Ceramic knives

[Diane1415]

What is the best inexpensive ceramic knife and where can I get it?
Is a ceramic knife better than SS?

 

[GB]

Ceramic is sharper and holds an edge longer, but they are very fragile. If dropped on the floor it will most likely shatter.

 

[Andy M.]

Ceramic knives are very sharp and require sharpening much less frequently than SS as they are made of a material that is a great deal harder than SS. That hardness makes them brittle and subject to chipping or breaking from a shock such as dropping it on the floor. Ceramic knives must be sharpened using a special process.

So there are pros and cons to owning either. You have to decide which is better for you.

 

[Diane1415]

can you easily sharpen one?

 

[GB]

You need to send them out to be sharpened. If I have my info correct, you usually send them to the company that made them to have them sharpened.

 

[Diane1415]

sounds like more hassel than sharpening SS and keeping it sharp.

 

[GB]

Like Andy said, there are pros and cons. Of the people I know who own one they love them. If I had money to spend I would consider one. I agree with you though. It does sound like a hassel.

 

[Michael in FtW]

sounds like more hassel than sharpening SS and keeping it sharp.

Exactly! And, like noted before - if you drop one there is a good chance it is going to shatter or chip. And, there are thing you can't do with one - like laying it on its side and smacking a clove of garlic ....

 

[Diane1415]

I might try one sometime, but for now I will stick with SS, I need to try a Santoku though

 

[ironchef]

I have a ceramic knife, and I love it as far as it's slicing and chopping ability goes. But I very rarely use it for several reasons (breakage being one of them) and I almost always pull out my 10" Henckles chef's knife for 99% of any knife work that I need to do.

 

[jennyema]

I have 2 Kyocera ceramic santuko knives, and a K. paring knife and a ceramic vegetable peeler.

I LOVE THEM!

I was a sceptic because of the knives reputation for being fragile and stores' reluctance to take them back if they broke. The first knife was a gift. The other santuko and paring knife were on sale at Zabar's for some insanely low price so I bought them.

There is no such thing as an inexpensive ceramic knife.

Like the others have said, they are fragile and need special care. But they are insanely sharp and keep their edge for a long, long, time.

I will send them to get sharpened when the time comes

 

[Michelemarie]

I recently bought the knife below - Kyocera Susan G. Komen 5-1/2" pink ceramic knife (I hope the picture is showing - I'm not good at this stuff).

I absolutely LOVE it! I first bought the Wushoff Santoku (recommended by a friend) but was unimpressed. I bought the ceramic one and did a comparison with a variety of cutting and slicing - my current Henkel vs. the new Wusthoff vs. the Kyocera ceramic. For me - the Kyocera won hands done.

I asked alot of questions on this forum while I was shopping and one thing I learned is that choosing a knife has alot to do with personal preference. The ceramic knives are very light and very sharp. The need to be sharpened less than SS - and must be sent to Kyocera accompanied with the original pacakge and receipt. It is $10 for two knives and $5 for each additional. For me personally, it is less of a hassle to drop it in the mail and have someone else do it for me. Also, if the kife does chip - you can have it reshaped using the same procedure.

I ended up returning the Wusthoff and still use my Henkels for tougher jobs - ie - smashing a clove of garlic. Most times, though, I find myself with the ceramic knife. Just my personal opinion. Oh, and it wasn't as expensive as I had thought - this particular knife was $70 and Williams Sonoma. Good luck!




Kyocera Susan G Komen 5-1/2 inch Pink Ceramic Knife

 

[Poppinfresh]

Exactly! And, like noted before - if you drop one there is a good chance it is going to shatter or chip. And, there are thing you can't do with one - like laying it on its side and smacking a clove of garlic ....

This risk of shattering is only a real risk with the cheaper ones. I own some of the Damascus series knives from Kyocera (which, yes, are prohibitively expensive so they aren't for everybody--they're fired twice instead of just once), and have done all of the things mentioned in this thread to them, and not so much as a chip. If you go with the low-end Kyocera blades or get REALLY cheap and buy Eagle's ceramic knives, then there is some inherent risk, but I do think it's overblown.

 

[jennyema]

I know someone who chipped the blade of a $200 Kyocera knife on the root end of an onion.

I still love all mine but treat them carefully.