We're happy to present something everyone has been waiting for - a combination diamond/ceramic whetstone that will handle all your sharpening needs. The newly-developed DC3 and DC4 whetstones consist of a fine diamond stone (25 microns) and a very special ceramic stone, made of synthetic sapphires.
The advantage of these materials, although they get worn, will still keep their flat shape this is important when you sharpen your knife. And, since these materials are the hardest we know of, they will sharpen any steel, even these extremely hard powder steels.
You don't need any lubrication for these stones, but now and then you should consider cleaning them with warm water and liquid soap. The stones might feel coarse from the start but will become smoother/better after some use.A leather pouch is included.
How to Use Your DC Whetstone
Here are the simple steps to follow when you want to sharpen your dull knife using the DC whetstone from Fallkniven:
- Get to know a little bit about the DC sharpener. It is not as complicated as it seems. The product has two main parts. DC whetstones, including the DC4, come with 25 microns of a diamond stone. The other section has a select type of ceramic stone, which came from synthetic sapphires.
- The diamond stone is designed for sharpening your dull knives.
- Lay the blade flat on the diamond stone.
- Raise the spine of the blade based on its thickness.
- Move the blade in circular motions – not just up and down.
- Once you have restored the blunt blade, you can turn the sharpener over and use the ceramic stone. This other part is for de-burring the blade as lightly as you can.
- Use the same angle as when you were sharpening the knife. Raise the sharpener as you de-burr the blade in circular motions. Make sure you give focus more on the tip.
- Check the edge. You should now have the razor sharpness of the tip that was once lost.
These tips help make sure that the sharpening process is complete and a success
- We recommend that you use the whetstone as-is, which means you should not add oil or even water. Keep both sides dry, especially the ceramic stone. If you have to use these lubricants, water is the better option. However, if you need to use oil, always go for a water-based one. Skip the petroleum-based oils.
- Use a felt-tip pen to colour the edge of the knife. It will serve as a progress-checker, so you know which parts of the blade are sharp enough.
- You can know how sharp the knife is with this easy trick. Just pull the edge as lightly as you can on your fingernail. It should make a delicate cut on the nail, which demonstrates that your knife is now ready for most cutting tasks. Always be careful when handling a newly sharpened blade, especially when trying this method.
Here is another useful trick. The DC whetstone comes with a leather cover or pouch. Use the back of this cover as a leather strop. After you have sharpened the knife, you can take it to the strop, which helps align the blade edge. Putting the knife on the strop also enhances how the knife cuts.
A few reminders
When you have just received your DC whetstone, it should look coarse. It denotes that it is a brand new product. You can get rid of this coarseness once you use the tool.
The Fallkniven DC sharpeners, including the DC4, can get worn as you continually use them and even with proper care. However, they will still have their flat shape, which means these tools will remain useful throughout the years when you need to sharpen your dull knives. Both diamond and ceramic are hard materials so that you can use the DC whetstones on any steel – even the difficult powder steels.
