hello, for sharpening kitchen knives, is it a good practice to go from 1200 grit to 4000 ( DMT STONES )

My rule of thumb is to only double the git for each sharpening step. So, from 250 grit coarse to 400, then to 800, then to 1200, then to 2000, then to 4,000, then to 8,000. The last three grits are mainly for polishing. If you skip a grit, it is like skipping a grit in sanding a wood project, in that you have to spend a lot more time with the higher grit, then if you had used a medium grit. So I would say no, do not go from 1200 grit to 4000. Instead, go from 1200 to 2,000. DMT makes a 2,000 grit diamond stone by the way.

Many of the reviews are terrible, especially the recent ones. i am skeptical of buying this item. has dmt worked out the issues?

I just left the DMT corporate headquarters 2 hours ago. I went over there to buy an Extra Course bench stone direct from them. It was more expensive than these are on Amazon and I made point to mention it to them. They said they do not sell any of their products for less than their distributors and said that any deeply discounted stones may be suspect. If they don't have the DMT Logo on them they may be knock offs. They will knock off anything in China these days. I bought some sneakers which looked EXACTLY like the real things except the inner soles were different and they were made in colors not available by And1. Obviously knock offs. Take that for what it is worth. I have had 3 of the 11x2.5" bench stones for more than 20 years. I bought them from Highland Hardware, now Highland Woodworking, of Atlanta, Georgia. I also have another 1/2 dozen smaller 6x1" hand stones for portable knife sharpening, ranging from Extra Coarse up through Extra Extra Fine, with some duplication. I have not had any issues with any of them. DMT told me that they will replace any defective stones. The secret to using these effectively is to not strong arm them. They pointed out to me just today that it only takes light pressure to make them work well. These diamond stones do have to be cleaned of the swarf after use. I use Comet or similar cleaner with a Scotchbrite sponge. This is how you clean Alumina or ceramic Crock Sticks as well. I always dry the stones with paper towels and then let them air dry before I put them away. These stones do require break in. When they are new they may leave larger scratches in the blade than after they are broken in. You will also notice that they make more noise before they are broken in. You may notice the difference more in the finer grits. You don't have to do anything besides use them to break them in but they will seem to become quieter and smoother after a little use but they do not lose any effectiveness. In fact just the opposite. They will work better. If want you can use a lower quality blade to break them in particularly if you are using very fine grits on expensive knives.

if i only want to sharpen kitchen knives do i need more than 1 plate? which one do i need? ty

#1 don't get anything from DMT, get the Ultra sharp stones. #2 start with 600 grit plate for decent sharpness. #3 depending on how sharp you want to go, get the 1200 grit plate for excellent sharpness. If you want sharper, say razor sharpness you will need some skill and a water stone. You'll have to decide your self by trying the first stone if you need to go finer.

Is this the only stone I need for general sharpening? I’m a beginner

It would probably be okay, if you never let the edge get too rough. It would take a while to repair any kind of neglect with this. This also wouldn't get an edge razor sharp, but would get it close enough that you could hit it with a strop or steel. I love my diamond stones, but if I had to use only one stone I'd probably go with a good natural oil stone.

Manufacturer	DMT
Part number	D8F
Item Weight	1 Kilograms
Product Dimensions	20.32 x 7.62 x 0.95 cm; 1 kg
Item model number	D8F
Size	One Size
Color	White
Style	Fine
Material	Synthetic
Pattern	Bench Stone
Item Package Quantity	1
Number Of Pieces	1
Measurement System	Metric
Grit Rating	600
Grit Description	Extra Fine,Fine
Special Features	Manual
Included components	Dia-Sharp Fine Grit
Batteries Included?	No
Batteries Required?	No

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