Ceramic knife sharpening

[SHARPCO]

A few days ago, I sharpened a ceramic knife and failed. 

I tried it with Tormek & CBN wheels(400 & 1000 grit) then honing it with leather belt loaded with PA-70(Tormek honing compound, Aluminum oxide).

But I got 300 BESS. 

What did I do wrong?

[Jan]

Very illuminating additional information about ceramic blades you can find on scienceofsharp.
https://scienceofsharp.wordpress.com/201...ic-blades/

Jan

[grepper]

So, how sharp should a ceramic knife be?

I know Mr. KG has sharpened them to slightly over 100, but is that even reasonable for ceramic?  Obviously ceramic does not roll, and it sure seems like that a 100 edge would be very prone to chipping and depositing glass into your evening asparagus.  Crispy bread crumbs would probably be a more tasty way to add a bit of crunch.  

How sharp do ceramic knives come from the factory?

http://bessex.com/forum/showthread.php?t...09#pid3209

[SHARPCO]

Thank you all. I love KG's method.

[EOU]

We used diamond belts here Sharpco and have manged to get under 200. We quit there. We think that most ceramic edges come in at 300 or higher for a reason and its not because the manufacturers can't get them any sharper. It's because they're too fragile at anything below 300. In fact, they're fragile at 300. it's not like they won't serve their intended purpose but you have to be more careful than with steel and can't abuse the edges in any way. 

One thing for certain in our experience - if you want to go sharper with ceramic and are using diamonds, the higher number diamond grits are the ticket - 1000 and above.

[SHARPCO]

EOU.

You're right. I felt the limit of Aluminum oxide this time. So I decided to use diamond paste for ceramic & hard alloy steel knives.

[EOU]

We felt it too Sharpco. According to Moh's, A/O should work but if it does, it's sure slow.

[SHARPCO]

I'm afraid of one thing. I use Tormek for ceramic knife sharpening. It has a leather wheel for honing, and I plan to put a diamond paste on it.

if I use this wheel to hone the ceramic knife, there will be ceramic particles on the surface of it.

So, later, when I hone a steel blade, won't this particle have a bad effect on the edge?