Accurate flattening of other sharpening stones is easy with the DMT Dia-Flat Lapping plate. This king-of-the-stones weighs in at over 4 pounds, and is coated with an insane 30+ carats of diamond.
DMT engineered the Dia-Flat to excel at one of the hardest jobs in sharpening: flattening abrasives. The result is a wildly durable abrasive surface that uses DMT's proprietary Hardcoat technology to bond the diamond abrasive to a precision steel plate. DMT hand certifies every plate to within +/- .0005" of flat and each Dia-Flat comes with a certificate of inspection.
To flatten a water stone, just draw a grid on the surface of the stone, and rub it against the Dia-Flat under running water, or in a shallow tub or pan. Use the whole surface of the plate, and moderate pressure. The stone is flat when the grid lines have been worn away.
After feeding your Dia-Flat rocks for breakfast, round out its diet with some hardened steel for lunch. When using the Dia-Flat with metal, you can skip the water, and use the stone dry. The diamond surface is impervious to difficult steels like D2, A2, HSS, and Japanese alloys. Use the coarse 120 micron grit when resetting a bevel, or doing repair work without a grinder. The 95 Micron Dia-Flat is better suited to tasks such as flattening the back of a chisel or iron, where the deep scratches of a coarser stone would be difficult to remove.
The Dia-Flat lapping plate is manufactured to standards way beyond necessary, and that's exactly why it's such an excellent tool. If you're looking for the ultimate weapon to keep your other sharpening stones flat - VERY FLAT - this is it.
Dia-Flat Lapping plates are available with 120 or 95 micron diamond abrasive. 120 Micron Dia-Flat is our favorite for flattening sharpening stones, and heavy material removal to repair edges. If you will be using your Dia-Flat primarily for flattening the backs of tools, the 95 Micron plate is a better option as it leaves a smoother scratch pattern that is more easily polished out during sharpening. Likewise, if you prefer a smoother surface on high grit water stones the 95 micron plate is the way to go.
DMT Dia-Flat Lapping Plates are Made in the USA.
"After using the Dia-Flat Lapping Plate for a few stones, I won’t use anything else. The Dia-Flat consists of an indestructible coarse-diamond coating on a heavy 4″ by 10″ plate, which should be large enough to flatten any stone. The plate is guaranteed flat to 5/10000″. The stone is abrasive enough that I flattened a cupped waterstone in five minutes; a cupped oilstone took just a few minutes more….An investment...but it will last a lifetime. " - Woodcarving Illustrated magazine
