Ceramic Knives

[Hosenbugler]

Does not seem to be a recent thread on the above. Has anyone any practical experience with ceramic knives, longevity (aside breakage) , keeping their edge, Pro's and cons etc?

[21TonyK]

IME I cant see the point. They may be harder than steel but all that does is maintain an edge longer, make it more brittle and therefore prone to chipping and harder to maintain.

I bought one about 10 years ago, used it a few times and put it back in the knife box. Not seen daylight since.

[Juicetin1]

I bought a couple of decent ones a few years back, they were fragile, seemed to chip just by looking at them. After a few weeks the blades were virtually serrated with the number of tiny chips and that was just from chopping salad/veg and the like. Managed to return them both for a refund , wouldn't touch them again.

[dontlookdown]

Well I love mine. I have a good set of steel chefs knives and I love them too, but the 20 quid ceramic I got from John Lewis a few years ago is my go to daily knife.

For finely slicing onions, tomatoes, fish etc it is peerless. Only a mandolin is better. And provided you treat it well - only cut on a board and be aware that the blade is v brittle and will snap easily - they never need sharpening. No boning of meat however, that will only end in tears.

You do need to be a careful kind of person though. I am a bit of an old woman when it comes to looking after my stuff, so five years in and the blade is still perfect.

My sister on other hand is a bit more, er, enthusiastic and she broke hers inside a fortnight.

[Hosenbugler]

Thanks for the input all. Being as I am firmly in the bull in a china shop camp, I'll avoid, sounds little doubt I'll be breaking/chipping them, or both.

[Gameface]

Is there no metal in them whatsoever? Core? Handle?

[21TonyK]

Not in the one I bought, Kyocera. Just dug it out and its still as sharp as it always was, which by comparison to my steel knives, isn't as sharp as I remember it being.

There are degrees of sharpness, it would still slice a ripe tomato with little or no pressure but thats nothing to shout about.

[C70R]

21TonyK said:

IME I cant see the point. They may be harder than steel but all that does is maintain an edge longer, make it more brittle and therefore prone to chipping and harder to maintain.

I bought one about 10 years ago, used it a few times and put it back in the knife box. Not seen daylight since.

We've got a few Japanese steel knives, which we tend to use for big chef's/chopping duties. However, I absolutely love ceramic for a small paring knife - super-sharp and so much more delicate than small steel knives, at about a tenth of the cost. You do need to remind yourself that you can't do things like take avocado stones out with it, but otherwise they are great.

ETA - Kyocera is the brand of mine too. Seems great.

Edited by C70R on Friday 22 February 15:10

[red_slr]

We have a 3 set. Brilliant things. Sharp and light. You have to chop on a soft plastic or wood chopping board though and never scrape with the cutting edge always flip it over and us the back of the blade.

Also a good idea to keep the blade protectors on when stored.

[wolfracesonic]

Gameface said:

Is there no metal in them whatsoever? Core? Handle?

I seem to remember these being made on one of the 'How it's made' type programmes and metal was used in their manufacture, not for cutting purposes but so they would show up in airport metal detectors.

[21TonyK]

wolfracesonic said:

Gameface said:

Is there no metal in them whatsoever? Core? Handle?

I seem to remember these being made on one of the 'How it's made' type programmes and metal was used in their manufacture, not for cutting purposes but so they would show up in airport metal detectors.

That would make a lot of sense. Just looked at mine and the handle is disproportionately heavier so i assume there's a bit of steel inside.

[spikeyhead]

We've had a couple that have been in regular use for about five years. They still work very well and are unchipped.

For some jobs I still prefer a big steel chef's knife, but unless you want to spend a lot of time caring for an edge then ceramic is the way to go for chopping soft things.

[Gameface]

wolfracesonic said:

Gameface said:

Is there no metal in them whatsoever? Core? Handle?

I seem to remember these being made on one of the 'How it's made' type programmes and metal was used in their manufacture, not for cutting purposes but so they would show up in airport metal detectors.

This is why I asked.

I know someone who took one through a court scanner once upon a time.

It surprised me.