I bought the Shapton lapping plate and 500, 1000, 6000 and 16000 grit ceramic stones. I have been sharpening with Norton water stones and lapping with a DMT diamond lapping plate. The main reason I bought the Shapton products was the time it took to sharpen on my previous system. The Norton stones are great, but wear quickly, and the DMT lapping plate lost most of its diamond coating after a couple of years of use. To be fair, I had used the lapping plate to do rough flattening on a few plane blades, which may have precipitated its early demise. At any rate, I ended up spending most of my time sharpening trying to flatten my stones on the worn plate. I finally decided to spend the money to get a good lapping plate and more durable, lower maintenance stones. The Shapton lapping plate cuts much faster than the DMT plate did, even when it was new. The ceramic stones wear less less quickly than the Norton stones; and even with a fair amount of re-flattening of chisels and plane blades, which necessitates using the edges of the stones, with subsequent asymmetric wear, the lapping plate quickly gets me back to a perfectly flat stone.
Free-hand sharpening has been a deceptively difficult skill to learn, and it is important, for me, to know that if I do not achieve a finish-quality edge, the fault is with me, not the equipment. So far, I have gotten outstanding, consistent results with my new Shapton gear, and I get to sharp much faster and reliably. It is not an exaggeration to say that working wood without properly sharpened tools isn't pleasant- or even possible. But, with a good edge, working a well-tuned tool is a sublime pleasure, even for a novice like me. These products are the best I have found so far to end up with the best results your skills will afford, and, moreover, to enjoy every stroke and cut along the way. Are they expensive? Yes. Are they worth it. Absolutely. I wish I had bought them 5 years ago.
Finally, the goods I got from Rob and family performed as advertised and have so far exceeded my expectations. I regret I missed Rob's personal call the same day I ordered my goods. I would say that's good service!
Thanks very much,
Gregg Colvin
Raleigh NC, USA

If you want the flattest, most straight lapping stone available, this is the BEST. Just like they say, this one is true. I have spent a lot of money to realize I need to spend a lot of money to have a good sharpening system. I have other (several) diamond plates (of supposed exceptional quality) I used for lapping stones I have bought over the past few years and one day realized I should look at the lapping plate for straightness, not just take their word! None, not one, was true. Light blew right though all over all the plates, then I got out the feeler gauge. Made me ill. I have been spending hours, no days sharpening off these plates and got mediocre results wondering if it was me. Not anymore! If you want sharp, my advice is spend the money on Shapton to begin with, rather than like me where I now have all these useless diamond plates. I guess I could try like Rob said and sell them on eBay!

The flattest I have ever used!

I was thrilled with the item, and even more so with the level of service!

The plate seems to do exactly as advertised, though my skill at lapping as part of sharpening (by hand, without jigs) is improving with practice, is not noticeably different. This is more a question of my ability and not the superior utility of the lapping plate. I am confident in Mr. Cosman’s assessment of the tools he recommends. And as always, the customer service and speed of getting merchandise in the Q are exemplary. Another “Job well done”.