Crack pipe?

On my other forum, when one gets a harebrained idea, it's called hitting the crack pipe. Not sure if it is the same here.
So, here is my crack pipe idea.

Kyocera makes ceramic knives, scissors, peelers, and an assortment of electronics.

From a serious cooks point of view, the knives suck ***, no flex, the edge feels all wonky, and they break easily if dropped, or any torsional pressure put on them.
However, the Kyotop line is very sharp and looks wicked cool.

They had mentioned making a prototype razor, that left their scientists bloody, because

The peeler is great! How come you don't make a shaver?
Too dangerous! A metal razor blade has a relatively "rounded" edge (under the microscope) which prevents the blade from cutting into the skin. A ceramic razor blade, however, does not have a rounded edge and slices into the skin. Thus, a ceramic shaver would be too dangerous to use. Several engineers in Sendai who tested prototypes can confirm this painful fact!

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What about a straight?
Not to knock the Japanese, but they are not exactly known as a hairy group of people. Perhaps the testers were too inexperienced to do a proper job.

The major selling point of Kyocera knives is that they only need to be sharpened once every 5 years or so.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a straight, that not only you wouldn't have to hone, but strop either?
The Kyotop blades look like this, and are far better than the standard white blades.


Who would be interested in trying one out if I got them to make a prototype?

Sorry, the title got me excited..........................

I will leave now.

I think that they do not WANT to make one.

If the only problem was that it was "too sharp", it would have been quite easy to dial the back down a touch, don't you think?

The whole thing smells fishy.....








And if you do get a prototype, I want one!

Build yourself a frameback holder, and use one of these. Only $10

Hmnn.
A good idea for proof of concept.
Why hassle with countless e-mails and designs if ceramic really wont "cut" it

Although a straight, with a solid ceramic blade would be slick as snot to own.

I've also pondered using an available ceramic knife, and simply cutting out (grinding?) the blade & tang I'd want for a straight.

Crude mockup attached...

Seraphim said:

I've also pondered using an available ceramic knife, and simply cutting out (grinding?) the blade & tang I'd want for a straight.

Crude mockup attached...

Click to expand...

The only problem is that the blades are far from shave ready, and to sharpen/shape, you need a steady hand and some quality diamond cutters.

They might not take much abuse, but are nearly as hard as diamonds.

Diamond lapping film.

No thanks. One drop or nick on the sink and the razor would be toast. Also the blades are very light so getting decent balance would require some magic in scale selection. I also have reservations about the hardness of the blade and the issue of microchips which would mean being sent back to the factory. I have a small kitchen knife and they do not want you messing with it no matter what kind of sharpening system you have. As I recall the techniques for sharpening ceramic blades are very different than normal steel blades.

I'm almost positive when they sharpen ceramic blades they almost exclusively use machines

Thebigspendur said:

No thanks. One drop or nick on the sink and the razor would be toast. Also the blades are very light so getting decent balance would require some magic in scale selection. I also have reservations about the hardness of the blade and the issue of microchips which would mean being sent back to the factory. I have a small kitchen knife and they do not want you messing with it no matter what kind of sharpening system you have. As I recall the techniques for sharpening ceramic blades are very different than normal steel blades.

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One drop of a standard razor and it's usually curtains for it as well.

And they certainly would require diamond hones.


I'll make my scales out of balsa!

Short answer to "would there be interest in trying one out?" is YES!
Do I think it would be a game-changinlgy great razor? Probably not...I have no REASON to belive this, but no evidence to the contrary, either.
It would be really cool to give it a shot.

I just ordered a knife.

If a halfway decent Frankenrazor comes of it, I'll post my results.

Seraphim Ceramics LLC is now open for business...

Seraphim said:

I just ordered a knife.

If a halfway decent Frankenrazor comes of it, I'll post my results.

Seraphim Ceramics LLC is now open for business...

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Seraphim +3 weeks after using said frankenrazor:




It sure is a smooth shaver . . .

chickpea said:

Seraphim +3 weeks after using said frankenrazor:

It sure is a smooth shaver . . .

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Say what you will, but I don't see any stubble on ol' Freddie Kruegger!

Seraphim said:

Say what you will, but I don't see any stubble on ol' Freddie Kruegger!

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CLOSEST SHAVE EVAR!!

Seraphim said:

One drop of a standard razor and it's usually curtains for it as well.

And they certainly would require diamond hones.


I'll make my scales out of balsa!

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Maybe make the scales out of basswood, its a little heavier, but more durable than balsa. And hobby shops carry all sorts of 1/8th inch thicknesses.

Seraphim said:

One drop of a standard razor and it's usually curtains for it as well.

And they certainly would require diamond hones.


I'll make my scales out of balsa!

Click to expand...

Yes but typically the typical damage a razor gets results not in a huge crack or a chunk missing but rather a series of small chips which can be honed out. You won't be able to hone out chips in a ceramic. But good luck with your project. maybe you'll be the next King Gillette and a multimillionaire selling ceramic razors.

My father is chef, and he has one Kyocera. It's nice...Light and black, but I've heard that japanese have rule for that knifes... You can only cut vegetables with it...No meat!

Mr.Gentleman said:

My father is chef, and he has one Kyocera. It's nice...Light and black, but I've heard that japanese have rule for that knifes... You can only cut vegetables with it...No meat!

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That's probably due to the shape of the knife, most likely its a Santoku, specifically made for vegetables. I don't see any reason why a properly designed ceramic knife can't be used for meat.

Also, the rule may be layed out by the Health Department, in order to prevent cross-contamination. A similar standard exists in Kosher kitchens, where seperate utensils are used for meat and dairy.