Tips for using ceramic stones

[nicky]

A ceramic sharpening stone has many advantages over other sharpening stones. A person should really have two stones, a medium gray, and a fine white. Triangle stones and round rods are also handy. Triangle stones can be used like a file or set in blocks to sharpen knives scissors etc. Rods are very handy for sharpening gouges etc. However the most common stones most of have are the flat bench stones. Most people were used to laying the bevel of a cutting tool on the stone and swirling it around on the flat surface whether an oil stone or ceramic stone. Some use a wheeled type guide to hold the bevel and push the edge forward along the stone. Although this may be great for an oil stone this is wrong for a ceramic stone. First when you push the edge along the stone you will curl the edge when it starts to get sharp. Second your scratches from sharpening on the edge leave a saw tooth pattern. These points will break off very quickly leaving a premature dull edge unless of course you want a knife for slicing tomatoes.
When using a ceramic stone we draw the edge sideways along the face of the stone in the case of chisel type tools as in this photo of my dirty hand.

Support the bevel with a finger under the blade and let the finger nail rub on the stone and draw the blade sideways the length of the stone. What this will do for you is maintain a perfect square bevel and flat with no rounded face. Do this until you get a slight wire on the top side then turn it over and lay it flat on it's back and with a couple of strokes you get the sharpest edge you could possibly get. For a knife I usually set the stone on end and tipped one way about 15 t0 30 degrees and then working on the side of the stone and holding the blade vertical and horizontal draw the edge along the stone for a number of times and then reverse the stone angle and do the same for the other side of the edge. The same method as with the ceramic rods or triangle in a base.
When sharpening an axe lay the stone flat and stroke the edge back and forth in an arched motion to match the profile of the edge holding the bevel as even as possible.
Remember when sharpening tools the edge bevel should be as flat as possible or even slightly hollow ground in the case of edge tools. When you have a flat bevel the edge will be much sharper and will last much longer than when an edge has a slight belly. In the latter case the sharp edge will get much thicker quickly loosing it's cutting ability.
You can also touch up router bits whether carbide or high speed by holding cutting edge flat on the corner of the stone and again drawing it length wise along the stone. Router bits are only sharpened on the face of the cutter not the outer edge. Of course for this you would only use the white stone.
If you have reground a carbide turning tool you can touch up the point to give it a smoother finish resulting in a smoother finished cut.
There are many more applications where this stone would excel. Filing the sear on a trigger etc.
And of course your ceramic stone should always be used dry and when it gets loaded up like in the photo, just dip it in water sprinkle on some cleansing powder and grab a scotchbrite type non metallic scrubbing pad and a few good rubs and a rinse and your stone is as good as new.
That stone in the photo has seen about 15 years of show demos and personal use.
So I hope I may have helped someone.
Nick

 

[ScrapMetal]

Thanks for those tips Nick. I'm making a copy of your post and storing it on my computer with the rest of my reference material.

Great information,

-Ron

 

[Tony Wells]

I can't find the link right now, but recently I ran across an accessory for honing wood chisels and plane irons that was set up with rollers to allow the edge to be run across the hone parallel with the edge, rather than across it, as seems customary. The general principle seemed to be that no matter how fine the hone, there are wire edges formed when stroked end-wise, and not when stroked lengthwise. It made sense, and I mimicked the idea by hand on some chisels, and I was very pleased. I don't have a ceramic hone suitable for it, but I have my grandfather's razor stone. I'd guess it's grit in the 1600-2000 range. It's very soft, but does a fine job on harder blades.

Thanks for the tips, Nick.

 

[12bolts]

Good informative post there Nicky.
I have this learned something today.

Cheers Phil

 

[george wilson]

The stone shown in the pictures appears to be a Spyderco. I have used the Spyderco black and white bench stones for about 20 years now. I start out with a diamond bench stone to get rid of minor nicks,then use the black,then the white stones.

The white Spyderco can be a bit out of flat,and will probably have some PERMANENT ceramic FUZZ cast into the surface. I got rid of these problems by scrubbing the white stone under a faucet with my diamond stone. Once done,no re flattening will ever be needed.

These stones are a great deal harder than Arkansas stones. I have found that I can easily re shape a broken Arkansas slip stone with my belt grinder and blue zirconia belts. Not so with the ceramics!

Ceramics will also sharpen metals that Arkansas will not sharpen. I made a Bowie knife years ago from D2 steel. I never could get it quite razor sharp with an Arkansas stone. When I got my ceramics,it sharpened right up. Maybe it's the way I heat treated my D2 blade,but it was done accurately with a controlled electric furnace and thermocouple according to proper specs. It points out how hard the ceramics are,though.

D2 is a high wear resistance steel with about 12% chrome,and it is bloody tough. Used for shears to cut steel.

 

[nicky]

Yes it is a Spyderco white stone. Remember that ceramic is the next thing below diamond. Thanks for the additional tips.
Nick

 

[george wilson]

Brownell's Gunsmithing Supplies in Iowa sell the Spyderco stones. Woodcraft Supply also does,I THINK. I got mine from Brownell's,though they aren't the cheapest source unless you are a wholesale customer.