Ceramic rod for honing?

G

gibson_es

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Dec 1, 2013
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I typed a novel here. and erased it to shorten it).. so this is the short story..

I practice sharpening on junk knifes i use for jobs that I don't want to use good knifes on around the house. my good knifes I sharpen, or Hone as well to keep them sharp. but if a good knife gets dull, I take it to someone that does this on the weekends as a hobby and for extra cash. I asked him for advice on honing my knifes, mainly my larger knifes (use a DMT extra fine that's credit card size for my pocket knives, works fine) he suggested a larger ceramic rod with a handle

I am not in a position at the moment to get a larger DMT stone anyway do to cost. and my local knife shop has a pretty large ceramic rod for only $7 (2" wide, can't remember length). or should i just wait until the holidays are over and get the DMT?

anyone sharpen with one for finishing? how it is compared to the DMT Extra fine diamond sharpening tools?
 
For touch ups I exclusively use an inexpensive ceramic rod. I did pay more than $7 for it, I think around $20. It has worked great on all the different steels I have. 8cr, Aus8, 154cm, S30V, 1095, SK5, S35V, Elmax, 3V, M390, A2, no name kitchen cutlery steel. Stropping is good for touching up as well, though I have not gotten into that yet.

I would say get a ceramic rod to see how you like it. Can't hurt.
 
I use a Spyderco UF ceramic rod as a finishing step when I sharpen, immediately after using a DMT EF hone.

The thing about DMT hones is that they remove metal rather quickly, even the EF. This makes it very easy to sharpen just about anything, but I don't really like to use it for touchups since touchups IMO should just be a few quick swipes to restore the apex. To do so, I much prefer ceramic rods since they tend to leave a nice polish and it's hard to mess up with them. And I definitely recommend using a ceramic rod or another stone in favor of a strop, since while strops can be useful as an extra buffing step, many people use them as a crutch for otherwise messy edges.
 
^
That's what I do but after the DMT EF, I can either go Spyderco F or/to UF ceramic.

I touch up with the F ceramic mostly.
 
I touch up between uses on a leather belt with white compound. When the edge no longer responds to the belt, a few well placed passes on a Smiths 9" ceramic rod gets the job done. It leaves a nice crisp edge. When the edge is too far gone for the rod to bring back its time to sharpen.
 
Stays Sharp said:
^
That's what I do but after the DMT EF, I can either go Spyderco F or/to UF ceramic.

I touch up with the F ceramic mostly.
Click to expand...

I really ought to get a F ceramic for the in between step, I just haven't gotten around to it.
 
I've used ceramic rods like that and they work just fine. Now I just use an old piece of stirrup leather with some mother mcguires metal polish smeared on it.
 
I use a 1/2" ceramic rod for touch ups , but have never seen one 2" wide myself. It's great for just touching up the apex and doesn't remove much steel or scratch the knife .
 
Ceramic, natural or man-made stones are slower going than diamonds but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker ceramic rods (M, F & UF) or Spyderco Double Stuff ceramic combination stone for normal sharpening these days. I sometimes strop with green compound on leather to finish. I will use diamonds when needed--damaged edges or reprofiling--but ceramics for normal sharpening.

For 7 bucks, you really aren't risking much so I'd say go for the ceramic rod.
 
I picked it up Friday after work.. it wasn't 2" wide, but its still pretty thick, I will measure when i get home for my own curiosity, and post up with a pic, it was $7 out the door, and so far well worth the purchase.
 
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