US Patent 7587829 Ceramic blade and production method therefor

A blade of ceramic material is treated to enhance the strength and sharpness of the cutting edge. In one embodiment, ceramic particles along at least one margin of an edge-forming face are fused, such as by a laser treatment. The edge margin can have a hard ceramic coating of a different ceramic material such as a nitride of chromium, zirconium, titanium, titanium carbon or boron. The hard ceramic coating can be used alone or in conjunction with the laser treatment. The invention includes the methods of treating the edge, both to form the hard ceramic coating and to fuse the particles by scanning with a laser, such as an ultraviolet laser.