Sharpening diamond stone question

What's available in Oz, James?
There is a Diamond industry here in Canada, and I'm pretty sure that's where the industrial Diamond material come s from over here.
Diavik Diamond Mine - Rio Tinto

Mine's the DMT one.
https://www.amazon.ca/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...argid=kwd-302312126393&ref=pd_sl_8k9c2n1mzc_b
https://www.dmtsharp.com/about-dmt/dmt-history/

I vote DMT...

I would say DMT also. It’s definitely top of the line but I’ve even gotten good service from the 3 pack cheap ones.

Thanks Stick & Dan,DMT Products are sold by Carba-tec here in Australia & they have a very comprehensive range of tools for woodworkers.I bought my first router bits from them.Best wishes,James.

Cherryville Chuck said:

I would say DMT also. It’s definitely top of the line but I’ve even gotten good service from the 3 pack cheap ones.

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Thank you Charles.I'd like to buy an "all purpose" diamond stone that I could sharpen my router bits,chisels,knives etc., so what is your advice? Also,is a "medium"grade available? I can only see extra coarse,coarse & fine grades from my store.Best wishes,James.

jj777746 said:

I'd like to buy an "all purpose" diamond stone that I could sharpen my router bits,chisels,knives etc., .

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sorry...
one size doesn't fit all here..

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Stick486 said:

sorry...
one size doesn't fit all here..

..

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Thanks again Stick,the DMT diamond grit info is what I needed.

yur welcome...
glad to help James..

I have heard Trend is the best brand to buy. I know it cost more than others but you know how that goes. I have DMT.

Stick nailed it... one size does not fit all when it comes to sharpening.

DMT's would have my vote. I have a couple of low end diamond stones that I use for my scrappers and beater chisels. They actually do a
fair job. Well enough that I'm convinced that a premium set would be a good investment.

The issues with using a diamond stone to sharpen a router bit is that #1- the stone has to fit in the groove where the cutter is and #2- you have to be able to keep the bit flat in relation to the hone or the hone in relation to the bit. The easiest way for me is to lay the hone on the edge of a table and stroke the bit on it. The cheap homes that come 3 to a pack in different grits I find good for this. They are roughly 75 x 150 in size so they are stable to work on and at about 5 or 6 mm thick they will fit in the cutter groove of most bits. The red ones are 400 grit and the green ones are 600 grit on all the ones i’ve seen. I think it is DMT that also makes some diamond files about 25 x 75 and they are better quality than the larger Chinese stones but I find them a little harder to use because of their size. And they aren’t that suitable for sharpening plane irons or chisels.

I have a trend double sided 300 and 1000 grit. It is recommended by Rob Cosman.

DMT and two or three grits as noted. Don't forget to get the very light lubricating fluid made for diamond stones. Water will rust the steel. I don't really let my chisels get dull, so when I'm finished with them, I give them a few laps on the find grit diamond stone4 or 5 is enough. You can get credid card sized diamand "stones" that are meant for sharpening bits. For final polish on irons and chisels, I like to use a leather strop and some fine polishing compound. Doesn't remove much but gets rid of any curl on the fresh-ground edge and can produce a mirror finish if you keep at it. Nothing like a really sharp edge.

Larry I own a number of DMT and Trend "Stones". I think the Trend stones have a better substrate holding the diamonds and therefore flatter. The DMT stones work but I am not convinced their grading system for their grits is accurate. I was flat lied to by one of their "engineers" so I don't have as much faith in their customer service or the quality of their product.

I like DMT

Get the three pack of DMT diamond files. Use them for just about everything that needs a sharp edge.

My thanks to all members who gave advice. Much obliged.Jamesjj.