There are times when we woodworking editors have certain samples sitting out on our desks that cause coworkers to walk by and comment.  Things like “Hey, what’s that?” or “Ooo, cool.” Or “Hey, I want one of those.”

I seem to have heard all of those this week with the new DiamondWave™ sharpeners from DMT (Diamond Machining Technology) sitting out on my desk. What’s that? Well, they’re diamond whetstone sharpeners, true – and they’re also the first such sharpeners to combine both convex and concave sharpening surfaces.

This results in a design that incorporates both out-canneland in-cannel gouges which, in addition to provide both shapes of sharpening surfaces, also gives the sharpener itself a rather artistic, wavy look. (One of the coworkers commenting was our magazine’s art director.) The radii of thosecurves start at .0625 inches and taper to 1-inch radii. The look is,admittedly, pretty cool.

Why do woodworkers want one? To sharpen turning tools seems to be the most popular answer around our offices, although they work on a wide range of curved profiles as well – think carving tools, for example. The 10-inch DiamondWave also allows for long sharpening strokes, taken either with or without lubricant, on the included no-slip mat. The diamond coating is on top of a steel substrate to resist chipping, cracking, grooving – or breaking.

 The DiamondWave comes in two grit sizes, either 600-grit or1,200-grit, and is priced at $59.99. For more information, visit www.dmtsharp.com.