ceramic blade sharpening

Joined
Jan 28, 2002
Messages
2
I got a boker ceramic infinity. I have been told to only get it sharpened by a professional i.e. send it back to boker. anyone know how to do this on my own?
thanks ---- jeff
 
Welcome to BFC, Jeff.

About the most foolproof way to sharpen ceramic blades is to get yourself a good diamond hone such as those manufactured by DMT. The diamonds in these are, of course, harder than the ceramic blade material and will get the job done with a minimum of hassle. Best results will likely be had if you use a fine grit hone and not too much elbow grease. Remember, the ceramic material is very brittle and it's easy to micro-chip the edge if you're not careful.

I also seem to recall a forum member (perhaps Cliff Stamp?) reporting that certain grades of sand paper are also effective on ceramic blades. A quick forum search may reveal further details. Good luck. :)
 
Most of the warnings about sharpening ceramic blades are far in excessive of how difficult it actually is to grind the material. While I would not want to actually profile a blank piece of ceramic into a knife, I have reground edges that had mm size pieces out of them, and tips that were broken ~0.5 cm back. This was using just a cheap AO belt on a 1" sander, nothing fancy. It takes longer than steel, but you can get it done.

That being said, while you can indeed sharpen it with most hones, as Bronco said Diamond abrasives will cut it with the most aggression, and if I was sharpening them by hand that is what I would use. You should be careful not to use excessive pressure as it will damage the hone. If you have to actually shape the edge because it is damaged I would recommend a large SiC waterstone and some 80 grit lapping compound, this will get you done in the most time.

I was not able to get the ceramic knives that I had anywhere near the sharpness of steel. I could however get them as sharp as ceramic knives I had seen NIB, and the owner was pleased with the edge. Based on some conversations I have had, ceramic may need a bit of a thicker edge to get a high sharpness because if you go to thin the edge breaks apart under sharpening, which is what I was seeing. You might also try a buffing wheel loaded with a fine SiC compound and CrO as a finisher.

I would be interested in what you come up with if you do decide to experiment.

-Cliff
 
I have a Boker Infinity as well.

If you don't want to do it yourself Boker will sharpen it for free. Otherwise the diamond hone is probably the easiest way to get it sharp.
 
DB1 - do you have any address or anything for boker so i can get them to sharpen it? thanks
 
I apologize as I was mistaken on the free resharpening ...

The card that came with my knife states to send the knive via UPS or insured Parcel Post along with a note requesting resharpening, and $11.95 ($8.00 sharpening, $3.95 postage and handling), to

Boker USA, Inc.
1550 Balsam Street
Lakewood, CO 80215-3117
(303) 462-0662
 
Here's Boker's address. Be warned, though, that if you send it to them, they will probably have to send it to Germany, and this may make the turnaround time way over 1 month, and possibly 2.

Boker USA, Inc.
1550 Balsam Street
Lakewood, CO 80215-3117

Here's an email address, so you can find out for sure, what you need to do.

sales@bokerusa.com

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out, as I plan on buying one of their ceramic blades sometime soon.

DD

EDIT:
Okay, so I wasn't quick enough with the reply, but glad to see the info:D
DD
 
I've sharpened Kyocera ceramic kitchen knives with a Hewlett Jewelstik diamond sharpener. No problem, just don't go too thin on the edge---as noted above.
 
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