Ceramic Sharpeners......Test results

The sharpener finally arrived on Friday. It looks like it got caught in a sorter or something as it had to be repackaged and resent by the post. The letter that was with it was tore up as was one side of the envelope. The sharpener was bent and in fact the base metal was exposed in several places where it was gouged. I did some experimenting to see how difficult this was to do, and quite frankly, no other hone would have survived.

Some strong points :

1) The high durability. Other ceramic, natural and man made abrasives are very brittle. Just drop them on a hard floor and they can shatter under their own weight. Diamond plates are decently durable in this respect, but can be easily mauled if you use too much force when sharpening, not a problem with this one.

2) The versatility. You have flats, corners and a groove. There is a lot of variable functionality there. I would considering making the corners of a smaller radius (just taper the last 1/8" or so), to allow sharpening smaller serrations.

3) The shape. It is so thin and lightweight that you can just put it in your pocket and not worry about drag, or of course it breaking. You also don't need to carry any lube for its use. You can also simply wear it around your neck, or carry it from your belt with the lanyard hole.

Possibility :

A very small portable v-rod device. It only need be say one inch thick at the most (not even this may be necessary). Which could hold two bars. The device would have slot holes cut in it to allow the bar to be presented with the corner or flats (simple cross type notch). Because of the small size and weight you could carry this pretty much all the time in a coat pocket. This would be for quick touchups of small knives, and you would use the hones freehand for large knives.

I should be able to use it this week and thus allow some comments on abrasive uniformity, grit specifics and such.

-Cliff
 
Thanks Cliff,
It sounds like the P.O. knows you and tryed some tests that they thought you might approve of while they had the chance.

Look forward to hearing how it holds up for you.

Enjoy....
 
Cliff said:

"The high durability. Other ceramic, natural and man made abrasives are very brittle. Just drop them on a hard floor and they can shatter under their own weight."

Yes, it appears that laminating the ceramic to an aluminum bar makes it far less brittle, and thereby much more resistant to damage from impacts. The aluminum bar/ceramic coating also makes this sharpener much lighter than a solid ceramic sharpener of the same size would be.

"I would considering making the corners of a smaller radius (just taper the last 1/8" or so), to allow sharpening smaller serrations."

I think that these sharpeners are specifically intended for Busse knives. Within that context, I think your suggestion is sub-optimal. The size and shape of the rounded edges are meant to (and do) perfectly fit the unusual serration pattern that Busse uses.

However, it may be possible to have the best of both worlds: perhaps one edge could be as is, optimized for Busse serrations, and the other edge could have a smaller radius, to sharpen smaller serrations (like Spyderco).

This seems to me like it could increase versatility with little to no cost in functionality. It might raise production costs, though.
 
Hi:

1. When will the tests results be evaluated and the ceramic sharpeners be available for purchase?

2. Is there a possiblity of ordering different grits or different sizes?

Thanks,

hanover
 
That's pretty darn cool! I'd like to buy a half dozen or so to use, hand out as presents, at shows, or at local knife shops...

Where do I send the check?

1WB, you've done 'it' again haven't you? ;)

Mel
 
i have a short one 3" and would love to have a few of the four inchers. where can i buy them?
 
I'm interested in getting some too! It's as bad as waiting for a new Busse to arrive! :)
 
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