Ceramic Knifes

[airplanedoc]

Has anybody ever used ceramic bladed knives? I know you shouldn't chop with them or put any side load on then as they will break, but they are supposed to hold a great edge. I am not looking to buy one just wanted to hear about experience with them.

[Fnord5]

Steel>ceramic.
Unless you want to baby the knife, cutting nothing more tough than tomatoes, fish and similarly fleshed items, being careful not to bang it against anything hard, you will be disappointed.
Even babying it, the impact of it against a cutting board will cause micro-chipping eventually dulling the blade.

And, all those little chips? Yeah, you will be eating them.:thumbdown

[BobS]

I bought one a few years ago and used it to do a test slice with some tomatoes and other things and never took it out of the drawer again.

It was sharp and cut well, but it just did not have the appropriate heft , but it dod not feel good in my hand.

There are probably better examples, but I am not going to buy any more.

[lamina]

I'm wondering what the inventor pretend when designing it...?!!Waste of time and money for a useless item...:bored: Just say no!!

[WhosYerBob]

Tried playing with sharp obsidian edges when I was a kid - horribly sharp, but too brittle for much of anything.

[withoutink]

I have a boker chefs knife and i love it.

[ouch]

Ceramic knives have a built in marketing plan. Who wouldn't want a super sharp knife that doesn't need sharpening? In that regard they practically sell themselves to home cooks who are dissatisfied with their knives (there must be millions of them) and the various sharpening devices on the market. On paper, they appear to be the perfect solution.

In reality, they are too small and fragile to be really useful, and never really hit it big in the most important shape of all- the chef's knife. As long as I still have to get a steel chef's knife and learn how to sharpen it, there's not much point in getting a small ceramic utility knife other than as a novelty.

[Thelonius1]

I have a Kyocera Chef's 6" chefs knife I purchased a few years ago. Great for slicing tomatoes, softer fruits and vegatables, even some cheeses. That said, It gets used abou 10x less than any of my other knives and doesn't see much action when assembling a lot of different foods. However, I have a ceramic peeler that I use whenver I need something peeled, its great.

[ouch]

I have a Kyocera Chef's 6" chefs knife I purchased a few years ago. Great for slicing tomatoes, softer fruits and vegatables, even some cheeses. That said, It gets used abou 10x less than any of my other knives and doesn't see much action when assembling a lot of different foods. However, I have a ceramic peeler that I use whenver I need something peeled, its great.

That's because a 6" chef's knife is a toy. I have paring knives that big.

The Kyocera vegetable peeler is a kick!

[Luc]

Good thread, I didn't think about the blade chipping... I will stick with my Solingen knives...

[Hughies_online]

I have tried them and found them too brittle with lateral movements. Of course, cutting downwards in a straight line is excellent. Plus sharpening them could be a nightmare. I'll stick to steel

[Emmett]

They always seemed gimmicky to me, and I had read about the brittleness. Now, I am not terrible at knifework, but neither am I a pro, and the thought of making a bad stroke and chipping such an expensive blade--no thanks.

[Fnord5]

That's because a 6" chef's knife is a toy. I have paring knives that big.

The Kyocera vegetable peeler is a kick!

That is one thing where ceramic truly shines. The peeler.:thumbup1:
I love mine, always sharp, can peel a tomato, peach, or broccoli stalks, no problem!
Of course, I don't toss it around, and still have to take care of it, but the peeler is definitely a good tool.




(Most often i'll use a knife to peel things, but for multiple taters for fries, it's the peeler.)

[bob.e]

I don't like ceramic for knives but as stated for peelers or mandolines they are great

[homebrewer]

I'll say this... A few years ago, I had a coworker that was much older and wiser than I. He gave me a 6" kyocera, and said he didn't need it anymore. I was gracious (since it was a very expensive knife at the time), and took it home. Since then, I've used it once, and haven't touched it since then.

You can't sharpen it yourself, it is delicate, and it isn't even *that* sharp to begin with. Don't bother with the ceramics. You can get a far, FAR better steel knife for much less money.