Reddit reviews Diamond Combo Bench Stone

Is cost a factor? That thing will work, for a given degree of work, but you're never going to get a "good" edge out of it. For portability I would rather have a DMT product like one of these or one of these, which will last a good, long time and give you a good edge quickly. My preference would run to the continuous plate. If you wanted to save a few bucks, something like this will still outperform and outlast a pull through sharpener, even if it won't last quite as long as the DMTs.

Sure I have the older model that I've used for almost a decade. It's compact, durable and can sharpen machetes, axes, and knives.

You may be surprised, but you're not asking for a lot.

I know there are a lot of enthusiasts here who probably think $100 is pretty cheap, but I've never spent that much on a single knife before.

It's really not that hard to find something that is well made under $100.

Kershaw is a decent company. Most people will be familiar with the Kershaw Skyline. Great knife. I carry it when I want something light weight, slim, and "non threatening" looking. I don't think I've paid over $35 for them in the past.

Spyderco - You either like them or you don't. I've got the Ambitious, and I bought the Tenacious for my dad. Both are pretty nice. I don't think I paid over $35 for either of them.

And while I've never actually carried mine, the Buck 110 is pretty great too. I really like the LOOK of the knife, and straight out of the package they are usually razor sharp. You can usually find these in stores. In the States, I was able to get mine at Walmart, and I've seen them at most other stores that have a hunting/camping section. Depending on if they have the cloth pouch vs. the leather pouch, you will spend probably $30-$50.

CRKT is another company I like. While I don't own ALL of them, their whole M16 line looks pretty solid all across the board.

I've been carrying the M16-13ZLEK for a few years now and it's been great. I also own the M16-14ZSF, the 10KS, 13Z...and something else, I can't remember. All of them have great build quality, it's just a matter of choosing size, form factor, and materials.

If you watch Amazon, sometimes you can get crazy deals on these. The 14ZSF was briefly going for like $28 or something a few months ago. I think I paid $45 when I got mine. Their larger size knives tend to hover between $45 and $50. Some of the smaller ones between $25 and $35. Again, Amazon has really surprised me on pricing from time to time.

I will say though, that due to their strange grind, they can be tricky to sharpen. While I wouldn't hesitate to buy one, I'd recommend someone who is newer to knives/maintenance to get something with a more traditional edge.

If I were to buy one for a beginner, I'd buy the Kershaw Skyline. Practice sharpening in your older knives before you try on anything new you buy, and also don't hesitate to keep carrying/using junkers until you are used to sharpening them.

I have been using one of these for years to sharpen my knives.

https://www.amazon.com/Smiths-DCS4-4-Inch-Diamond-Sharpening/dp/B00009YV6L/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495579258&sr=8-1&keywords=+Smith%27s+Diamond+Sharpening+Stones

Watch a bunch of Youtube videos to get the technique down. Once you get the hang of it you'll get your knives hair shaving sharp. And then you'll have bald arms.

Sorry for the wall of text - and good luck with your purchase.

Ah, I see.

I also have one of these

http://www.amazon.com/Smiths-DCS4-4-Inch-Diamond-Sharpening/dp/B00009YV6L/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1398178944&sr=8-28&keywords=knife+sharpener


But I seem to scuff up the knife a lot with that. Or is that garbage too?

I think I've helped enough beginners with that little thing on the side bar....

But whatever, I'll play this game and set him up for immediate success and long term success for when he outgrows the old shitty leather belt strop.

Smiths Coarse and Fine 4" diamond stone for 14 bucks- I will personally attest to the quality of this thing, while the fine side is about 750 grit, it does a fantastic job. I own and use this piece of kit daily, works just fine.

Or this Norton Crystalon or whatever coarse and fine stone for as cheap as 10 bucks-I've used this one too to very good effect.

Green buffing paste 3 bucks-Chromium oxide buffing paste, I use the shit sometimes on my buffing wheels and once upon a time on strops. It works fine.

Paddle strop for 10 bucks-Should work just fine, and it's made to be a strop, the leather is tanned to be a strop, and it'll be better for the dude to learn on equipment appropriate for the task, as that's what it was manufactured for and not ghetto rigged.

I have a lot of sharpening equipment, collecting it gets to be as much of a hobby as knives. But most of my sharpening is done with these three items:

Smith's Diamond stone

Spyderco Fine Pocket Stone

Stropman HD Compact with green and black compund

The Smiths has a course side and fine side. The coarse is good for re profiling and setting a bevel. The fine side is somewhere in the neighborhood of a brown Spyderco ceramic. It's a good medium grit for prefinishing.

The Spyderco fine stone is a great finishing and honing stone.

And Stropman strops are a really great value and does a great job.

Chef's sharpener? You mean one of those powered doo-jobers?

Icky.

For the average joe, this sharpener right here works wonders:
http://www.amazon.com/Smiths-DCS4-4-Inch-Diamond-Sharpening/dp/B00009YV6L

Just keep a steady angle on the blade, start on the coarse side drawing the full length of the edge across the sharpener. You want to count how many times it takes for you to develop a "burr" on the blade.

This is the burr Basically it is the material you have shaved off curling over the opposite side of the blade. you can tell it is there by running your finger nail perpendicular to the blade edge on the opposite side of where you were sharpening.

Once you have a burr across the entire edge, you want to flip the knife over and run the edge over the sharpener the exact same amount of times you did it on the other edge.

From there, work your way down to one draw per side by removing one pass each time for both sides of the blade.

Once you are down to one, you will switch to the Fine and do the same thing. This time, you don't need to work so hard to get the burr, and it might even be tough to detect the burr. Just start at 8 passes per side and work your way down to one.

From there, the knife should be pretty sharp. Try cutting a piece of paper with it like this. If it cuts smoothly, your knife is sharp.

From there, keeping it sharp is rather easy. Just don't use it on a hard surface and hand wash it. Once it is sharp, you won't need to sharpen it very often as long as you take good care of it. Running it across a honing steel will bring it back to it's previous sharpness.

Also, look into some nice knives. Most of the stainless blades you come across really are not good steel and will not hold an edge well. You can spend upwards of $100 on a 6" chef's knife to get a steel that really holds an excellent edge, or you can give up on the Stainless Steel and get yourself an Old Hickory Carbon Steel knife for $8 and it will hold a better edge than ANY stainless.

EDIT: A note about Knife Steel. Most stainless blades are not going to hold an edge very well, because of the low carbon content. There are some that are stainless, and are still very good steels, but they cost a premium. High-carbon blades hold their sharpness very well, because they are generally harder than any stainless steel. But that high carbon content comes at a price, they tend to rust easily. But they are significantly cheaper than high-quality stainless, and are just as good.

Old Hickory knifes are great options for those trying to save money. Keep an eye out for them at thrift shops and rummage sales. Or Ebay.

Probably not.

I like Smith's diamond sharpener a lot more.

Not a bad recommendation. I picked up this one and have been pretty pleased with it.

Then, and I know this sounds a bit odd, stop by a Radio Shack and pick up one or two Ceramic Resistors - they are cheap and make excellent finishing stones (the 'fine' grade on the Smiths is a bit harsh for my tastes).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00009YV6L?pc_redir=1396372588&robot_redir=1
Gets the job done in a pinch.

lmao you are right, it was more than one water bottle, i stabbed like 20. but i don't think its from that. i think its from stabbing some strong ass tape. Tape so strong i think it resisted the sharp tip a bit, and maybe it slid from the tape to the piece of metal (encased in tape). I was trying to remove the tape. Fuck!

I am guessing i need some diamond bit or diamond stone to shave this tip down? Anyone know how I would 'sharpen' the spine like /u/leftnose said? Now i really want some DMT diafolds ugh.


Would you sharpen or file down the entire spine to keep it even or just the area near the tip? Does the angle of the stroke matter like going with or against the grain?

I guess i don't technically need 'diamond' coated since it isn't the edge that is the issue, its the spine and the spine doesn't need the vanadium i am really just guessing/presuming here...

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Which of these products you think would be best for s110v maintenance?:

https://www.amazon.com/DMT-FWFC-Double-Diafold-Sharpener/dp/B00004WFTW

https://www.amazon.com/DMT-FWEEE-Double-Diafold-Sharpener/dp/B001EIE01W/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_469_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=489A0DQ8PWR6XTMYE08H#customerReviews

https://www.amazon.com/DMT-FWEF-Diafold-Sharpener-Extra-Fine/dp/B00004WFTV/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_469_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=489A0DQ8PWR6XTMYE08H#customerReviews

https://www.amazon.com/Smiths-DCS4-4-Inch-Diamond-Sharpening/dp/B00009YV6L/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_469_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=489A0DQ8PWR6XTMYE08H