I have an old Gerber with a ceramic blade I would like to try on my T8. My question is, I have CBN wheels up to 1200. Is that grit small enough or will chipping be an issue?
Bpalv,
I found this article by our late member, Wootz (Vadim of Knifegrinders).
Ken
phttp://knifegrinders.com.au/06Procedures_ceramic.htm
The 1200 grit CBN wheel will most certainly grind an initial edge on ceramic knives, but that edge will be completely unusable due to chipping (even with careful use)
For most commercial work after creating an initial edge on the SB-250 Blackstone i refine on a first Paper Wheel with 15 micron diamond compound (edge is still unusable after this), and then at least up to 6 micron diamond compound on a second Paper Wheel.
When there are no large chips i often only use the 15 and 6 micron Paper Wheels.
Further refinement with 3 micron diamond compound on a third Paper Wheel or even 1 micron diamond compound on a fourth Paper Wheel leads to a noticeable keener edge as well as much longer edge longevity.
The problem is of course that this also takes much more time, so after a lot of experimenting & testing i have found refinement up to 6 micron to be a good balance of edge keenness & longevity, and time spent sharpening/polishing.
Also: i avoid working on cheap ceramic knives, these are not worth it.
These days i only do quality ceramics.
Maybe this older thread is also helpful:
https://forum.tormek.com/index.php/topic,5672.0.html
Quote from: kwakster on May 28, 2026, 12:13:15 PMThe 1200 grit CBN wheel will most certainly grind an initial edge on ceramic knives, but that edge will be completely unusable due to chipping (even with careful use)
For most commercial work after creating an initial edge on the SB-250 Blackstone i refine on a first Paper Wheel with 15 micron diamond compound (edge is still unusable after this), and then at least up to 6 micron diamond compound on a second Paper Wheel.
When there are no large chips i often only use the 15 and 6 micron Paper Wheels.
Further refinement with 3 micron diamond compound on a third Paper Wheel or even 1 micron diamond compound on a fourth Paper Wheel leads to a noticeable keener edge as well as much longer edge longevity.
The problem is of course that this also takes much more time, so after a lot of experimenting & testing i have found refinement up to 6 micron to be a good balance of edge keenness & longevity, and time spent sharpening/polishing.
Also: i avoid working on cheap ceramic knives, these are not worth it.
These days i only do quality ceramics.
Maybe this older thread is also helpful:
https://forum.tormek.com/index.php/topic,5672.0.html
Thank's for the intel...