I recently heard about ceramic knives for kitchen use. They sound wonderful - though expensive. I think I'd like to get just one, do-everything, size. Any recommendations? Where's the best place to buy them in UK? Any difference between makes?
I use this guy for kitchen stuff,
IMHO any of the decent German or Japanese steel kitchen knives will be good enough for everyday kitchen use, but good luck!
Roger
Ceramic scapels are favoured for eye surgery these days, because they are so much sharper than stainless steel.
It would be more accurate to describe them as brittle. Modern engineering ceramics are surprisingly strong. I bought a small piece of 6mm diameter Macor for trials and could not break it despite applying considerable bending stress. The manufacturer does, however, warn against submitting it to sharp shocks. I never have quite understood how ceramic works as an armour material.
If you can happily afford things made of engineering ceramics, the cost of a diamond sharpener is not going to worry you. Besides, he may only want it for one aircraft hijack.
Colin Bignell
They're not wonderful. They are expensive.
They're sharp, but not especially so. Of course this depends on how sharp you keep your steel knives.
They're brittle, so they need looking after. Soft chopping boards, no frozen food, no abuse, no twisting, no bones. Share a kitchen with someone careless and they're just going to break it.
IMHO, someone who can't keep a steel knife sharp is going to chip a ceramic knife and have it in an even worse state before long.
What they are good for is cutting citrus. No staining or taint problems. I don't use one for kitchen stuff, but I do use one for "bar work".
The biggest problem with them is that they don't cut easily. Because of the brittleness, they're a thicker edge angle than good steel. It's OK for slicing something thin, but if you're cutting something thicker it's like using a logging wedge. This is my main dislike about them.
All (or nearly all) ceramic blades are made by Kyocera (who did after all begin life as Kyoto Ceramics) so there's not that much choice between brands. Try Axminster tools and their Ice Bear knives. For pocket knives try the German Boker.
My own kitchen knives are a mix of mainly Global, Ice Bear laminated (nicer than Global, but need careful drying and will discolour citrus), small Ice Bear ceramic and various home-made things Latest aquisition was this:
What's this ? it's a flying .sig separator and it makes your posts hard to reply to.
Best "no skill" sharpener I've seen was a Fiskars (?) with two ceramic wheels in it and a similar "pull slot" action under a litle hinged clear plastic cover. The trouble with most of those "pull it through a slot" sharpeners is that they work pretty well, but they also put a lot of wear onto the blade.
Kitchen knives are pretty easy to sharpen on a stone because they shouldn't be all that sharp. 4000 grit (fine waterstone) is plenty, whilst for woodworking tools I go two stones beyond that. If you're cutting a lot of thin-skinned veg like tomatoes or peppers, then stopping at 1000 grit is better - the slight coarseness gets a better "bite" on the skin and they cut with a pull stroke. A super-sharp knife doesn't catch and they have to be cut by pressing downwards, which can squish your tomato.
"nightjar .uk.com>"
I have a few of these knives I brought back from a trip to Japan. They are very good and seem to stay sharp longer than any steel blades I've tried. I've never been much good at sharpening knives, but one of my ceramics came with a honing guide and a diamond sharpener, which makes it a lot easier. They are quite fragile though and the edges chip quite easily. They are also quite pricey, my 5 inch kitchen knife cost about £30 in Japan, so would probably be more if you imported. I don't know how it would compare to a steel knife of the same quality as I've only ever used relatively cheap steel knives.
I'd buy one and try it out to see what you think. They make a good tallking point when you have guests as the blades come in different colours. I have white, black and blue.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.