Ceramic knife sharpening?

T

tatfiend

Joined
Apr 24, 2013
Messages
417
I see that Kyocera offers a electric knife sharpener primarily intended for their ceramic knives though it is also supposed to work on steel ones too. Has anyone tried it and if so with what results? What are alternative effective ceramic knife sharpening methods available for an average ceramic knife owner?

I do not have any ceramic knives yet but am considering some.
 
Most ceramic knives users are outta lucks when time to sharpen. Electric sharpener with diamond wheels are inadequate for creating an good edge on a ceramic knife. In order to properly sharpen ceramic knife, you would need a full diamond grit-progression range. e.g. a good setup would consists of dmt X -> F -> E -> EE -> diamond paste/spray 3um, 1um, 0.5um. OK, to substitute cbn paste/spray (cubic boron nitride) for diamond.
 
Ceramic blades should just be sent back to the maker. They use special machines with diamond slurry to correctly hone the edge. I've tried it by hand and trust me its not something I would do again, plus the results sucked. If the edge is not finished to the proper level it will microchip in use.
 
When you consider buying ceramic knives look for the black Kyocera ones, as in contrast to the white versions these have been fired a second time (sintered/hot isostatically pressed) and are both a bit harder as well as tougher than the white ones.
They are also thinner behind the edge, which enhances cutting ability by a large margin.

For sharpening i use a pair of modified Paper Wheels with diamond compound on them: 15 micron on the non-slotted Wheel and 6 micron on the slotted Wheel.
The combination of hard diamond particles with just that little "give" in the cardboard Wheels lets you sharpen ceramic knives very well.
It does take more time than sharpening a steel knife, but the edges get sharper than from factory.
This is an older white ceramic knife i sharpened for a Chef in my area, and the edge is just hairwhittling:

 
Last edited:
The Kyocera blades are finish sharpened by hand. They are actually transported from the factory to a shop where a master sharpener does each by hand. The factory uses what looks to me to be a catra (or similar rig) to check sharpness.

They showed the entire process on "How it's Made". ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top