Members DonnieBlaze Posted January 13, 2010 Members Report Posted January 13, 2010 i use both i use the ceramic when i want good fine detail and i use steel for general carving Quote
Members Rawhide Posted January 13, 2010 Members Report Posted January 13, 2010 I have to agree with Bobby (hidepounder) here. I prefer my metal blades. However, if you are to use a ceramic, you've got to tune it up. If you look at the bevel of a ceramic blade under a magnifying glass, you'll see the grind serrations from the factory. You need to polish all that away using varying grits of sand paper. I think the last time I cleaned one up I used 400 grit to start with and worked it perpendicular to the edge. (in other words side to side motion with the egde of the blade pointed away from you.) Work with the 400 grit until all the lines you saw when you first looked at it disappear. Then move up to 600, 800, 1200, and 2000 grit papers. Now strop it like normal pulling it away from the edge at the proper angle. It should cut like never before. This will be a lot of work, and could take you a while to complete. Maybe a half an hour to an hour depending on how good/bad the blade is.Marlon. Quote Marlon
King's X Posted January 13, 2010 Report Posted January 13, 2010 Hmmm....Interesting. Quote Greetings from Central Texas! The Grain Side Up blog #TheGrainSideUp
rcsaddles Posted January 15, 2010 Report Posted January 15, 2010 Thanks for all the good info here. I will have to tune up my ceramic blade. Now what about teh ruby blades? Can they be sharpened also? I have two but one has the very tip broken off. Any way to reshape it or any thoughts on getting the ruby replaced? I'm considering taking it to a jeweler to see what it would cost to replace. Quote Joe Boyles Rugged Cross Saddlery Lewistown, Montana Romans 6:23
Members Rawhide Posted January 15, 2010 Members Report Posted January 15, 2010 Thanks for all the good info here. I will have to tune up my ceramic blade. Now what about teh ruby blades? Can they be sharpened also? I have two but one has the very tip broken off. Any way to reshape it or any thoughts on getting the ruby replaced? I'm considering taking it to a jeweler to see what it would cost to replace. Any jeweler should be able to replace it, provided you had one to replace it with. A good jeweler may be able to grind a shape to a cultured ruby to fit your needs, but I'd look into getting a jeweler to regrind the broken tip if it's not too bad. Quote Marlon
Contributing Member Denise Posted January 15, 2010 Contributing Member Report Posted January 15, 2010 I think Troy West knows about sharpening ruby blades. Quote
Contributing Member JLSleather Posted January 16, 2010 Contributing Member Report Posted January 16, 2010 (edited) That's a lot of stuff about blades. I can't say much about the ceramics, because I don't own one. Buddy had one and let me try it, but I wasn't impressed one way or the other. But, I've had steel blades last for years. Couple of swipes across a fine stone every so often. Was it Newton .... what doesn't start to dull won't continue to dull... something like that. Plus, I'm a tool maker, so I'm used to sharpening things. Didn't count, but doing the math I'd say that cheap (a few bucks) steel blade was good for 1200 hours of cutting (10 hours a day for a year, swivel knife in my hand a little under half the time). Yep, steel for me. Oh, and no "hollow ground" blades. Too wide a path for detail. Edited January 16, 2010 by JLSleather Quote "Observation is 9/10 of the law." IF what you do is something that ANYBODY can do, then don't be surprised when ANYBODY does.
JohnD Posted February 16, 2010 Report Posted February 16, 2010 I needed a filigree blade, so I picked up both a Tandy steel and a ceramic blade on Saturday. When I got home, I spent some time polishing each one, as Marlon talks about in his post. I have never used a ceramic blade (or a filigree blade for that matter) before, but I have to say that after trying both new, freshly polished blades for the past three days, I think the ceramic cuts much easier and smoother than the Tandy steel blade at least. The blade I have been using most frequently, lately, is a 1/2" hollow ground Barry King steel blade. Just my $.02. John Quote (rdb):God looked down at the world, and said "See, right there in Witchita, next to the railroad tracks, I didn't put enough dandelions".
hidepounder Posted February 16, 2010 Report Posted February 16, 2010 I needed a filigree blade, so I picked up both a Tandy steel and a ceramic blade on Saturday. When I got home, I spent some time polishing each one, as Marlon talks about in his post. I have never used a ceramic blade (or a filigree blade for that matter) before, but I have to say that after trying both new, freshly polished blades for the past three days, I think the ceramic cuts much easier and smoother than the Tandy steel blade at least. The blade I have been using most frequently, lately, is a 1/2" hollow ground Barry King steel blade. Just my $.02. John John that does not surprise me at all. I think a lot of folks pick up a ceramic and like the way it cuts. My only objection is two fold. They are too fragile for my taste and they only come in about two sizes. The most important thing in selecting a blade is getting one that works for you......nothing else matters! Bobby Quote
JohnD Posted February 16, 2010 Report Posted February 16, 2010 I agree, bob Quote (rdb):God looked down at the world, and said "See, right there in Witchita, next to the railroad tracks, I didn't put enough dandelions".
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.