Small ceramic folder

K

kwackster

Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
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Just finished sharpening this small ceramic backlock folder without any markings (probably made by Böker)
This well made knife had practically no edge and no point, and even opening mail with it was difficult.
The new edge fits in the 30 degrees inclusive slot on my Tormek angle gauge, is slightly convex, and can shave the hair on my leg in both directions.
I used the Tormek Black Silicon stone graded to around 1000 grit for reprofiling, followed by diamond compounds 15, 6, and 3 micron, all on dedicated Paper Wheels.







Specs:

Length open: 4.7 inch (12 cm)
Length closed: 3.0 inch (7,5 cm)
Blade material: black zirconium oxide
Blade length: 1.8 inch (4,5 cm)
Blade thickness: 2 mm
Handle material: Ivory Micarta & Nickel Silver bolsters
Weight: 61 grams
 
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Not so long ago, the idea of sharpening ceramic blades was ridiculed. Sending them back to the factory was the only recourse.

Amazing how skill and technology change so quickly. That edge is beautiful.
 
jeeze, Ive tried sharpening a cheapo 6 dollar black ceramic folding knife and it wont take an edge at all. ive tried diamond, SiC paper, diamond paste and so on, but I cant form an apex. Now I am a very experienced sharpener I know I am reaching the edge because on coarser grits it feels rough, but this ceramic knife just wont sharpen. All I get is a black mirror edge.... I have 2 more coming in the mail, wish me better luck with the white ceramic haha
 
Imo those cheap ceramic knives have a much more coarse grain structure and are next to impossible to get anywhere near sharp.
So far i have found Kyocera ceramic blades to possess the finest "grain" structure, and with the right tools and time you can get them to whittle hair away from the root.
The ceramic in this small folder is also not as fine as that in the Kyocera blades, as with the same edge angle and refinement i can only get it to shave leg hair in both directions.
When trying to whittle chest hair (towards the root) it fails most of the time, but i still have a Paper Wheel with 1 micron diamond compound that i want to try,
 
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kwakster, travis,

Thanks for the discussion. I guess my cheap ceramic (posted in other thread) might not be up to it for home self sharpening :p
 
@ Chris: you will only find out if you try, but even if it doesn't work out you will at least get some experience with the material.
 
Razorsharp-Travis said:
jeeze, Ive tried sharpening a cheapo 6 dollar black ceramic folding knife and it wont take an edge at all. ive tried diamond, SiC paper, diamond paste and so on, but I cant form an apex. Now I am a very experienced sharpener I know I am reaching the edge because on coarser grits it feels rough, but this ceramic knife just wont sharpen. All I get is a black mirror edge.... I have 2 more coming in the mail, wish me better luck with the white ceramic haha
Click to expand...

One thing I learned with my own recent experience sharpening a ceramic knife is - finer is better... coarse grits are counterproductive. I was sharpening a KitchenAid ceramic, for what I paid I'm guessing its a cheap ceramic. I set out to reprofile the blade, and could not get a clean apex. It wouldn't cut anything.

I finally went at it with a DMT EEF thinking, based on what I saw under magnification, it would take forever. I was surprised that after about 10 min. I had a paper pushcutting edge. (After the amount of time I spent on it the last couple of days... I'm happy with that for now.) :eek:

I don't know the reason... my guess would be that coarse stones just chip away at the edge and don't let it form properly.

Nice job Kwackster! :thumbup:
 
Kyocera makes a battery powered (4 AA) ceramic blade sharpener. I doesn't work well on small knives. It is set up for Santokus and medium or larger kitchen slicers. The wheels inside are diamond coated and spring loaded. There are 2 slots in the housing, one for the left side of the blade and the other for the right. The housing is reversible for left handed operators.
I read somewhere (a long time ago) that ceramic blades are best sharpened on a coarse diamond wheel. If done properly, the finished edge looks much finer than a typical steel edge even though the abrasive was coarse. Go figure.
 
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