Atoma 1200 Diamond Stone, or Cerax 1k/3k wetstone?

[YinTx]

So I've been researching stones, since I feel I need to up my game on sharpening, and my old pocket knife arkansas stone isn't going to cut it anymore, no pun intended.   Well, maybe.

Anyhow, what I've gleaned is that the DMT diamond stones have an uneven distribution of diamond sizes, which leaves random large gouges in the knife bevel.  The Atoma 1200 seems less inclined to do that.  I seem to find them for $75-$120.

The Cerax 1k/3k is an excellent combination 1000 grit/3000 grit soaking stone for $55 - one of the best for the price.  The King KDS 1000/6000combination stone is about $90, with 1000 on one side and 6000 on the other.  And also a great stone.

I don't think I want to start out with buckets of water, and wait an hour to sharpen a knife while the stone soaks.  The Atoma 1200 would seem to alleviate that. But there seems to be a lot of balyhoo about how a diamond stone is harsh on your knife bevels/edges.  Is this really so?

If I get the diamond stone, will I need another stone at 3000 grit or higher to finish sharpening, or will a strop take care of the rest?

Am i being overly analytical about all this, or does it really matter for a leather working knife?

Thanks all for the time...

YinTx

[byggyns]

Instead of waiting an hour for the water stones, you can just store them submerged in water in a small disposable plastic food container. My roommate is a chef and his 8000 grit water stone stays like that all the time between sharpening sessions.

I use an extra fine ceramic stone from Spyderco before the strop. I think it is in the 4000 grit neighborhood. Before the ceramic, I do the honing on a Norton combo oil stone or on an Arkansas tri-hone.

I haven't played with diamond sharpeners. Wet and oil stones are all I've ever used. I also don't have any of those super hard new steels that require diamond sharpeners.

I've been sharpening my pocket and sheath knives for almost 30 years, and at the beginning, as a kid, I wore out plenty of cheap knives learning how not to sharpen. My collection of sharpening tools has grown a lot since my first combo stone that I bought for like $2. Since starting leatherwork, the blade types have changed, but the sharpening implements have remained fairly constant.

Even my straight razor does not go above the ceramic stone before going on the strop. I get a good 10 - 20 shaves before I need to think about going back to the stone. While there may be some benefit to going over 4000 grit, I haven't really found it is necessary for me.

[YinTx]

Byggyns,

Thanks for the response.  I went off the deep end as I always do, and purchased both stones.  Namely because I can make large corrections to damaged edges with the diamond stone, as well as the fact that the Atoma can be used as a flattening plate for the Cerax if that is needed, and the Cerax is a combination stone for final sharpening and finishing/polishing.

I did a little research on the proper use of the Cerax, and my understanding is that it is not intended for permanent soaking, as that will water log the stone and slow down it's cutting speed.  Many stones are intended for permanent soaking, but this one is not.  All that and I'll say that soaking the stone for 30 minutes has turned out to be a non issue for me, drop it in the bucket, set a timer, do something else for a while, and get to sharpening when the beeper goes off!

Based on your comment, I opted to not go above the 3000 grit, which I must say was good advice.  The strop easily brought out a mirror polish on the sharpened knives after the 1000/3000 sharpening.

The Atoma 1200 stone is absolutely awesome.  Splatter some water on it, no soaking, and get to work.  Very even, very fast cutting, very smooth, and easy to use.  If I ever get an HRC 62 blade, it will be no problem.

The Cerax combo is really good.  Also cut fast, raised a very even burr quickly, and left a satin finish on the 1000, smooth on the 3000 with a fine satin finish that stropped to a mirror polish in about 10-20 short passes.  The stone was easy to control, didn't load up while in use, formed a just right amount of slurry for me, and had good feedback.

I also must say, I have never had a knife as sharp as this setup as accomplished for me, and I am far from an expert sharpener!  I am extremely happy.  I have spent about 4 hours on the set up so far, and I am getting better each time.  I brought a cleaver back from the dead, (looked like someone tried to chop nails with it, now I'm proud to have a very sharp cleaver in the house), have a pocket knife that cut 1" foam cleanly like I was drawing  a line with a pencil, and managed to sharpen some Exacto knives and my R. Murphy straight knife to the point where I can easily cut leather in very clean tight curves in one pass.  

I must say, I wish I had gone down this path a long time ago, it has made my leather work so much easier and cleaner!

 Now I have to go to town on that round knife....and maybe some scissors...

YinTx