How to Flatten Your Japanese Whetstones with a Truing Stone

[@lanehowe9956]

I came looking for a refresher on how to use my truing stone. First result is the guy who sold me mine! Perfect!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Hahaha awesome!

[@Magajarhead1775]

Naoto! Love your videos! Thanks for all the info and tips! You are the best!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you!

[@GrantHendrick]

Thank you Naoto for the great tips. How does one know when one needs to replace a diamond plate and how does one remove the old one and install a new one?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thanks for watching! You'll feel a definite lack of friction, and the pad will look worn down. You can slip a pocket knife between the pad and plate to loosen it, then use a butter knife or screwdriver to peel it off.

[@GrantHendrick]

@@KnifewearKnives Thank you for the explanation!

[@bennyliang3580]

Where can I get the thick metal plate to put the diamond plate on??

[@KnifewearKnives]

We sell them together here! knifewear.com/products/atoma-diamond-plate-140-grit-210x75x2mm

[@ja-no6fx]

I thought you should not get diamond plates wet?

[@mattbonnell7023]

Hi, is the knifewear truing stone supposed to be concave? Mine is clearly concave when I look down the length of it. Thanks.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Hey! At that price point some subtle imperfections are normal, but nothing major. If it's significant, shoot us an email at hello @knifewear.com with some photos!

[@radoslawjocz2976]

I have got King 800 and King 1200 and use them both often. Usually when I want to true them up I rub them on eachother. I have got also cheap and hard whetstone to do the same thing and to soften stone edges, so truing stone is not essential.

[@floraly88]

If I need a diamond plate to true my stone, wouldn't it be better to sharpen directly on the plate?

[@KnifewearKnives]

It depends! Many whetstones give us qualities that diamond stones.dont have, especially when it comes to polishing blades.

[@floraly88]

@@KnifewearKnives What would those qualities be? Are you talking about diamond not being available in higher and finer grits?

[@jjshane72]

​@@floraly88that would be contrast in polishing wide bevel clad knives. Diamond plates/stones will give you a very bright polish with zero contrast. Also most ppl don't like the feedback of sharpening on a diamond plate

[@javiervelasquez2525]

What grid do you use with the Diamond plate?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Generally the aroma #140!

[@dirkwaals2013]

​@@KnifewearKnivesI have a Charpal 320-1200 diamond plate. Also have the 800 and 3000 Naniwa Chocera stones. Can I use this diamond plate to flatten my Naniwa Chicera stones? With the 320 side or the 1200 side? Thanks so much!

[@IzuShiTei]

so i used my truing stone on a 3000 grit whetstone, after i finished flattening it it became much rougher, any idea why is it happening?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Good question! The trying stone is fairly rough, so it can scratch up finer stones. It doesn't change the grit, just makes the surface rougher. If you'd like to smooth it out, you can use a synthetic natural stones like this one knifewear.com/products/knifewear-nagura-stone-600-grit-65x47x32mm-1?variant=22038255206448

[@marcorowan7339]

I've used my truing stone so much on my 220 & 1000 grit stones that it has devoloped a convex shape that matches the concave of my sharpening stone, and doesn't work any longer. Is my only option to buy a diamond plate?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Oh man, you do a lot of sharpening! This is one flaw of trying stones. I would suggest a diamond plate, or at the very least a new trying stone. The diamond plates are very much worth the investment though!

[@ngiorgos]

You could grind the two concave stones together. That will make them both flat(-er). This is basically the idea behind the three plates method machinists use to make incredibly flat surfaces.

[@camsaunders3665]

my 400 grit stone is on quite a bit of a slope when it was given to me by someone and they told me to flatten it down with a truing stone and i've spent proabably close to 2 hours working on it yet still hasn't flattened out anyone have any advice on how to flatten it out evenly

[@bbsodjshsjsjsneueje]

Try buying some loose silicon carbide, get some 40grit and sprinkle on a concrete paving slab with water and grind away, it's very effective

[@bbsodjshsjsjsneueje]

I see it's been 9 months, did you find a solution already?

[@mohammadhayati1386]

If I'm not sharpening in a regular basis, just my home knives on my king stones kit (300,1000,4000,8000) do I need atoma flattening plate? And how much time it will be used until I need to change its diamond sheet? Thank you so much

[@KnifewearKnives]

The Atoma will do an amazing job and keep them perfectly flat, but a regular trying stone is perfectly fine for at home work. The sheet will last years, probably decades!

[@Jmon808]

Does my diamond plate need to be pre soaked?!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Not at all, just splash and go!

[@bbsodjshsjsjsneueje]

The question that bugs me is hiw to flatten the flattening stone...

[@KnifewearKnives]

Good question! They tend to be quite hard and keep their flatness pretty well, but a flat concrete paver could be used to flatten it. The high end steel stones with diamond grit are super flat and stay flat!