Diamond vs CBN rods grit

[Surfingringo]

I am curious how abrasive the cbn rods are in comparison to the diamonds. I finish many of my fish cleaning knives on a dmt 600 because it falls somewhere in between the brown ceramic rods and the diamonds (which I believe are around 325?). Does anyone know how aggressive the cbn rods are in comparison? I would get them if they were somewhere in between but if they are the same as the diamonds just in a different material, I don't need them. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Cliff Stamp]

They are very similar in finish/aggression : http://www.cliffstamp.com/knives/forum/ ... p?10,26465" target="_blank (diamonds vs cbn).

[sal]

Both our diamonds and CBN are 400 mesh.

sal

[Holland]

Both our diamonds and CBN are 400 mesh.

sal

Hi Sal,

Are lower grits, like 100 or 200 grit possibilities in the future?

[Surfingringo]

Both our diamonds and CBN are 400 mesh.

sal

Hi Sal,

Are lower grits, like 100 or 200 grit possibilities in the future?

Thanks for the info Sal. As far as Hollands question, I would buy various sets of diamond (or cbn) rods if they came in various grits. A 200 and 600 would be "must haves" for me. I love working with the SM but I find that the finish I like working with falls right between the medium and diamond rods.

[Cliff Stamp]

I love working with the SM but I find that the finish I like working with falls right between the medium and diamond rods.

Apex on the diamond rods, do just a couple of passes on the medium rods - check the edge. The more passes you do the closer it will come to the medium rod finish. By varying the number of passes you can generate an edge which has the essential behavior of any grit between the two.

[sal]

Nice trick Cliff.

We've jusgt begun working with CBN. The tirangle rods being first. Now we're working on a two sided pocket stone. (CBN & fine grit ceramic). Then we'll see what you like and where to go in the future.

sal

[PayneTrain]

Nice trick Cliff.

We've jusgt begun working with CBN. The tirangle rods being first. Now we're working on a two sided pocket stone. (CBN & fine grit ceramic). Then we'll see what you like and where to go in the future.

sal

Yessssss! Thank you Sal. I've been hoping for a more aggressive pocket or bench stone. Consider one sold.

[Ruarch]

I realize I am bumping a necro thread, but is there any real difference between these two?

[awa54]

my patience with the forum search tools here is too low to find it for you, but there is a thread comparing the two, with lots of data.

what I took away from it was that they are very close to each other in usage. I got CBN, since they were just a couple bucks more than the diamond rods and have been pleased with the results.

[Donut]

Cliff did some testing with them and I think the conclusion was that he couldn't see a difference between the CBN and Diamond rods.

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[Ruarch]

Thanks gents. I will sum it up as I see it.

Cliff's testing could not find much of a difference yet but he had more testing he wanted to do.

And as to why they were introduced in the first place...

"Hi Joel,

Welcome to our forum.

With regards to your question, the simple answer is we don't know. The whole CBN thing is new and we have no history. That's why Cliff has been playing with them for a while. Often times, Spyderco will do experimetal work on new stuff (steel, CBN, etc.) for which there is little or no history. Our forum has some real afi's and they are a good source for "real world" testing. We can do lab testing, but as we all know (or should) labs do have their limitaions. I imagine we'll know more in the next couple of years.

Cliff has been gracious enough to do some testing and share his findings. Hope you enjoy your time here and get to gain knowledge as well.

sal"

[SpydyLover1234]

I would really enjoy a more abrasive grit like 220.

[SpeedHoles]

I love working with the SM but I find that the finish I like working with falls right between the medium and diamond rods.

Apex on the diamond rods, do just a couple of passes on the medium rods - check the edge. The more passes you do the closer it will come to the medium rod finish. By varying the number of passes you can generate an edge which has the essential behavior of any grit between the two.

This is good info. :)









Whatever happened to Cliff, did he get banned? I didn't catch it, if so. Sorry if I'm bringing up a touchy subject...

[Archimedes]

Having used both I feel the CBN cuts slightly faster but that is just an opinion.

[Cliff Stamp]

Whatever happened to Cliff [...]

I took on a volunteer position which I thought would be ~10 hours per week, it has multiplied so my free time is severely reduced. I tend to focus the time I have (internet wise) in answering questions people ask me directly. My activity even on the forum I run is pretty limited, I only jump in when there are unanswered questions.

[SpeedHoles]

Whatever happened to Cliff [...]

I took on a volunteer position which I thought would be ~10 hours per week, it has multiplied so my free time is severely reduced. I tend to focus the time I have (internet wise) in answering questions people ask me directly. My activity even on the forum I run is pretty limited, I only jump in when there are unanswered questions.

Aha, yeah I just saw your name as active down below. :) Have not seen any posts from you in quite some time! When I first joined here you seemed to be extremely active in the forum discussions.
Enjoy your volunteer work!

[Bill1170]

I have a set of the CBN Sharpmaker triangular rods. Good to know they are 400 mesh, I missed that the first time around.

With diamond and CBN, the coarser the grit gets, the more fragile the sharpener. Large grits are easier to tear out of the nickel matrix than finer grits are. It is just geometry. I killed some coarse and extra coarse Diafolds while sharpening a friend's very blunt kitchen knives. The diamonds tore free of the metal matrix because I was pressing too hard. The danger to the stone is greatly reduced with diamond bench stones because of the larger contact area. Conversely, the danger of stripping off the diamonds/CBN from the SM rods is increased due to the very small contact area, especially on the corners. For this reason I would completely understand it if Spyderco didn't release coarser gritted SM rods in diamond or CBN.