Sharpen ceramic knives

Sharpen ceramic knives can be done?

This is one of the questions that are often asked by those who use these knives in the kitchen who have gained fame for the duration of the thread but which does not always last and also depends on the user’s hand, what foods are cut and the cutting board that is used with the knife.

What makes sharpening ceramic knives different from sharpening other knives?

Ceramic knives have blades made of zirconium dioxide, or more widely known as zirconia.

Zirconia is extremely hard, almost as hard as diamonds and if you look at zirconia on the Mohs hardness scale it is around 8.5 while diamonds are 10 and normal steel knives are 5 to 7.

So, as you can read from the tables they are hard as nails!

Being so hard you can only sharpen and repair them using grinding wheels or diamond stones, other grinding wheels or stones for standard sharpening will have no effect on them.

Wheels and diamond stones are much more difficult to use than standard tools and as you can guess they are very expensive.

That is why most knife sharpening services do not sharpen ceramic knives.

Fortunately, in my laboratory I invested in both diamond and diamond stones and over time I gained the experience to use them correctly to bring the thread of your ceramic knife back to life!

Because ceramic knives are so hard, they are prone to chipping since they are much more fragile than steel knives.

If you own ceramic knives or are thinking about buying some, keep in mind that you need to be more careful with them when performing some operations in the kitchen.

Do not cut anything hard or apply any twisting force on them.

Although the sharpening of a ceramic knife lasts longer than steel knives, they are not so strong and do not tolerate even abrupt manipulation, which is why I often tell you that the hand of those who use it also affects the durability of the wire and ceramic knife.

Can I sharpen and repair all the different types of knives, including ceramic knives?. Yes!

Many professional knife sharpening services avoid ceramic knives but with time in my case I have developed the skills and technology to make ceramic knives sharper than new ones.

So when we are asked “can you sharpen ceramic knives” the answer is a big and big yes!

But does it cost more to sharpen a ceramic knife? no!

Sharpening and repairs of ceramic knives are at the same standard price for sharpening and repairing knives, so nothing extra to pay even if your ceramic knives are severely chipped or damaged.

We have sharpened and repaired a large number of ceramic knives and from experience it is better to choose a great brand like Kyocera, since some of the cheapest brands use lower quality processes and zirconia.

So there you go, if you’re trying to sharpen and/or repair your ceramic knives, you know where to come from, sharp knife.

Stay Tuned!

How often to sharpen a ceramic knife?

Sharpening a blade is closely related to its use:

• There are professional chefs who sharpen their knives even every day.
• Others who every week sharpen them with stones.
• It is also possible to sharpen them once a month by a professional and every day keep the thread with the help of the steel.

It really depends on the use you make of it.

For home use once a month is more than fine.

If you are a professional once a week it is ideal but the important thing is that you never bring the blade of your knife to lose the thread because it is very important to sharpen the knife before it completely loses sharpening.

If you make sure to always keep the blade sharp, every time you bring the knife to sharpen, this will return almost as new and in this way the knife lasts you even for years.

If, on the other hand, you decide to have the knife sharpened only when it no longer cuts, you will find yourself in the situation in which the blade will have to undergo invasive interventions to return to being sharpened and if it is not made by a maker or a roll of experience you will hardly recover the blade in full.

Then take your smartphone and mark on the calendar or your agenda a cadence with which to sharpen the knives you have in the kitchen.

For example, always make an appointment at the end of the month, it can be a fixed appointment.

But let’s see how you can sharpen a ceramic knife because there are several ways to sharpen ceramic knives in 2021.

They can be used from the classic tools for kitchen knives to the most modern utensils and in this post I show you how to sharpen ceramic blades.

Ceramic knives are a tool that has timidly entered the kitchens but day after day, recipe after recipe, has been able to conquer professional chefs and amateur cooks.

Actually the ceramic knife is a product that leverages on several positive sides.

In the following paragraphs we see how to keep it always sharp thanks to tools that can also be used at home.

Like a steel blade, the ceramic knife must be periodically sharpened even if the ceramic knives for the hardness of the blade lose the wire more slowly than the classic steel blade.

It is often thought that ceramic products “are more special” than steel ones when they have to sharpen but things are not quite like that.

Both ceramic and steel blades require due maintenance (including sharpening) that allows it to always remain performing and to last over time but often people have lost the habit of sharpening knives that tend to end up at the bottom of the drawer and forgotten.

The ceramic knife is sharpened with techniques similar to the classic kitchen knife.

It is therefore very important to sharpen any type of product with due care because sharpening a knife is a real art.

It is a profession that differs from that of the chef to be clear and requires a lot of practice and knowledge of the blade but if you want to learn how to sharpen your knives you can learn this skill and many are passionate about this craft and learn to do it well even at home.

The important thing is to dedicate the right time and learn the necessary techniques and invest in professional tools. It is a real art!

Speaking of kitchen knives I can tell you that cooks / delis / etc. are divided into two broad categories:

• those who love to sharpen kitchen knives alone and with time become a real expert in doing so and
• who prefers to leave this job to a professional of the trade.

The choice is yours but if you decide to become good at sharpening knives at the beginning you need to practice but once you become good this skill will give you great satisfaction.

Now let’s see the ways to sharpen ceramic kitchen knives

The manufacturers of ceramic knives

Many homes that produce ceramic knives invite consumers to rely on their service for the blade wire.

Many of these also allow you to have certain facilities to do so (for example, the first time is free or in case you send by courier or mail you do not have to pay the shipping costs).

This way has considerable advantages as the knife is always treated by the house that produced it and uses the proprietary sharpening process.

The only negative aspect is that in this case you have to ship the product (and therefore remain without for a few days) or find the time to go to the point of sale even if marketing strategies are often used where at the time of collection a replacement knife is sent and in the end you can decide to keep it by paying it.

Cutlery

Shops that deal with sharpening knives also often treat the sharpening of kitchen knives with both steel and ceramic blades.

Sharpening knives is a real art, if you know a trusted person who does it is always worth turning to the latter especially if it is knives of a certain value.

Stores specializing in sharpening knives also have another advantage – they are quick and cheap.

Sharpening a professional kitchen knife does not require a large sum of money.

Home sharpening services

You remember the sound of the megaphone saying “women, the roll up has arrived”

Shooting with kitchen knives is never practical and in Italy it is illegal!

All chefs who travel with cutting products for work must bring with them a card that authorizes them to jar with their sets of knives.

Because of this aspect, in recent years real mobile services have been born at home for kitchens, delicatessens, etc.

You can find several in the area where you live with a simple online search.

Even today the classic roll-up that passes with the neighborhood car in the neighborhood with the megaphone on is still a job that works.

These are the ways in which sharpen a ceramic kitchen knife by professionals.

Now let’s see how to sharpen a kitchen knife at home alone.

Ceramic kitchen knives, how to sharpen them yourself at home?

How to sharpen a ceramic knife yourself at home?

Most of the time it is possible to sharpen a kitchen knife at home with the same methods with which a classic steel blade is sharpened but in the case of ceramic knives, it is often necessary to view the hardness of the ceramic blade to use materials suitable for this type of product.

Stones for sharpening

Sharpening stones have always been the way par excellence to sharpen a kitchen knife.

Those who are in the trade, and professional chefs, use the stones to sharpen their blades and to keep them always in excellent condition.

For these knives you need a high-end stone for hard steels that are also good for ceramic blades.

There are several types of stones and grains, each has its own function.

The stones are defined by a number but go read the post I made about the stones and their grits.

This number represents their grain.

To sharpen your knife stick to these measures:

• 1000/2000 to sharpen a ceramic knife not too worn;
• 5000 and up to finish.

You can also find stones 400/1000 and 3000/8000

Let’s say that with two stones you will be able to treat little or much damaged knives.

Sharpening a blade, whatever it is, with stone, requires a certain skill so you need to practice before trying it on your best knife.

There are also many video tutorials on the internet that can help you.

The first time try it on an old or low-quality knife.

If not used correctly, the stone can ruin the blade you want to sharpen until it is completely without wire.

Here are some 3 simple tips to use the stone correctly:

1. you need to soak it in water before using it;
2. the blade of the knife must always be passed with a correct inclination;
3. the blade of the knife must be passed in the same way on the whole wire to avoid differences in height (once finished you can see where you have to go over with individual passes).

These tips do not teach you but give you an idea but read this post on how to sharpen with stones.

Sharpening the knife with stone requires some practice but once you have become good, you will always have the knives extremely sharp.

Ceramic steel

It is the classic steel that is also produced in ceramic to work on knives made of the same material.

The steel is a very useful tool in the kitchen for both ceramic and classic knives, it helps to keep the blade sharp.

Use it every day, before using the knife and immediately after rinse the blade well under running water to remove all residues.

Attention, it is important to specify that the steel helps to hold the knife thread day after day, but it is a tool that cannot sharpen a knife by itself.

In short, it must always be alternated with other tools for sharpening, you can use the steel every day before starting to cook but once a month you have to sharpen your blade with stones or sharpening services as we saw in the previous point.

Sharpen manual knives for ceramic blades

The sharpening of manual knives for ceramic blades allows you to sharpen your blade with simple movements that are quite simple to perform, back and forth until you are satisfied with the thread.

It is a convenient tool to have in the kitchen and easy to use, cheap

It is very important to take one for ceramics.

Nowadays it is very easy to find multi-use ones, practical for both ceramics and steel blades.

If you have both blades in your kitchen look for one of these sharpen multipurpose manual knives.

Sharpen electric knives for ceramic knives

It is a tool that allows you to sharpen your ceramic knife with a machine that works electronically.

All you have to do is insert the blade inside it and let the rest do to the sharpening electric ceramic knives.

The product instructions are simple and often included in the product to show you how with a few simple steps you can sharpen your knife.

I do not recommend it because they often ruin the blades, if you really want to try it do first some tests with blades from a few euros or some old knife!

What if the ceramic knife is chipped?

The photo shows a sequence taken from the YouTube video uploaded by the user “Il Coltellaio Matto”.

To recover a chipped ceramic knife but it applies to knives in general you have to sacrifice based on where the length is chipped in case the broken part is the tip or thickness of the blade.

The use of the grinding wheel to recover a chipped ceramic knife or to regenerate the blade thread requires experience and must be done only by those who have experience both with regard to repair and to maintain the sharpening angle of the blade of a kitchen knife that must be between 15 – 17 ° (just below 20 °).

Practice with old knives or steel recovery, you can find as many as you want, do not be discouraged because sharpening freehand with an electric grinding wheel requires experience and a steady hand.

If you can build yourself a guide like on tormeksharpeners.

Conclusions

What is the best way to sharpen a kitchen knife?

Are You Experience?

Andrea

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