What kind of knife is it that looks like one that comes with your fast food order yet sharper than the sharpest steel knife? It is also made from material that has a hardness rating almost twice that of normal steel. Where diamond is rated at the highest possible Mohs scale of 10.0 (max), this knife has a rating of 8.5. Hardened steel infused with high carbon has a hardness of 7.5. In some tests, this knife maintains its edge at 10X that of steel knives.
Slicing tomatoes into almost paper-thin slices to a transparency of cellophane challenges the sharpness of any knife. Not with this one.
It will devein shrimp with the precision of a scalpel. I've seen sushi prepared with it by master chefs.
Readers of this blog have seen my fondness for kitchen knives over a few projects. Several of them were from fashioning handles for bare blades and knife stands from hardwoods, as shown below.
So, what's up with this non-steel, plastic-looking knife that is worthy of a woodworking project?
We are talking about a ceramic knife. Obviously, this is not ceramic as in your coffee mug or favorite China or figurines.
Ceramic knives have been around since the 90's but it didn't as much as pique my interest. Then one day I read that the reason leftover avocado, sliced or pureed, turn brown is when steel or any metallic knives are used to cut, slice, or scoop them. We love avocado. A ceramic knife which is non-porous, non-reactive, fits the bill.
I ordered just the one - a 3-inch paring knife, just to see if it lives up to its advertised feature.
Out of the box, scary sharp is an understatement. It will have a role and a special place to deserve its own stand. Will I buy a set of ceramic knives of various sizes and functions for the kitchen? Later on that at the bottom of this blog and you may skip the woodworking part.
Shaping a piece of 3/8 inch acrylic on the router table
Joinery between acrylic and wood
Cyanoacrylate or CA glue is best for joining the materials involved
For me, one ceramic knife is all there will be in our kitchen. But first this. It is definitely scary sharp. It will not rust or stain. It is so light weight that it can be mistaken for a plastic knife. It cleans easily, it will not absorb any of the odor usually associated with fish or meat.
I am a traditionalist when it comes to knives and my favorite ones are high carbon but not stainless steel knives. They will rust if I don't wipe them dry after each use and they will stain to almost a permanent patina after a while. They have heft, needs regular honing but will last over several lifetimes. Cleavers will stand up to mallet blows when cutting through bones and fillet knives can only be from thin, narrow pliable steel.
"Ceramic knives are not at all great for chopping, prying, filleting/de-boning or carving, i.e. many of the motions you’d expect when dealing with meat and fish. These impacts can damage the blade and the knife’s inflexible nature means delicate maneuvering around bones (filleting for example), which may require you to press down and flex the blade, and can actually damage or break your knife".
"Don’t
.Put it in the dishwasher, it will probably break
.Store unsheathed with other objects, it will get chipped and crack
.Use chipped or cracked knives, unless you want to risk getting injured
.Chop, twist, pry, debone or otherwise apply a lot of force or pressure to the knife
My answer to the question earlier is no. My one and only ceramic knife would be this 3-inch paring knife and it has 0nly one special use.
However, ceramic knives have a place in households where sharpening or honing is not a resident skill. And if one must buy a ceramic knife, I recommend that you go with a good brand. My recommendation is Kyocera. This comes from Japan. The name is a portmanteau of the Japanese city in west-central Honshu island, Japan - Kyoto and ceramic, hence, Kyocera. There is a wealth of reading materials and YouTube videos if one chooses to research this tool.
