Ceramic knives

[96firephoenix]

Just saw an ad for a ceramic kitchen knife. I know that ceramic can be about 10x stronger than steel. I also know its more brittle than steel.

so basically, what are the pros and cons of ceramic knives compared to the average steel knife?

 

[tyler34]

it will stay sharp for a stupid amount of time. the con, you can ONLY sharpen it with diamonds

 

[Bradsknives]

I really don't see any "pros" for ceramic blades. They have been around for a long time...so if there was anything really good that stood out about them over a steel bladed knife, everyone would be requesting and buying them.

 

[22lr]

I had someone ask me this same question.

To add to that, how much brittleness are we talking about? Still capable enough for heavy hacking? Or are they more neglected for kitchen/light duty?

 

[mikerccie]

I have two ceramic kitchen knives. They are IMO the ultimate paring knife. They are crazy sharp and won't need steeling like a steel blade. They are also super light. The ceramic blade seems to transfer less taste from one item to another.

The cons are they are brittle, so you can't cut into an apple and use the knife to twist the apple open. They can't be used to crush garlic before chopping. You can't put them on a cutting board and "rock" them to finely chop stuff - the instructions say that the knife can catch a groove in the board and twist enough to chip/break.

I also have the super wide ceramic veggie peeler - it rocks.

 

[cordex]

I've got one ceramic kitchen knife. It's plenty sharp, but despite never using it for anything except cutting fruits and vegetables - what I would consider very light duty - the edge has a few chips. It is decidedly not suitable for much more than that.

Unless you are a sushi chef or someone with similar need for a very sharp knife but without the likelihood of running the blade up against anything hard, I don't see any benefit to a ceramic knife.

 

[mikerccie]

Cordex is right - you won't want to chop with your ceramic knife. I look at it as any cutting that would make a noise against the board is too aggressive for the ceramic blades.

 

[rmoore911]

ceremic knives are fine prep work knives in the kitchen. i had one for many years, and it held up great, as long as you use them for what they are designed for, which is slicing and dicing, not so much for heavy butchery. the major downsize is the brittleness, but as long as you don't drop them or try to use them to chop through bone, they'll last you a long time before they need any sharpening or replacing. mine met an untimely death with a stainless steel prep table, which is the only reason i no longer own one.

 

[misconfig]

Oh, if they don't have a sliver of metal in them, you can carry them into restricted areas

*Disclaimer* I do not condone this type of behavior.

 

[jbombelli]

The way I see it... It's the Riddle of Steel, not the Riddle of Ceramic!

 

[DarkRose]

Brittle enough they can shatter if you drop them. Boker has made (still does?) ceramic folders for years and I've heard some horror stories about even closing them too sharply.

Like Tyler said, stupidly sharp for long amounts of time, if used within it's narrow purposes. I've got a friend in a culinary school and she's used a few, I've handled a couple of them...

Again, nice for a narrow use.