How to sharpen ceramic kitchen knife

R

Rreffner

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Sep 17, 2019
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I am new to sharpening and have a dull ceramic knife. I only have a recently purchased Spiderco triangular sharpener. What should I buy to address the issue? I only have one ceramic kitchen knife. Perhaps I should trash it and stay with metal? Thanks
 
You can sharpen a ceramic knife but you'll want a diamond plate, plus it doesn't really form much of a burr like steel, so it may take a little practice until you get the hang of it.
 
I only have experience sharpening one ceramic knife, a cheap Kyocera paring knife, and I only sharpen with a guided system. IMO resin bond diamond is the best type of stone to sharpen with. They have a very sharp abrasive that does not protrude much out of the bond, which helps reduce microchipping. I found that I have to use light edge trailing strokes and do not micro-bevel to avoid microchipping. Other than that it's just another knife to sharpen, and like most, they can get much sharper than when you got it new. Personally, my ceramic paring knife is my go-to knife if it is big enough for the job because it holds an edge several times longer than the other paring knives we have so it is always the sharpest.

You will never form a burr with ceramic.
 
Diemaker said:
I only sharpen with a guided system.
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Yes this is the way to go with ceramic ! ! !
Diemaker said:
IMO resin bond diamond is the best type of stone to sharpen with.
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That's not an opinion my friend . . . THAT IS A FACT !

Your 4,000 stone does the trick ! ! ! ;)

OP : you will probably have to use some more coarse stones in the Edge Pro Apex to get the knife sharp enough to then refine it with the
Edge Pro 4000 Grit Polishing Stone Mounted for Edge Pro Sharpeners.
That is what it is called from the vendor I got it from.
Strangely enough it does not say "resin bonded diamond" or "Matrix"
and the model # is 4000.
Weird.
On the same page it said : Also available in 2300 grit
I have steel diamond plates to get me to the point where I need to refine it and the 4000 does that job just right.
Go for the 2300 as well if you have no other diamond plates and probably one or two that are more coarse where ever you can find them.

Here are a couple of my ceramic bladed knives for something to look at.
This one is black ceramic and mirror polished at the spine area of the blade. It is reflecting the window blinds. It has a Ti handle; I really enjoy this knife.
IMG_3905.JPG

This one is the white knife at the top of the photo. Basic and inexpensive but fun to have.
IMG_2874.jpg
 
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I should add that you can do some sharpening on ceramic with silicon carbide in lower grits, what grits and how much depends on the ceramic. Use light pressure and watch out for microchipping.

Ceramic is not steel, keep an open mind while learning to sharpen it.

Ok, I watched the video posted above. That is someone who doesn't know what they are doing. For starters using aluminum oxide to cut ceramic is dumb, both materials are very similar. Use silicon carbide at the least as it is harder than the ceramics used for knives. He also found out why not to use plated diamonds and I will bet he used edge leading strokes as well, both promote microchipping.

My only complaint about sharpening ceramic is it's not magnetic so the magnets in my blade table don't work. Other than that it takes about the same amount of time to sharpen as a good steel knife.
 
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only way I've found to get it hair popping sharp is to use lapping films to 3 micron or less, which is how Tom did this as well :)

 
I have two ceramic blades in my kitchen; a 4" paring knife and an 8" Chefs knife. I've had them for several years and love them! A good edge lasts me 3-5 months.
I sharpen both on a Ken Onion WorkSharp belt sharpener loaded with the special belts made for ceramic knives. Works like a dream! 5-10 minutes from taking the WorkSharp out of the box to putting it away!
Result: another 3-5 months of a vary sharp edge.


Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
I have two ceramic blades in my kitchen; a 4" paring knife and an 8" Chefs knife. I've had them for several years and love them! A good edge lasts me 3-5 months.
I sharpen both on a Ken Onion WorkSharp belt sharpener loaded with the special belts made for ceramic knives. Works like a dream! 5-10 minutes from taking the WorkSharp out of the box to putting it away!
Result: another 3-5 months of a vary sharp edge.


Stitchawl
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What belts are those?
 
Venev diamonds (bench size for free hand or edge pro for guided systems) can be used to sharpen ceramic knives. There are a few YouTube videos in Russian language.
 
I have one ceramic knife that I’ve had for a very long time. It was a Christmas gift. It still cuts but their are minor chips in the blade and it’s obviously dulled. I’d love to sharpen it but I feel it’s destined for the trash can. I’ve read so many things about sharpening ceramics. Just does not seem worth doing.
 
Ryansknives said:
I have one ceramic knife that I’ve had for a very long time. It was a Christmas gift. It still cuts but their are minor chips in the blade and it’s obviously dulled. I’d love to sharpen it but I feel it’s destined for the trash can. I’ve read so many things about sharpening ceramics. Just does not seem worth doing.
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If you don't have diamond then at least try sharpening it on silicon carbide sandpaper before just throwing it away. Light pressure and edge trailing passes to reduce the microchipping. Once you figure it out it isn't that big a deal.
 
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