A diamond stone plays a key role in my sharpening technique. Not only do I use it to keep my waterstones flat, but also to dress card scrapers, and occasionally to regrind the bevel on a chisel or plane blade. Lately, I’ve been using the M-Power double-sided diamond stone, called the Diamond Cross.

The stone is 2-3⁄4 in. wide and 8 in. long. One side is 300 grit and the other is 1,000 grit. The coarser side cuts very fast, enabling me to repair small nicks in a cutting edge in just a few minutes. The finer side removes the scratches from the 300-grit side efficiently, which allows me to jump quickly from the diamond stone to my waterstones when sharpening chisel and plane blades. The diamond stone was adept at dressing card scrapers. The 1,000-grit side left a polish that resulted in a keen hook and fluffy shavings.

The stone comes with two rubber feet that latch onto it with magnets and keep the stone still during use. Overall, this is a very good stone.

—Matt Kenney

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