In order to fulfil the requirements of the various performance profiles of ceramic cutting tools, six different SiC-based ceramics have been fabricated by hot-pressing (SiC--${Si}_3 {N}_4$composites) or by hot-pressing and subsequent annealing (monolithic SiC and SiC-TiC composites). Correlation between the annealing time and the corresponding microstructure and the mechanical properties of resulting ceramics have been investigated. The grain size of both ${Si}_3 {N}_4$and SiC in SiC-${Si}_3 {N}_4$composites increased with the annealing time. Monolithic SiC has the highest hardness, SiC-TiC composite the highest toughness, and the SiC-${Si}_3 {N}_4$composite the highest strength among the ceramics investigated. The hardness of SiC-${Si}_3 {N}_4$composites was relatively independent of the grain size, but dependent on the sintered density. The cutting performance of the newly developed SiC-based ceramic cutting tools will be described in Part 2 of this paper.