# Atoma #140 = Serious Cutting Power!



## Yamabushi (Dec 19, 2012)

So I just received my new Atoma #140 Diamond Plate, and immediately unpackaged it and put it to work on my Shapton Pro #1000 and #5000. All I can say is wow, serious cutting/flattening power! Within minutes I had near perfectly flat, fresh surfaced stones, and no stiction to speak of. What a winner! I realize that after the Atoma gets broken in it's cutting power will back off a little bit, but color me impressed!


----------



## ThEoRy (Dec 19, 2012)

Mine is still quite aggressive after about 18 months with still a long way to go.


----------



## Yamabushi (Dec 20, 2012)

ThEoRy said:


> Mine is still quite aggressive after about 18 months with still a long way to go.



Yep, I've read nothing but glowing reviews for the Atoma, but it's nice to hear yet another endorsement! Thank you!


----------



## ThEoRy (Dec 20, 2012)

I actually taped a 1200 grit atoma replacement pad to the back for a double sided diamond plate of win!


----------



## Yamabushi (Dec 20, 2012)

Excellent! Another diamond plate back there is definitely a winner! I was considering putting some 3M Micro Abrasive 1µ or .5µ film back there for stropping. Any other good ideas for some sort of strop there? Or any other recommended usage?


----------



## allumirati (Dec 20, 2012)

How about a higher grit atoma plate for smoothing out higher grit stones.


----------



## Zwiefel (Dec 20, 2012)

Isn't that the purpose of a Nagura?


----------



## allumirati (Dec 20, 2012)

Zwiefel said:


> Isn't that the purpose of a Nagura?



Yes, but diamond plates, especially big ones, are better.


----------



## mainaman (Dec 20, 2012)

allumirati said:


> Yes, but diamond plates, especially big ones, are better.


Not for smoothing, they still leave scratches, that does not matter for knife edges but still if one wants perfect surface, nagura is the way.


----------



## Yamabushi (Dec 20, 2012)

As mentioned early on, another Atoma diamond plate on the back definitely is a good option! With that in mind, does anyone have any other ideas about an alternative good use for the back side of the plate?


----------



## Blobby (Dec 20, 2012)

I just used a few sheets of wet sandpaper on a flat bench top. Did some stones I hadn't touched for years with more hills and valleys than the Rocky Mountains (I guess could have used the Australian Blue Mountains as an analogy but I'm cognisant of the fact that this is primarily a US website). Took five minutes, perfect result and cost me less than 50c and there's at least half a dozen more left in the sheets.


----------



## allumirati (Dec 20, 2012)

Blobby said:


> I just used a few sheets of wet sandpaper on a flat bench top. Did some stones I hadn't touched for years with more hills and valleys than the Rocky Mountains (I guess could have used the Australian Blue Mountains as an analogy but I'm cognisant of the fact that this is primarily a US website). Took five minutes, perfect result and cost me less than 50c and there's at least half a dozen more left in the sheets.



Diamond is still faster and last longer.


----------



## Blobby (Dec 20, 2012)

allumirati said:


> Diamond is still faster.....



Possibly, but who's done a comparison? And which grits? 



allumirati said:


> ..........and last longer.



Don't know about that. For $120 (which I discovered is the price of an Atoma diamond 140) I could buy 150 odd sheets of sandpaper. I reckon I can get at least 15 goes out of a sheet (I only used half a sheet before) so that's near on 2,250. I'll be happily proven wrong but I'll eat my hat if you can get anywhere near that out of a diamond plate.


----------



## allumirati (Dec 21, 2012)

Blobby said:


> Possibly, but who's done a comparison? And which grits?
> 
> 
> 
> Don't know about that. For $120 (which I discovered is the price of an Atoma diamond 140) I could buy 150 odd sheets of sandpaper. I reckon I can get at least 15 goes out of a sheet (I only used half a sheet before) so that's near on 2,250. I'll be happily proven wrong but I'll eat my hat if you can get anywhere near that out of a diamond plate.



I don't think anybody really cares that much to test this. Diamond plate is less mess and hassle too.


----------



## tk59 (Dec 21, 2012)

There's no question in my mind that a diamond plate is more expensive. Still, for a home user, it will last you a lifetime. It is compact, flat, quick and convenient. I've tried other methods. I'll never go back unless I have to get a TON of material off a stone and in that case, I'd use a sidewalk.


----------



## EdipisReks (Dec 21, 2012)

yeah, a diamond plate that is only used for flattening stones is gonna last a long, long time.


----------



## Keith Sinclair (Dec 21, 2012)

The Atoma's cost a little more than some other plates,I feel like they are worth it.The 140 can do minor knife repair,I use the 600 for taking out 140 scratches.600 is also good for thinning behind the edge.Another thing I like about them is their light weight,I like lite:bliss:


----------



## mainaman (Dec 21, 2012)

Blobby said:


> Possibly, but who's done a comparison? And which grits?
> 
> 
> 
> Don't know about that. For $120 (which I discovered is the price of an Atoma diamond 140) I could buy 150 odd sheets of sandpaper. I reckon I can get at least 15 goes out of a sheet (I only used half a sheet before) so that's near on 2,250. I'll be happily proven wrong but I'll eat my hat if you can get anywhere near that out of a diamond plate.


depends how much you lap.
I use a lot of sand paper for other lapping purposes (wood and plastics), and I can tell you it loose the bite pretty quickly and the sheets can't be reused. In the long run a diamond plate will be the cheaper option.


----------



## Justin0505 (Dec 21, 2012)

I used to use sand paper too, and thought that it was actually pretty good. But then Dave had a sale on atomas that I couldn't refuse and I bought one. 
One of the things about really nice tools is that you go from thinking: "do I REALLY need to buy this?" to "how did I ever live without this?"

It's just soooo much better than sandpaper when it comes to stone flattening and makes even my least favorite part of sharpening enjoyable. I've had about a year and still still not noticed any substantial decline in stone-melting aggression. I can't imagine wearing this thing out anywhere other than a professional sharping setting. 
I don't know what kind of magic paper Bobby uses, but I never got multiple good uses out of a sheet of 120grit w/d paper (However, some of my most-used stones are pretty hard). Maybe I just never felt like it was worth the extra tendinitis to grind away on sand paper that started to lose its bite or wrinkle & tear. 

Someone told me that using diamond plates on steel will wear them out more quickly b/c what "wears out" a plate is loss / fall-out of diamonds, and steel is softer / behaves differently than stone and "pulls" the diamonds out of the plate. The diamonds seem to be really firmly bonded on the Atoma though, and I've used mine on knives to do edge repair, tip repair, re-profiling, thinning, etc and noticed no ill effects. However, I also use light pressure as it seems to cut just as fast and is easier on all parties involved. 

And Theory: I hate you! You have left me with no choice but to go buy yet ANOTHER diamond plate (1200grit replacement) and make my 140 into a 2-sided combo... the idea is just too awesome not to do (even if a year ago I would have thought that it was crazy ).


----------



## ThEoRy (Dec 22, 2012)

Justin0505 said:


> And Theory: I hate you! .



Win!


----------



## phasedweasel (Dec 22, 2012)

I'm curious about the Atoma's, because my DMT XC lost a lot of its cutting power after I used it to do some serious thinning on a Yoshikane gyuto (the 240 mm is quite thick at the top of bevel, it's the primary thing I don't like about it). Since then I've been wary of using the expensive diamond plates to do anything but flatten stones, but if the Atoma holds diamonds that well it'd be worth the money.


----------

