Ceramic folders

[jzmtl]

So I keep hearing how they suck, from people who probably don't have one. I took the plunge and bought one, and going to see how it works out in real life.

Fit and finish is good, the single liner isn't entirely flush with CF scale on butt of handle, but I suppose since liner is TiNi coated it can't be sanded after assembly to make it so. Liner lock feels solid, action is very smooth, and the whole knife is really light.

Out of box it's not particularly sharp, doesn't shave, but cuts stuff fine. When I work up enough courage I'll put it to my belt sander and see if I can make it better.

[Crouton]

What make and model is that?  It's a handsome piece.

[Sean]

+1 give us some details. 

[Sazabi]

The only ceramic folders I have are the two variations of the Boker ceramic gent knives; they're neat, but not for carrying. :/

[jzmtl]

It's from ceramicknife.org, he's in Ontario, but the knives are contracted in China I believe.

Funny thing is the blade and clip looks identical to boker plus anti-MC, probably from the same maker.

Boker tree brand ceramics are pretty darn small, not sure how useful they are. This has 3 1/4" blade so actually pretty nice sized for EDC.

[Styerman]

Don't pry , don't drop , it will hold a lethargic edge forever . I had a couple of paring knives and a pair of scissors - not for me thank you .

Chris

[Grant Lamontagne]

I wouldn't put it on a belt sander, but that's just me.  I'd be paranoid that the vibrations or even just a small amount of uneven grit would make a mess of the blade.

I haven't had any folders, but I have had a few ceramic kitchen blades and I always used a small diamond dog bone to keep them sharp.

Def

[jzmtl]

I'll test the sander on the spine first and see if it works, if like you said there's too much vibration I'll have to do it manually.

They actually seem pretty tough compare to the typical perception of ceramics, there's a guy on youtube dropping his kyocera on hard kitchen tile repeately and it didn't break.

[jzmtl]

My adventure with this ceramic knife has come to an abrupt end. Liner lock and ceramic blade just doesn't mix, since one is way harder than the other, the lock bar is quickly wore away and reached end of ramp, and I fear it will simply slide pass the tang one day with enough wear.

Not completely given up I got a Boker anti-mc instead, which has almost the same blade, but Ti frame lock instead. Which should be better performing, since it's much thicker and will be stopped by the other handle instead of slide pass tang (the scale is thicker than the blade, and lock bar is much more springy than the liner lock).

[jekostas]

Okay, I've heard of crappy, unsharpenable edges, I've heard of people dropping them, I've broken one due to twisting when cutting but the liner wearing away in less than two weeks?  Yeah, that's new to me.

[jzmtl]

Could be just the one I got too, I'll see how the boker holds up.

[David Bowen]

I have both models of ceramic, they perform well for occasional use but they definatly don't fit the bill for EDC use. On normal use my blades can get a rolled edge, ding or chip depending on the hard use I give it. I don
t recommend ceramic for most folks because they are even harder to sharpen and I have not crossed that bridge yet. I'll stick with regular steel any day of the week 

[jzmtl]

That's what I'm trying to find out for myself, though I don't do anything that would roll or chip my knife. So far I like it for cutting food, because I don't have to wash it right away (or at all) after cutting acidic or salty food.

Sharpness isn't good though, neither can shave, but the very thin edge (thinner than many steel knives) does cut okay.

The boker is now in my EDC rotation and I'll see how it holds up.

Interesting/funny tidbit, you can touch up/steel regular knives on the spine/side of ceramic knife.

Okay now I know why it doesn't shave, the edge angle must've been over 50°! Looks like it'll meet the sander sooner than I had planned...

[jzmtl]

Hard lesson learned, ceramic blade won't hold 30° edge.  Well not hold, just can't put a 30° edge on it to begin with.