The article deals with the determination of the efficiency of a multi-bladed tool equipped with inserts made of oxide-carbide cutting ceramics, depending on the microstructural parameters of the tool material. The microstructural parameters of the oxide-carbide cutting ceramic, which affect the performance of the tool, are proposed to be determined according to the electrical resistance of the tool material. In order to implement the method for determining the working capacity of the instrument, a basic design of the device for measuring the electrical resistance of the material of the instrument is proposed. The device for measuring the electrical resistance of ceramic plates consists of a body made of a dielectric material, with channels for supplying a conductive material and a groove for installing a case with a test sample. During the test, the channels are filled with a liquid conductive material, which fills the cavity formed by the channel of the case, the groove of the case and the plate itself under test. To ensure uniform filling of the cavity, after the introduction of the liquid conductive material, metal balls are installed into the channels, which are made in such a size as to ensure free sliding along the channel, but not to let the liquid pass into the upper part of the channel. The tested ceramic plate is installed in the walls of the removable case. The walls of the removable case include electrodes, which, when the device is in operation, are inserted into a cavity with a liquid conductive material at one end, and are connected to an ohmmeter at the other. Using a device for measuring the electrical resistance of ceramic plates, it is possible to determine the operability of the tool and guarantee its operation without rejection for a certain period of time, which was confirmed by experimental research in the milling of workpieces of machine parts made of gray cast iron. Experimental studies in multi-edge machining with cutters with different values of electrical resistance of ceramic plates made it possible to plot graphs of the dependence of the quality of machining during milling on the operability of the tool and on the time of the machining process.