Review: DMT Sharpening Stones

I've always been fond of sharpening things. For as long as I can remember I have used steels, stones, files and on occasion strops to sharpen and hone kitchen knives, swords, axes, saws. Anything with a blade, really. And some things without, like hard-drive platters (which don't hold a good edge, btw ). Some 15 years ago, a friend of mine at the time introduced me to the DMT range of stones and I have never looked back.  What makes these special is that they feature a metal based, precision made flat surface which is embedded with a continuous layer of micronized monocrystalline diamonds bonded to the sharpening face, in what they call a "polka-dot" pattern. The polka-dots give the ground off metal somewhere to go, so it doesn't build up and change the height of the grinding surface.

 The sharpeners come in a variety of grits, for different levels of use, which are colour-coded for easy identification. The ones I have are BLUE (Coarse to quickly sharpen a neglected edge: 325 mesh, 45 micron) and a combination dual-sided one which is RED/GREEN Fine (to put a keen edge on a maintained tool: 600 mesh, 25 micron) on one side and Extra fine (to sharpen to a razor edge:1200 mesh, 9 micron.) Each different grade thus has its own use and can be used in order, to either restore a dulled and dinged blade, all the way up to sushi sharp slicing either dry, or with water. No oil needed.

They even make a tapered tool for sharpening serrated blades, which I've also used to work chipped glass down to a safe rounded edge.  Cleaning is just a matter of washing under water, I use some dishwashing detergent from time to time to clear the filings from the surface. I've never found any dishing, and the performance has never diminished in my opinion.

All three of these tools have proven their use to me (and a number of friends household blades when I have visited and been "that awkward guy in the kitchen at parties"). These sharpeners live in my messenger bag and are always hungry for dull blades!

A sharp knife is a safe knife, I've always been told, and with these guys, I can share the love.