NL-10 Lapping Plate

A worth while investment

A serious piece of sharpening equipment for a sharpener and polisher who wants to take his/her work to the next level and eliminate as many variables as possible in the process of achieving perfection. Steep price tag, but what you get in return shows where your money went. This flattener has significant weight, resulting in minimal to no effort needed to flatten. On natural stones, it brings up a slurry nearly instantly even on hard stones and the slurry stays on the stone, it is not stuck in tinny grooves or ridges like on the Atoma. The Atoma is a great product and is still used in my sharpening process, but the NL-10 is another tool on another level to achieve even better results. Unlike the Atom you can send the NL-10 back in, so It can be used for a lifetime. Once the Atoma is worn out, the plate goes into the trash. Invest in quality tools and quality craftsmen. It is an investment in your sharpening not merely a small purchase

Excellent

The NL-10 is a quick cutter and makes short work of whatever stone that I throw at it compared to other flattening plates. The extra clearance from the buttons makes it easy to clear out swarf when flattening. Even if you're not constantly running water over a stone. Any pencil marks I make on a stone stay on the stone until it is truly flat. My experience with other flattening diamond plates with low clearance has been that my pencil marks will wear away from the build up of abrasives/binder and I will need to remark a stone a few times before it is actually flat. If you're flattening very high grit whetstones it leaves a smooth finish on the surface of the stone and allows you to maintain an even finish on whatever you're sharpening easily or not add more teeth to the edge from the rough stone surface. I also have the NL-4 and compared to that it is slightly slower but the surface of the stone is left much smoother. The heft of the NL-10 makes it easier to flatten the stones and keep it level. Be careful not to drop it. It won't hurt the plate, but it might break whatever it lands on. That being said I haven't felt like it would slip out of my hands even when whet or covered in swarf/slurry. It is expensive, but I won't need another plate for a very long time and can always send it back to get trued up if it ever goes out of level with my level of usage. I'm very happy with my purchase and would buy it again if needed.

Precision flatness in a monster plate meant to last forever

I have used the NL-8 for about the last 4 years and recently got myself another NL-10 a couple months back. NL-8: I have abused the NL-8 by flattening rough-sawn japanese natural stones (with about 8mm deep ridges) and the NL-8 has proved to be able to handle even such ridiculously uneven surfaces. After about 3-4 years of doing so, the NL-8 only went out of flat slightly. I sent it back to be reconditioned and it has come back quite promptly like brand new, ready for more usage. NL-10: Having this as a comparison, I understand why the NL-8 was discontinued. This plate is significantly more substantial in heft, area and ease of use. The diamond-infused buttons kept on cutting whatever I threw at them (including diamond stones). I would also say that this plate doesn't remove more than the necessary material. When the sharpening stones are incredibly rough/uneven, it will remove the high spots super quickly. However, when they are somewhat flat, the NL-10 removes material at a slower rate (still a very decent speed) because of how uniformly flat the plate is. Hap Stanley has also done his due diligence in stating that the NL-8/NL-10 works best for stones around 400 grit and above. I have tested this and verified this to be true. In summary: The NL-8/NL-10 are both very well-made precision plates able to remove as much material as you can throw at them. This isn't a cheap flattener by any means, but the ease of mind it provides by being precision flat is worth it in my opinion. If used under normal circumstances, it will last forever. If abused, it will still do the job for years. It is good that we know it can be sent back for reconditioning after years of abuse (for a fee).