# PA diamond plate: Watanabe AI#Diamond Jr



## nutmeg




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## nutmeg

Please let me write the condition of this PA before someone reply to this thread ;-) Thanks


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## nutmeg

Now let's start ;-)

The rules of this PA.

_Watanabe sent the AI#Diamond Jr to me so I need to know where it is. Please always send me the adress you are sending the diamond plate to.

_don't keep it too long.

_Don't play wrong with the plate like endurance or torture test.

_Use it only with stones having a grit of #1000 or more.

_Tip repair on blades is allowed but don't abuse.

_Please give your impressions here after use.

PS: Every reviewer wins a nutmeg


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## nutmeg

The AI#Diamond Jr. is going to stay in Germany first in order to keep the shipping low.
I guess the first 5 and after it's going to be worldwide.

You can reserve it like :

#6: Nutmeg

#7: Khashy

etc..

Have fun with it!


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## khashy

I'll start it but obviously the guys is Germany will need to put their names above mine.
.
.
.

#6 Khashy

Thanks.


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## TheCaptain

#200 TheCaptain when it crosses the pond...


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## tommybig

#1: tommybig

Nutmeg was already so nice to sent it to me with a purchase and it arrived today.

I will edit pictures and my first impressions into my post here during the weekend.


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## Matus

I am in DE and would love to give it a try if possible


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## nutmeg

#0: Nutmeg .. 

My impressions:

The only diamond plate I could compare it to was the big AI#Diamond, wich is THE diamond stone. (junior link, deluxe right)




The Senior has #170 grit and a flat side against #140 with holes for the Junior.

With its handle and relative low grit, #140 the Ai#Junior was a beast! I could thin finger stones very fast, even a bit faster than with the AI#Senior.

Actually the AI#Diamond "deluxe" was overall better and I see it more like The Tool that makes stones believable perfectly flat and that is also for thinning or repairing blade but I loved the fastness of the Jr. version.
Even for finger stones the Jr. was very convenient.

Now I'd like to read comment and comparisons to other well known and middle-of-the road brands like Atoma, DMT etc.. ;-)


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## Matus

#2 Matus


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## tommybig

@Nutmeg: thanks again for the very nice offer even thou you did not know me at all . Also thanks for the nagura and fingerstones, all great quality stuff.

So lets get to the AI Diamond. I own a heavily worn down DMT 125, Atoma 400 and Atoma 1200. So I do have some stuff to compare.

*General impression:*
- The plate is not pretty and not well finished. I know it barely matters, but it looks like a tool found somewhere in an old basement.  The sides and the top are rough, which makes it harder to clean in this areas. Other diamond plates are "finished" much better.
- Flattening is extra super easy with this. Having a handle is great. You need very little force. Sticking is non-existent. The mud has to be extremely dry to have it start sticking. It beats any other diamond plate at this, which is its main purpose. 
- The holes make it very easy to add water in the process or use it under running water. It certainly excels at very long flattening processes.
- The small size (it is smaller than most stones) makes it handy, but it does slow things down just a little bit, since you have to make sure to get every area evenly.
- It is coarse but it does not feel coarse when flattening, it comes closer to my Atoma 400 than to the DMT 125.

Here are some *stone specific impressions*.
*JNS 6000 *(representing a standard finisher): very easy, surface felt good afterwards, no need to use something finer after the AI.











*JNS 1000*: just as easy to flatten. I realized that the holes make it harder to round of corners, I ended up using the corner area of the AI Diamond for that.





*Aizu*: this is special, because the stone feels a lot different when flattened with a coarse or fine diamond plate. I usually use the Atoma 1200 on this. And after the AI Diamond it did feel a lot coarser. I think its personal preference, since a coarser surface might give you more bite. I personally prefer the 1200 for the Aizu. Other than that, flattening was just as easy.






*Blue coticule*: this represents a hard and fine stone. You can see every scratch on this stone, and yes it got a lot of scratches from the AI Diamond.










Finally a quick look at the *diamond surface*. Reminds me more of the random pattern of a DMT, not organized in chunks like the Atoma . Looks fairly even thou.





F*inal thoughts:* it does what its made for and it does it very well. If I had to pick between AI Diamond and DMT/Atoma of same grit when money was not a factor, i´d take the AI Diamond. But the price is a lot higher which is a game changer, and I would then probably go for Atoma with a handle. 

Ill might add some thoughts tomorrow. Then it is going to the trip back to Munich to knife nut gathering. Nutmeg set this up already.
@Matus: I think you can get it right after that.

Cheers,
Thomas


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## nutmeg

Many many thanks for your review Thomas! :thumbsup:


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## zetieum

#3 zetieum (in Köln)

EDIT: can we try it on naturals?


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## nutmeg

zetieum said:


> #3 zetieum (in Köln)
> 
> EDIT: can we try it on naturals?


 yes naturally &#128521;


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## tommybig

Did not have time for more testing, therefore the plate is already on its way to munich to be testet by a group of knife nuts ;-).

I can say that i am really thinking of a way to put on a handle on my double sided Atoma, not an easy task .

Thanks again to nutmeg for the oppurtunity.


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## Matus

Plate arrived safe and sound to Aalen


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## fatboylim

#7 fatboylim (after khashy)? Can't believe I only just saw this!


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## Matus

First part of my feedback: 

I have used the flattening plate on Gesshin 2000 and 4000 and it performed very well. I can not really say whether it is faster than the JKI diamond plate, but the handle makes the work much easier and the holes mean there is no sticking and the mud has somewhere to go.

What is a downside is the size. I would find it hards to get some fine grit stone perfectly flat with a plate this small.

I still plan to test this plate on some natural stones, but all of those are on the small side of things, so the size of the plate should not be an issue. I will report back in a day or two.


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## Matus

So, it seems that #3 (zetieum) does not have time to test this plate now - who is the #4? Or should I send it back to you, nutmeg?

My feedback to flattening natural stones:

I have used it on a very soft and muddy Hakka, Uchigumori, Nakayama and Ikarashi. All these stones are somewhat smaller than 'standard', so the size of the plate was not an issue. Sticking to stones was much less, though Hakka did manage to get stuck to the plate (it is a thirsty stone what together with fine grain creates a very strong strong suction effect before the stone absorbs more water).

I got a lot of mud (=flattening action, this plate would be too coarse to generate mud on fine natural stones) quickly and the action was much more pleasant than when using a diamond plate without a handle.

One point to mention - the holes on the stone will catch a lot of much and in particular if you forget to clean (flush with water) the plate after use and let it dry (ask me how I know), than you will inevitably carry mud from one stone to another - that may not be wished for (with finishing natural stones), but then again - this plate is meant to flatten stones, not to create mud, so most likely you will be washing off the mud from your fine natural stones before use anyhow.

Summary:

Given my experience I would love to have the larger plate from Watanabe - I would not get a one this small. But given the price and how often I use one, I will probably just add a handle to my JKI diamond plate.

Thanks again for the possibility to try out this diamond plate.


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## zetieum

Yeah, sorry guys: I have to skip my turn. I will have little time in the coming weeks. 
Merci quand même pour l'opportunité nutmeg.


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## khashy

Just a quick update here. 

Nutmeg kindly sent me the plate and I'll be using it for a little while before posting my impressions and passing it on to fatboylim.

Thanks again nutmeg.


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## khashy

Right, finally got around to write the review.

Here it is: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/35873-Watanabe-AI-Diamond-Jr-Plate-Review


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## nutmeg

khashy said:


> Right, finally got around to write the review.
> 
> Here it is: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/35873-Watanabe-AI-Diamond-Jr-Plate-Review



Mega!


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## khashy

nutmeg said:


> Mega!



:bliss:


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