stropping

[Gawa]

do you need to stropping your ceramic and ruby tip swivel knifes

[TroyWest]

Yes, when it gets to feeling a little drag, strop it.

[King's X]

I don't mean to trump a master like Mr. Troy, but I have used cermanics for quite some time (short compared to Mr. Troy) but I actually found that you need to work on the C. blades when you buy them. In fact, case in point, we went through a "dry run" on Oak leaves in preparation for an upcoming class through our guild. One of our members had just bought a C. Blade and he had a really hard time cutting through his leather 1/2 back. Today, at our O.F.C. meeting this morning, ScissorMedic showed up and actually worked on the C. Blade for this member and when he went and cut the leather....he went almost all the way through the letter. Now, ScissorMedic says that he cannot actually sharpen the C. Blade, but he works off the grinding marks and gets it polished.

I hope this helps.

Greetings from Round Rock, Texas

~ Remember: Stop & Strop! ~

[TroyWest]

I don't feel you trumped me ATX, but it certainly doesn't mean I'm infallible. No one is. She didn't ask if it needed to be sharpened. She asked if it needed to be stropped. If it needs to be sharpened, that's a different ball game.

I used a ceramic blade for several years, when one day while cutting, the back corner broke right off. I went back to using a metal blade, but I really liked the ceramic. It was really smooth.Then one day it occurred to me that they have to sharpen those things before they ship them. It must be possible to sharpen them. So I took it to my grinder and ground it down. Then I put it on my GRS power hone with diamond impregnated wheels. These are made for sharpening silver engraving tools. It works fine on ceramic too. It sharpened the blade quite well. I sharpen all my swivel knife blades on it now.

I used that blade for some time until I just decided to use my Henley knife and blade. Sharpening it the same way I couldn't tell the difference between it and the ceramic. It is a great blade.

Last fall at Wichita Falls I tried out one of Pablos knives from Leather Wranglers. I expected not to be impressed at all but was pleasantly surprised. It is a great knife and blade and has become my personal favorite. So much so that I recently ordered a thin blade to go in my Old Smoothie from him as well.

The fact is that I dont know of a swivel knife blade that doesn't need to be stopped from time to time, including ceramic. I have never used a ruby blade, but I'm guessing it would need to be stropped also. That's my $.02.

Have a great day,

Troy West

[whinewine]

I have never used a ruby blade, but I'm guessing it would need to be stropped also.

Ruby is the second hardest natural substance on earth. It can be sharpened and/or stropped by using diamond, if necessary. I have several ruby angle blades & I've never found it necessary to sharpen or strop the ones I have (although many I see on ebay are in pretty poor condition- chipped, cracked, etc, so a regrinding would be necessary). I don't know if an aluminum oxide based stropping compound would work for stropping them: what I do know is that in cutting or polishing sapphire/ruby gemstones, one uses diamond compounds.

Edited February 1, 2009 by whinewine

[TroyWest]

If they are as good as you say they are, I wonder why they aren't being made anymore?

Who originally made them?

Why did they stop?

or, is anybody making them now?

The only ones I have seen were angled blades, which I don't care for.

Did they make a straight blade?

[MADMAX22]

If they are as good as you say they are, I wonder why they aren't being made anymore?

Who originally made them?

Why did they stop?

or, is anybody making them now?

The only ones I have seen were angled blades, which I don't care for.

Did they make a straight blade?

I think mainly it was price. The cost of them were more then what they could easily get.

On the other note my ceramique blade that I got new had alot of marks from the factory and didnt cut very well at all so I took to sharpening it and stropped it and now all is great. The thing is a very nice edge on it.

[whinewine]

If they are as good as you say they are, I wonder why they aren't being made anymore?

Who originally made them?

Why did they stop?

or, is anybody making them now?

The only ones I have seen were angled blades, which I don't care for.

Did they make a straight blade?

They are genuine ruby, but they were lab grown, rather than nature grown.

I would speculate that they aren't made anymore because of the labor and time involved. they consist of a thin slice of ruby faceted to an exact angle & then that thin wedge is fastened (epoxied?) to a brass-colored fitting. The alignment needs to be exact with the brass colored setting, unlike a ceramic blade, which can be cast/machined as a single unit. I've also heard that the ruby can separate from the fitting, although I've never seen that happen personally. If it would happen, I'm sure one who is skilled with faceting could make the re-alignment & epoxy it back to specs. While they are very hard, they are also brittle & can be chipped easily because of their small configuration & size (look at the ruby blades that come up on ebay- the majority are in very poor shape, with cracks/chips evident on a closeup). Bottom line: if treated properly, they will last, just like a ceramic. I just happen to like mine, & I dislike every ceramic that I've tried because of the drag. If I had a choice between a good steel alloy blade (like a Henley) & a ceramic, I'd pick a steel one every time.

I originally paid about $30 for my first ruby blade back in the '70s... adjusted for 2009 dollars, what would that be today? $60? $70? Would anyone pay that for a ceramic blade that will chip as easily? I seriously doubt that.

Yes, straight blades were made. There is one right now on ebay [unless it just ended- type in 'ruby blade'].

[TroyWest]

Thanks for the information. Apparently, that blade was gone when I got to ebay.

If you should run across another, I'd like to try one.

Thanks,

Troy West

[hidepounder]

Troy,

I've used the ruby blades years ago until I learned to sharpen my steel blades. I don't think they offer any advantage at all. If you were able to improve them with your GRS sharpener, maybe they'd be okay. In my opinion, they were inferior, right out of the package.

Bob