Ceramic Rods- Do They Wear Out?

J

johnnyyukon

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Dec 25, 2013
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To be more specific, if taken care of, how long do ceramic rods last?

I say "rods" like in my Lansky Turn Box Knife Sharpener, but also my SpyderCo Tri-Angle Sharpmaker.

I, as probably most here, have MANY sharpeners but these 2 are my go-to.

I noticed some tiny nicks on one of my SpyderCo medium "rods" (triangles whatever) and sent it in to S-Co. They determined it was under warranty, as I hadn't dropped them, though possible I did SOMETHING especially at beginning. They sent a free replacement. But very annoying cuz I was without the whole thing for a month.

The Lansky Box, I ended up buying a whole new one after a year of use cuz seemed the medium rods were not sharpening as well (new one is). White rods on both systems seem to still work fine though they are a b**** to clean. I wipe them down after each use with just water/paper towel, gets most steel off but a few streaks take elbow grease and SOS pads to clean.

So sorry long post, but I assume ceramic rods don't last a lifetime which is fine, but A. is that true? and B. How to extend life?(I sharpen dry)

In future I'll just buy new replacement triangles as the return/warranty process takes too long.
 
I use Bar Keepers friend too.. My understanding is that this brand has oxalic acid (?) in it so it works very well for me on my rods and on my diamond stones too.
 
This ^^^^^ Barkeepers Friend is your friend ... and I have never worn out round ceramic rods ... but only use them for honing ...

I would guess the triangle Sharp Maker rods might be more prone to chip only because of the corners.
 
I use a maroon 3m pad to clean my ceramic hone. It's basically a buff pad with alum oxide abrasive, but if it really started looking beat up I'd probably use some BKF.
 
5l5TL5b.jpg


With Lansky I'm not sure if the cheaper stones wear out or if they warp? The set I bought the yellow extra fine was warped right out of the box. The fine stone pictured above took a few years. But measure them against a straight edge and if you see any gaps then the stone is done. Because to get that perfect edge everything including the rods has to be perfectly straight.

I know in the sharpmaker vid Sal mentions the brown rods will eventually wear out, but he says the white ones are supposed to be much harder then steel. With super steels I don't see the white ones lasting forever either but who knows.
 
johnnyyukon said:
To be more specific, if taken care of, how long do ceramic rods last?

So sorry long post, but I assume ceramic rods don't last a lifetime which is fine, but A. is that true? and B. How to extend life?(I sharpen dry)

In future I'll just buy new replacement triangles as the return/warranty process takes too long.
Click to expand...
Hi,
If taken care of they will last multiple lifetimes :) until they turn to dust
That is even if you use them every day.
Sure they'll slow down (load and wear)
and you'll need to clean them frequently
and resurface them occasionally (once a year? every 6,000 passes? more? less?).
Ideally (heh) this reconditioning should only remove microns from the surface
(as in no more than ~13 microns max )


Since the TriAngle stones are 7" X 0.5" (178mm X 13mm)
1mm = 1000 microns / 13 microns = ~77 resurfacings
So once a year ... 77 years, then you're down to 12mm and another 76 years

13 micron is based on the effective grit rating for medium stones (12+-1 micron)
but given the hours of lapping takes to flatten the spyderco bench stones by mere 100microns ...
13micron is probably a high number
 
cbrstar said:
5l5TL5b.jpg


With Lansky I'm not sure if the cheaper stones wear out or if they warp? The set I bought the yellow extra fine was warped right out of the box. The fine stone pictured above took a few years. But measure them against a straight edge and if you see any gaps then the stone is done. Because to get that perfect edge everything including the rods has to be perfectly straight.

I know in the sharpmaker vid Sal mentions the brown rods will eventually wear out, but he says the white ones are supposed to be much harder then steel. With super steels I don't see the white ones lasting forever either but who knows.
Click to expand...
Hi,
If you use a hair dryer to heat the stone up for 30seconds or a minute, does the stone straighten out?

Perfection is overrated ;) Out of flat stones merely add a few degrees to the angle setting :)
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
This ^^^^^ Barkeepers Friend is your friend ... and I have never worn out round ceramic rods ... but only use them for honing ...

I would guess the triangle Sharp Maker rods might be more prone to chip only because of the corners.
Click to expand...

I would have to agree. Guess is, I got into a rhythm, probably listening to Tool or something, and got a little aggro. good thing triangles have them 3 sides (really is a clever design).

Yeah, seems Barkeepers is everyone's friend here. I do have some, used it for some rust removal thing.

But I'm still unclear. Barkeeper, comet, whatever all CLEAN the rods, but is this also how to go about maintaining there sharpening effectiveness? I'm guessing yes, but just need to clarify.

ShannonSteelLabs said:
Lawsky makes an eraser type cleaner.
I've used it for cleaning. Brings the bite back.
Click to expand...

Got a link?

That little Lansky wooden box sharpener is pretty awesome, especially considering the 15ish dollar price tag. It's possible I use it more than the 60 dollar spyderco, or at least 50/50. Great for karambits and such.

bucketstove said:
Hi,
If taken care of they will last multiple lifetimes :) until they turn to dust
That is even if you use them every day.
Sure they'll slow down (load and wear)
and you'll need to clean them frequently
and resurface them occasionally (once a year? every 6,000 passes? more? less?).
Ideally (heh) this reconditioning should only remove microns from the surface
(as in no more than ~13 microns max )


Since the TriAngle stones are 7" X 0.5" (178mm X 13mm)
1mm = 1000 microns / 13 microns = ~77 resurfacings
So once a year ... 77 years, then you're down to 12mm and another 76 years

13 micron is based on the effective grit rating for medium stones (12+-1 micron)
but given the hours of lapping takes to flatten the spyderco bench stones by mere 100microns ...
13micron is probably a high number
Click to expand...

Haha, funny but informative post.

So I have no idea what or how to resurface. How would a fellar do dat? I'd love to test it on my older Lansky rods (about a year near daily use) that seem to have lost much of there sharpening ability even after thorough cleaning.

And just to clarify, I'm not using these ceramics for super dull or chipped knives, I'll go to something much more coarse. It's for my knives that just need touching up, or when I want to impress chicks by shaving off my leg hair. :eek:
 
The gray Sharpmaker rods are friable and will wear as Sal says. Abrasive particles will come off so this might be the nicks you are referring to on the corners.Lately all I have been using are the flats.I just use the corners for back beveling.
 
johnnyyukon said:
But I'm still unclear. Barkeeper, comet, whatever all CLEAN the rods, but is this also how to go about maintaining there sharpening effectiveness? I'm guessing yes, but just need to clarify.
Click to expand...

Most of the time, the slowing down of grinding with these is due to the rods being clogged with metal swarf. So, yes, cleaning them is usually what will fix the issue. Bar Keepers Friend is very good for this purpose, as it's oxalic acid component actually dissolves the embedded iron of the swarf, making it a much more effective cleaner. It's also good practice to clean the rods with an eraser or something similar after each use, so the rods won't get too clogged up over time. I use a pink pencil eraser for this, after most every use.

It is possible, sometimes, that the rods might become glazed (worn/polished) on the surface from heavy long-term use or in using them to grind or sharpen very wear-resistant steels. Sometimes it's possible to resurface them to get them cutting again, but that takes more work. In some cases, it may be simpler or more cost-effective just to replace them, if they get that worn.
 
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Sintered ceramics almost always have some degree of warping, whether minor or major. It's due to the manufacturing process and the only way around it is to make the stone a little oversized and then machine it down to shape post-firing, which is incredibly expensive. The stone won't wear significantly on a macro-level, but the grains themselves will wear in use and eventually will stop abrading effectively. At that point you need to refresh the surface with an abrasive that's harder than the base material (in this case, silicon carbide will do, but diamond is better) just to take off the outer layer of worn-out grit.
 
johnnyyukon said:
I would have to agree. Guess is, I got into a rhythm, probably listening to Tool or something, and got a little aggro. good thing triangles have them 3 sides (really is a clever design).

Yeah, seems Barkeepers is everyone's friend here. I do have some, used it for some rust removal thing.

But I'm still unclear. Barkeeper, comet, whatever all CLEAN the rods, but is this also how to go about maintaining there sharpening effectiveness? I'm guessing yes, but just need to clarify.



Got a link?

That little Lansky wooden box sharpener is pretty awesome, especially considering the 15ish dollar price tag. It's possible I use it more than the 60 dollar spyderco, or at least 50/50. Great for karambits and such.



Haha, funny but informative post.

So I have no idea what or how to resurface. How would a fellar do dat? I'd love to test it on my older Lansky rods (about a year near daily use) that seem to have lost much of there sharpening ability even after thorough cleaning.

And just to clarify, I'm not using these ceramics for super dull or chipped knives, I'll go to something much more coarse. It's for my knives that just need touching up, or when I want to impress chicks by shaving off my leg hair. :eek:
Click to expand...
Here is is.

https://lansky.com/index.php/products/eraser-block-blister/
 
jbmonkey said:
I've used comet and it works as well.
Click to expand...
This is what I use. Works fine.
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