My Bread Knife

[Elden]

Herman, you said:
"The only problem is that the diamonds on the new tool immediately wore off on the region where I was using it the most. I guess this tool is to be used only for touch ups. Not for grinding a new edge on a dull knife."

   Out of curiosity, did the diamonds come completely off or did the sharp points fracture off? The nature of diamonds is to fracture initially. The state they arrive in is excessively coarse. They "settle in" after some use. If the bonding agent is bad the diamonds could fall off entirely. There are two kinds of diamonds that are utilized in making sharpening stones. Mono-crystalline diamonds are said to last longer than poly-crystalline diamonds.

See the following concise article on stones:

http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Difference-in-Sharpening-Stone-Materials-W51.aspx

Also:

http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Why-Use-DMT-Diamond-Sharpeners-W15.aspx

[Ken S]

I agree with Elden about diamonds fracturing initially. I purchased a DMT flattening plate, which allegedly flattens any sharpening stone in the shop. This is does, almost. I made the mistake of trying to finish flattening my grandfather's venerable carborundum stone. The diamond plate did flatten the stone, but the stone almost ko'd the plate. The plate still works fine for waterstones, however, I can hear and feel a noticeable difference in the cutting. I would not attempt another carborundum stone.

The plate is a great idea. and I recommend it, within limits.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

   Out of curiosity, did the diamonds come completely off or did the sharp points fracture off? The nature of diamonds is to fracture initially.

Hopefully they just fractured. All I noticed is the surface was much smoother and it didn't seem to cut as well. I'll have to take a closer look at it.

[Ken S]

I believe the diamond technology has great potential. I just wish the information was presented without some of the hype. I don't fault the manufacturer for this, although they could be more specific about situations which can shorten the life of the plates. In my case, my plate will probably be flattening water stones long after I am gone, however, not as efficiently as when new. I expected some wear and I knew that the carborundum stone was difficult to flatten. i had spent about a dozen hours working on flattening it, and it was close. Had I realized what it would do to the diamond plate, I would have discontinued operations. It has sentimental value to me, but I doubt I will ever use it again.

I am curious to see what all the diamond paste can do. It did a very nice job on my bread knife with just a wooden dowel.

Ken

[Ken S]

Herman,

I needed a lighting part today, and went to my local old time True Value Hardware store. While there, I looked at their files. I found an eight inch Niclolson round file with single smooth cut. Later at home, I found it was noticeably smoother than the typical bastard cut files. I believe its primarily for chain saws. It seems a nice middle choice between a bastard cut file and a diamond file.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

Yes, those are available at lots of hardware stores for chain saw sharpening. I picked one up recently at a local discount hardware store. Nicholson brand. The diameter is too small for bread knives, but it would work on other serrated knives such as steak knives.

[Ken S]

I neglected to post the diameter of my eight inch single smooth cut round file. It is 7/32", which should be large enough for bread knives. I also found the same file in a 1/4" diameter, which might work even better. These may be more difficult to locate than the smaller chain saw files, although it is packaged as a chain saw file.

Ken

[wootz]

If you happen to have a sisal buffing wheel with white or black emery compound, the below method shown on youtube works wonders.
The only thing I do differently to the video, is that I sisal-buffer only the serrated side, and then hone the flat side.
After sisal buffing the serrated side, on the flat side you can feel, and sometimes see an irregular microburr that you gently hone away.
Takes 2 minutes per knife all together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaa0_ASuYGE