
This sharpening system is definitely worth the price. Highly recommended. Use it for two weeks and relegate your old systems to your favorite charitable donation site.
Note: I also use the DMT 12″ Diamond Steel between sharpenings. (see my separate review). I use it while paring and carving AND to sharpen my serated bread knife. I can now slice warm bread again.
Update 2/3/13 Tried the fine/extra fine stones on three no longer used knives. I suspect we stopped using them because they were so dull. The fine/extra fine really couldn’t set a new edge (they were too far gone). So I picked up up a second stone (Extra Course (black) / Course (blue)to use with my original base. I went to work on the knives starting with the extra coarse to see if I could resurrect my lost causes. Six passes on each side first with the black and then six passes per side with the blue and a new edge was set (1 knife needed 4 more each side with the black). Now all three are in the every-other-week rotation for fine tuning edges. Maybe I could have worked at using the fine/extra fine (aka red and green) but I decided to do it right. Plus I intend to begin working on my shop tools (planes, chisels, etc) and these will get work there.
Granted these are not inexpensive tools. But, both bench stones and the base set me back roughly the cost of just one of my knives: a 10″ Global chef.
Bought this and the Coarse/Extra-Coarse stone at the same time. Sharpened all the knives in my house in one evening and now everything stays nice and sharp all the time. Scissors? No problem! And the base holds the stone securely up off the table. A great investment!
Received the product promptly and I’ve got to say, I’m impressed. I’ve used a decent number of tools and techniques for sharpening knives over the last couple of years (oil-stones, water-stones, alum. oxide, multi-thousand grit automotive sanding papers, etc…) and this is one of the faster and more efficient products I’ve used. It took me all of ten minutes to go through a number of knives that I had started sharpening up and put a fairly good edge on them. I think I could do with some finer stones for polishing, but so far I don’t see a need beyond professional pride.
This stone is LARGE– enough to accommodate even my biggest kitchen knives in one pass of the blade. A few (maybe 10-15 on each side, alternating 5 at a time) passes are sufficient to restore a paper (or tomato) cutting edge on my knives. This does make it more bulky for actually taking camping (I’d probably stick with one of the smaller and more portable options), but for the right tool at the right time, this can’t be beat.
Because I like to sharpen my knives regularly, I find myself using the extra-fine side the most– great for quick touch-ups for restoring that ‘shaving’ edge.
I would note that this (both the fine and extra-fine sides) is not necessarily recommended for setting the initial edge on a very dull blade. I’ve tried that before and it takes forever– you’ll want a coarser option for doing that. And you probably would want the extra-extra-fine (or a leather strop– not that I’m experienced enough to have tried either) for putting on the truly hair-splitting edge, but for all of my uses this works great.
I can’t say anything bad about this stone or the stand. It works much faster than a traditional stone without the oily mess. I’ve read some reviews that say the diamond surface wears off too quickly but that is just the stone breaking in. The instructions say clearly that the new surface is rougher than it will be after it breaks in. After it breaks in the blade glides smoothly and doesn’t feel like its grinding away material but it is. I almost bought just the stone by itself from an industrial supply company that our business deals with, for three times as much as I found it here. I sure am glad I did just a little research before I made that mistake.
I’m not a professional chef, I don’t spend hours in the kitchen BUT I do like a sharp knife when I go slice a beautiful ripe tomato out of my garden or reach for my pocket knife. I’m not skilled at use of a regular sharpening stone– just takes too long. With diamond DuoSharp products I don’t have to spend hours sharpening blades— just a few swipes and and your done. I keep mine in the kitchen and every once in a while will make a few swipes over this nice wide stone and I’m done. Pocket knife need a touch up, few swipes and I’m done. If I go to the shop and need to sharpen chisle, rasp, scissors, etc- no prblem its highly portable. I’ll be getting a file for my chain saw soon and expect it will cut my sharpening time to a 1/4 with a better edge– quicker wood cutting on a long hot summer is the way to go.
This one is what I use to finish off my chisel blade edge and “back” surface after using the rougher DMT stones.
Get this one and one with rougher grit and you will never need another stone.
Below added 12-11-12:
I was contacted by DMT and they have offered to send me the missing rubber feet. This changes my review from 3 stars to 5 stars.
Also, I have been using my stones for a number of months now and it really does a fantastic job of keeping my edges razor sharp. Just 60 seconds and they are fresh to go. I even use it to sharpen the replaceable carbide blades on my lathe tools instead of throwing them away after the edges turn south.
Kitchen knife or chisel, they must be sharp for work and safety. My tools are not always sharp, but sharpened cutting tools ARE pleasure to use. DMT diamond stones give very good value for the money.
I bought this DMT plate set up primarily to sharpen my 8″ chef knife…which has fallen into a state of disrepair, despite having/using another sharpening tool set, a twin set of sharpening rods, unsuitable for the prior condition, ie…there were some rather big knicks in the edge here and there. The two grits that come with this plate, coarse and fine, have worked to put a better edge on this knife but in all fairness, a coarser grit would have been useful to get the edge ready for a finer stage…but perserverance with the coarse side got the blade ready for the fine plate. It’s all good and worked out but if you have knives in very bad condition, think about buying a grit coarser than coarse…but the coarse grit will get a knicked edge up to speed…you just have to spend more time with it at the coarse stage if that is the coasrsest grit you have
I’ve been using the fine side of the plate to flatten my coticule bout, Le Petit Blanc, a stone I use for honing my straight razors. The fine side of this DMT plate works very well for this chore
All in all I highly recommend this set (coarse/fine) for average knife sharpening duties. The supplied directions will get you going. This is not rocket science, sharpening knives using this tool se
I have used this combined bench stone very much the last month on chisels, knives and bench plane irons and it performed really well on all.
The stand is functional and it’s easy to flip the stone from one side to the other.
8 inch is a generous size… as far as you don’t use it for huge axes.
I already knew that the diamond surfaces feel like they perform better at the very beginning but it’s just an impression. The harsh sound isn’t there any more, it works silently now, but it definitely works!
I think the speed and the “ever lasting” flatness are the big advantages of diamond stones and the DMT appears to be one of the best ones of that kind.
It’s nice, too, not to have to mess around with water or oil. I just put a small amount of water on it. That’s enough. But you could easily work with the dry stone.
Fine and Extrafine is good for sharpening but you need a finer stone for honing and a course one for the initial setup of bench plane irons.
Bye, Herb.
So far I, with all grits, sharpened two Henckels fruit knives, three Global chef’s knives, and two Japanese kitchen knives that a sword-maker forged. I could sharpen them very fast in comparison to my past sharpening work with whet stones. For instance, a Henckels knife of soft stainless steel within 80 strokes; I needed about 800 strokes on one side of the edge to sharpen Japanese knife of forged sword-steel. A number of strokes between them are needed to sharpen well the Global molybdenum/stainless steal.
A demo by the manufacturer said the diamond sharpening stones remove metal ten times faster than whet stones do. Although I have no way of measuring its claim. I felt so while I was removing metal from the knives. My tasks of sharpening kitchen knives for my wife became much easier.
The surfaces of the diamond stones are flat and should remain flat in use for a long time to come.
The base is effective to support the stones in the right height and at the right place. It is easy to mount each stone onto it and I thought it was a part of the stone by design.
Recently, many products, even those of Made-in-USA, do not meet to what the manufacturers advertise and claim. It is the first time in the last several years I see the products meet the manufacturer’s advertisement and claims.
The diamond sharpening stones may be pricey in comparison to those of any whet stones. I would like to say though, “Complaint to poor quality is forever but complaint to the price is short-live as long as the product quality is good.
From my experience so far with sharpening knives made of different steels and with edges at different angles I am happy to use this stone for a sharp finish on my German and European knives, but for my Shun, elite, Ken Onion, and my other VG 10 Japanese knives I like to finish on my extra fine whetstone (having said this I have only had to give some of these knives a small carefull touch up to get an edge back).
I’ve had several diamond based stones over the years (some of which have worn out quickly) I know they are good when new, but they do wear out, so I will reserve a little commitment to jugement for when I have used it for a few more knives.
As far as the delivery goes, it was a bit slow (comming a couple of weeks after the predicted delivery date) but the product was as it should have been and a lesson in patience was learnt.
Over all so far I am happy with this stone, the price from Amazon was very good and it has become a part of my sharpening arsenal to keep things….well sharp!