12-01-2017, 11:19 PM
Hi Scott, Welcome to to the forum, it's great to have you here!
Ceramic is an astonishingly broad term, because there are so many different types and even more different applications. As it relates to man made sharpening stones, ceramic is generally a binder for high end aluminum oxide abrasive, like Shaptons and Choseras. Both are cream of the crop. Glass stones may look thin, but they're tougher Chinese algebra.
Alumina and aluminum oxide are totally different things. Alumina has a Mohs' hardness of 3.4, or a little harder than fingernails. However, aluminum oxide has a Mohs' hardness of 9, which is not far from diamonds.
Note that there are a few ceramic stones that have no abrasive. The "roughness" of the stone's surface removes steel, which is fairly problematic. Pure ceramic stones, like Spyderco's, are like this. Good "ceramic" stones, like Shaptons and Choseras, just use ceramic as the binder for aluminum oxide grit.
There is way more to talk about, but I can't type when I get sleepy. It's been a very long day. I will continue tomorrow.
Please feel free to keep asking questions. We love to answer them.
Ceramic is an astonishingly broad term, because there are so many different types and even more different applications. As it relates to man made sharpening stones, ceramic is generally a binder for high end aluminum oxide abrasive, like Shaptons and Choseras. Both are cream of the crop. Glass stones may look thin, but they're tougher Chinese algebra.
Alumina and aluminum oxide are totally different things. Alumina has a Mohs' hardness of 3.4, or a little harder than fingernails. However, aluminum oxide has a Mohs' hardness of 9, which is not far from diamonds.
Note that there are a few ceramic stones that have no abrasive. The "roughness" of the stone's surface removes steel, which is fairly problematic. Pure ceramic stones, like Spyderco's, are like this. Good "ceramic" stones, like Shaptons and Choseras, just use ceramic as the binder for aluminum oxide grit.
There is way more to talk about, but I can't type when I get sleepy. It's been a very long day. I will continue tomorrow.
Please feel free to keep asking questions. We love to answer them.