I'm considering purchasing a Shapton ceramic stone and already own DMT diamond plates (8"x3"). I'm curious if these diamond plates would effectively work for lapping the ceramic stone, especially since the Shapton lapping stone costs $325. There are cheaper options, but I think a standard diamond plate might do the job just fine. Any experiences or advice on this?
3 Answers
I used to lap with DMT plates, and it did do the job, but after going through two plates, I ended up getting a Shapton flattening plate. If you’re looking for a budget option, Chef Knives To Go has a 140 grit diamond flattening plate for around $40, which works great!
Yeah, it definitely wears out the diamond plates quicker. The diamonds can pull out since the nickel they’re embedded in starts to wear down. I’d suggest getting a dedicated lapping stone, especially since you'll be investing in a ceramic stone too. It seems worth it in the long run.
I've been using my coarse DMT diamond plate to lap my Shapton glass stones (1k and 3k) and it works pretty well. Just a heads up though, they can stick together quite a bit while lapping, and you might notice the DMT plate wearing down faster than you expect.