Sharpening a ceramic swivel knife

[patmcf1]

Here's one place to purchase 3M polishing sandpaper...

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/supplies/sanding-and-polishing/sandpaper-and-finishing-papers/3m-flexible-polishing-papers/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=2021-12-gp&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqbyNBhC2ARIsALDwAsBvtL1IcZSJKgs6hifG7l7ixBRXWPKPmHAaW_8Xlj1vwx3d-zgFT-UaAqpTEALw_wcB

 

[Davm]

I also make knives and use a green chrome rouge to polish to a mirror finish, so...I applied that to my strop.  IMHO if you are drawing the edge toward you when stropping the idea is to remove tiny burs and sucjh and the angle doesn't have to be quite as precise as when actually honing on a stone. Texas Knife makers Supply should have the green chrome.

[JayEhl]

Hi,

 

While here, I have a question about the polishing compound, more specifically what is the consistency supposed to be like? 

I know a few will cringe when I say I am still using the white compound from my starter kit from Tandy.  It is hard as a rock and I have to rub kind of aggressively to get it on my cardboard backing (what I normally use).    Should it be that hard?  And I've read somewhere that different colors offer contains different material used for the sharpening, but what color is best for ceramic v metal blades?  And what should the consistency be like out of the box, meaning, if it's supposed to be hard as a rock.

Thanks in advance.

[tsunkasapa]

I have three colors, white, red and green. And they are all fairly hard. Personally, I like the green. It is what my friends that make knives use.

[DrmCa]

What material are ceramic blades made of? (Please, do not say, ceramics!)

If they are made of anything like alumina then they can be stropped with tungsten carbide or boron carbide compound. If they are made of tungsten carbide then they can only be stropped with diamonds.

It would be a waste of time to try to strop an alumina blade on alumina-based or chromium oxide compound because their hardness is pretty much the same, and there will be nearly zero grinding effect.

TC tool bits can only be re-sharpened on a diamond wheel. They would chew through anything else.