cleaning ceramic rods, a comment for Mark Reich

[wadebevan]

It is likely that I will see Mike B. next week... I will report back to the group on his new found physique (or at least take a bribe from Mike).

[Mike Brubacher]

Whoops! Forgot about that Wade. Let's talk money.

[Ken S]

At the risk of moving away from such delightful humor, I notice a different feel and sound on some strokes with my ceramic rods. Some strokes have a "just right" feel, one which feels like the rod is working quite well. Some strokes feel like the knife is just skating on the rod. I think this may be caused by stroking on a slightly different part of the rod's surface. 

I want to see if I can lessen or eliminate the skating strokes by more regular use of BKF. Jan's comment about galling brought this to mind, as did Mark's thoughts on the unsuitability of rods. My question is: Is the problem with ceramic rods something in the rods themselves, or, for kitchen use, is the real problem that the rods are not kept clean of steel particles?

I will try scrubbing one side of my rod with BKF very diligently and regularly and see if I perceive a touch and sound difference between the bevels and report.

Ken

[Mark Reich]

Mr Ken, in my experience it doesn't take very many strokes on ceramic rods to load that very concentrated area of the rod enough to change the feel. That change of feel tells me something's up. Since I noticed the effects of galling on ceramics many years ago, I turn the rod a bit before I ever feel that change.

I would put it like this; It takes few strokes on Clean ceramic rods to bring a blade back up to the limit of sharpness attainable on ceramic. I'm not talking about sharpening on ceramic rods, I'm speaking only of touching them up. I turn the rod for the next knife. In my experience, that means about 10-12 strokes/side/knife. I would estimate the life of a normal 5/16" ceramic rod to be about 12- 15 touchups before it needs to be cleaned.

To be honest, it's not very easy to differentiate the "scratch pattern" of clean ceramics to the smear of galling. Ceramics really don't leave a scratch pattern. It is more like a smear, even when they are clean. That's why it is important to be vigilant to any difference in feel or sound. I try to keep my ceramic rods from ever loading enough for that to take place.  

It's easy to clean the rods. Easier than scrubbing. Honestly, scrubbing seems to make little to no difference.

On the other hand, DMT diamond rods work perfectly. I believe they come in two grits- 625 grit and 1200 grit. I haven't used the finer one. Once the 625 grit rods are broken in, they leave a very usable edge, with a clear scratch pattern, quickly.