All About the Atoma Diamond Plate

We often get asked, "What's the best way to keep my waterstones flat?"
Well, here is our answer- and a little bit more besides.
Our diamond plates can be found here:
japanesetools....
And the sheets here:
japanesetools....

[@ronaldreid2185]

The replacement sheets are a brilliant idea, but in the UK I can source Atoma plates at a lower cost than the replacement sheets, which doesn't make much sense.

[@ChrisG-lq5qn]

Hello from France ! I find your videos very instructive and clear, thx for that ! A quick remaining question : some people recommend using diamond plates only with dedicated « lapping fluid » (like the Trend lapping fluid for instance) and to avoid water. Any thoughts about that ?

[@Resolute900]

Great video. When used regularly, as a sharpener, what's your estimate on the life of a 600 grit?

[@TylrVncnt]

This was an extremely informative video thank you

[@UseVisine]

I like to use the 140 for faster flattening then the 400 for a smooth finish for stones 1k-ish and above.

[@Alexander_Sannikov]

the only thing I don't understand after watching this video is why do you need a waterstone if you have a diamond plate. why can't you sharpen stuff using the plate directly?

[@jammywesty91]

Generally speaking, the grit of diamond stones isn't usually as high as that of water stones and they tend to be for more aggressive material removal. The high grit of water stones is for honing an especially sharp cutting edge which a diamond plate can't achieve. However, a waterstone is much like an oil stone in that it can go out of flat with use. Diamond stones are typically a lower grit but don't go out of flat, so you use them to periodically reflatten you waterstones. So you can use the diamond stones to sharpen your gear and many do, myself included, but it won't get you anywhere near the edge that a high grit waterstone will. You can get some very high diamond stones like DMTs 8000 grit, but I've found the quality control for extra fine diamond stones and their life span to be incredibly unreliable. Hope that helps.

[@Johnny-Five]

Can you attach a replacement atoma to the back of an atoma that is mounted to the atoma base plate instead of using glass?

[@stephanes6660]

Yes, I have seen some guys doing like that. No problem.

[@Johnny-Five]

@@stephanes6660 After figuring that out I ended up with a combo of 600/1200 grit 👍

[@jac_builtWoodworks]

I have the Atoma 400 and I am wanting to get a Shapton glass stone 16000 grit as a finishing stone but I am worried the 400 may be too aggressive as the Glass stones are very thin. Do you think it will be ok?

[@NoNameAvailable23]

Hey JAC, its tough to get away from the fact that the Shapton glass range is fairly thin. I have only played around with the 16000 briefly, I did feel like I was taking a lot off it to keep it flat but would need more time with it to say whether or not it was actually getting much smaller. Its the only ultra-fine synthetic stone in that price bracket that I know of, anything finer gets way more expensive so its possible to argue that it is still good value. The #12000 pro is cheaper and much thicker, that would be the other option that occurs to me.

[@Palmotron]

what about double pleated diamond stone you don't produce 600/1200 anymore? And do you produce stones for various precise systems, such as to which. Just asking to avoid counterfeit products

[@Palmotron]

what about Tsuboman Atoma Economic with plastic base ,can you use them like normal stones someone used them? a lot cheaper they fit my budget.

[@aquaphoenixx]

Can you flatten a 400 stone with the Aroma 400?

[@Gravy_Master]

Can you make a shoe stink?

[@clintonarthur6656]

Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back

[@michael.knight]

What would you say the tolerances are on Atoma 400 stones? I just bought one and can go under it with an 0.06 mm feeler gauge. Is that acceptable?

[@1130jawz]

Did you get it off Amazon?

[@michael.knight]

@@1130jawz I got it from a local seller here in the Netherlands.

[@1130jawz]

@@michael.knight oh, I’m sorry that sucks. Only reason I ask is I’ve been hearing about counterfeit Atoma plates 🤦‍♂️! Craziness

[@xiaohuang9053]

can a 400 grit atoma flatten a 320 grit shapton glass ?

[@Pdunns3D]

Better off with the 140 grit id guess

[@ericlipps7152]

I have a 140 and 600 one thing I can say is do not use them for sharpening tools it will cause uneven wear, now they won't perform as they are intended.

[@robertmunguia250]

How long do these plates last?

[@kogasoldier9379]

It really depends on how you use them. For a hobbyist probably over a decade. For a professional probably a couple years.

[@robertmunguia250]

So then these plates are only for flattening? Hard to believe so.

[@kogasoldier9379]

@@robertmunguia250 no. They can be used to flatten stones, but their main purpose is sharpening.

[@-I-Use-Punctuation]

Everyone keeps mentioning waterstones. Are the for flattening Japanese water stones or sharpening my knives?? Or does it matter??

[@JapaneseToolsAustralia]

Hi Matt, the short answer is both. Diamond plates in general are coarser than waterstones, but deal with funky alloyed steels better. The #1200 atoma is the finest in the range, but I would say that it is still coarser than most #1000 waterstones out there. So, if you are happy with that finish, sharpen on them to your heart's content, or use them for an initial sharpen and then move to something finer like a waterstone. The fact that they are great for lapping waterstones is almost a coincidence - but an amazingly helpful one.

[@-I-Use-Punctuation]

@@JapaneseToolsAustralia thought so...👍 on My atoma 1200 the leading knife edge rides in-between the "grid pattern" scattering of diamond chips on stone surface. It's irritating & damaging