Thread: Ceramic Knives

On 12/9/2011 9:32 PM, Mark Thorson wrote:
> My mom gave me one for Christmas last year, and it
> was okay but I was thinking about dumping it because
> I prefer my regular kitchen knife. The ceramic one
> had a straight blade and I'm used to the curve of
> a conventional kitchen knife. The ceramic knife
> did seem to be plenty sharp.
>
> About a week ago I lost it. I think it fell in the
> trash. Because I was already thinking about throwing
> it away, it didn't seem to be a significant loss.
>
> But then there was a sale on pineapples at the nearby
> Asian food store. The first time in a year that I
> tried peeling a pineapple with a steel knife the
> difference was very noticable. Even freshly sharpened,
> the steel knife didn't do nearly as well going through
> pineapple skin. I had been using the spiral method
> of removing the eyes with the ceramic knife, but that
> was just too difficult with the steel knife.
>
> So I bought a new ceramic knife. This one does have
> a curved blade. On my first pineapple with this knife,
> I could tell it was even sharper than the old one.
> I've only had it a little while, but it already seems
> to be a great knife. It's made in China, and it's
> called THE CERABLADE, or at least that's what's printed
> on the blade. I bought it at the Asian food store for
> $21. They had two smaller sizes that were cheaper,
> but I thought I should get what I wanted rather than
> save a couple bucks and live in misery for the rest
> of my life. There wasn't any sale or discount, so
> I imagine that price can be beaten on the net.
>
> I do take care not to drop it or use it on any hard
> surface. The edge only sees fruit and a wooden cutting
> board. Only cut myself once so far. On the first day
> I had it, it was sitting edge-up in my dish rack when
> I accidently dropped a pistachio in the vicinity. When
> I reached down to hunt for it, my arm lightly brushed
> against it and got cut. I barely felt it, but it sure
> bled for a while. I'm a little more careful now.

Personally, I beware of any product "made in China"!!! There's no
telling what manufacturing process or 'ingredients' used that included
in their products! Just think of all those toy products that were
recalled (who can count?!) because they were contaminated with high
levels of lead and other toxic materials, etc.!

Regardless, I'm not surprised the ceramic knife performed so well.
Anywho, my point is I recently saw a rerun(?) the other day of "How It's
Made" (or something like that) on one of the sat/cable channels
regarding the "Kyocera" ceramic knives. I was impressed with the
process used to manufacture Kyocera knives! One issue I learned was
'ceramic' cannot be picked up by metal detectors at airports and other
points of security! So, Kyocera purposely implants enough minute metal
elements into their ceramic knives so they 'can' be detected by metal
detectors (smart!).

From watching the show, I learned that ceramic knives are vastly
different than fine stainless steel knives in that they will not
absorb/adsorb (whichever!) odors or oils and subsequently impart
unwanted flavors to other foods later sliced. Because of this
'feature,' sushi 'chefs' (proper term?) prefer to use ceramic knives!

Sky, who's feeling a bit 'jonesy' :>

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!

"Mark Thorson" <> wrote > My mom gave me one for Christmas last year, and it
> was okay but I was thinking about dumping it because
> I prefer my regular kitchen knife. The ceramic one
> had a straight blade and I'm used to the curve of
> a conventional kitchen knife. The ceramic knife
> did seem to be plenty sharp.
>
> About a week ago I lost it. I think it fell in the
> trash. Because I was already thinking about throwing
> it away, it didn't seem to be a significant loss.
>
> But then there was a sale on pineapples at the nearby
> Asian food store. The first time in a year that I
> tried peeling a pineapple with a steel knife the
> difference was very noticable. Even freshly sharpened,
> the steel knife didn't do nearly as well going through
> pineapple skin. I had been using the spiral method
> of removing the eyes with the ceramic knife, but that
> was just too difficult with the steel knife.
>
> So I bought a new ceramic knife. This one does have
> a curved blade. On my first pineapple with this knife,
> I could tell it was even sharper than the old one.
> I've only had it a little while, but it already seems
> to be a great knife. It's made in China, and it's
> called THE CERABLADE, or at least that's what's printed
> on the blade. I bought it at the Asian food store for
> $21. They had two smaller sizes that were cheaper,
> but I thought I should get what I wanted rather than
> save a couple bucks and live in misery for the rest
> of my life. There wasn't any sale or discount, so
> I imagine that price can be beaten on the net.
>
> I do take care not to drop it or use it on any hard
> surface. The edge only sees fruit and a wooden cutting
> board. Only cut myself once so far. On the first day
> I had it, it was sitting edge-up in my dish rack when
> I accidently dropped a pistachio in the vicinity. When
> I reached down to hunt for it, my arm lightly brushed
> against it and got cut. I barely felt it, but it sure
> bled for a while. I'm a little more careful now.

Waaaah! Never, Ever put down anything sharp 'edge up'. Even our salad
forks are placed tines down in the dishwasher. I can't imagine what sort of
live critters Oneida was expecting us to toss in our salads when they
designed Act I. Those forks are killer sharp and will do a world of hurt.
Here on the bayou, 911 is too far away to be much help. Even if we lived
beside the hospital, the visit would be painful and expensive. Mark, does
your Mom know you're not careful enough? I'm telling. Polly

On Dec 9, 10:32*pm, Mark Thorson <nos...@sonic.net> wrote:
> My mom gave me one for Christmas last year, and it
> was okay but I was thinking about dumping it because
> I prefer my regular kitchen knife. *The ceramic one
> had a straight blade and I'm used to the curve of
> a conventional kitchen knife. *The ceramic knife
> did seem to be plenty sharp.
>
> About a week ago I lost it. *I think it fell in the
> trash. *Because I was already thinking about throwing
> it away, it didn't seem to be a significant loss.
>
> But then there was a sale on pineapples at the nearby
> Asian food store. *The first time in a year that I
> tried peeling a pineapple with a steel knife the
> difference was very noticable. *Even freshly sharpened,
> the steel knife didn't do nearly as well going through
> pineapple skin. *I had been using the spiral method
> of removing the eyes with the ceramic knife, but that
> was just too difficult with the steel knife.
>
> So I bought a new ceramic knife. *This one does have
> a curved blade. *On my first pineapple with this knife,
> I could tell it was even sharper than the old one.
> I've only had it a little while, but it already seems
> to be a great knife. *It's made in China, and it's
> called THE CERABLADE, or at least that's what's printed
> on the blade. *I bought it at the Asian food store for
> $21. *They had two smaller sizes that were cheaper,
> but I thought I should get what I wanted rather than
> save a couple bucks and live in misery for the rest
> of my life. *There wasn't any sale or discount, so
> I imagine that price can be beaten on the net.
>
> I do take care not to drop it or use it on any hard
> surface. *The edge only sees fruit and a wooden cutting
> board. *Only cut myself once so far. *On the first day
> I had it, it was sitting edge-up in my dish rack when
> I accidently dropped a pistachio in the vicinity. *When
> I reached down to hunt for it, my arm lightly brushed
> against it and got cut. *I barely felt it, but it sure
> bled for a while. *I'm a little more careful now.

The new one seems sharper because it is. A year from now, it will be
like the one you just lost. Ceramic knives can be sharpened with a
diamond stone or other stones also useful for carbide. Enjoy it!

Jerry
--
"I view the progress of science as being the slow erosion of the
tendency to dichotomize." Barbara Smuts, U. Mich.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

On Dec 9, 11:12*pm, Sky <skyho...@NOsbcglobal.SnPeAtM> wrote:
...

> Regardless, I'm not surprised the ceramic knife performed so well.
> Anywho, my point is I recently saw a rerun(?) the other day of "How It's
> Made" (or something like that) on one of the sat/cable channels
> regarding the "Kyocera" ceramic knives. *I was impressed with the
> process used to manufacture Kyocera knives! *One issue I learned was
> 'ceramic' cannot be picked up by metal detectors at airports and other
> points of security! So, Kyocera purposely implants enough minute metal
> elements into their ceramic knives so they 'can' be detected by metal
> detectors (smart!).

...

Steel, whether stainless or not, doesn't absorb odors. Some ceramics
do, but not the high-fired ceramic that knives are made of. Think
about it: can you imagine a piece of solid steep soaking up something
that it was dipped into?

Jerry
--
"I view the progress of science as being the slow erosion of the
tendency to dichotomize." Barbara Smuts, U. Mich.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

On 12/9/2011 10:25 PM, Jerry Avins wrote:
>
> Steel, whether stainless or not, doesn't absorb odors. Some ceramics
> do, but not the high-fired ceramic that knives are made of. Think
> about it: can you imagine a piece of solid steep soaking up something
> that it was dipped into?

The TV show specifically said that (stainless) steel knives will retain
the flavors of various fish oils (when slicing to make sushi) and
reiterated the ceramic knives do not. I can see how "oils" will make
residues on steel and wouldn't on ceramics, especially when properly
washed. I only reiterate what I 'learned' (?!) via watching a TV show
on a reputable 'learning' channel --- yeah yeah -- I gotta take that
with a grain of salt, too!

Sky, who's no expert nor posed as one!

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!

"Mark Thorson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> My mom gave me one for Christmas last year, and it
> was okay but I was thinking about dumping it because
> I prefer my regular kitchen knife. The ceramic one
> had a straight blade and I'm used to the curve of
> a conventional kitchen knife. The ceramic knife
> did seem to be plenty sharp.
>
> About a week ago I lost it. I think it fell in the
> trash. Because I was already thinking about throwing
> it away, it didn't seem to be a significant loss.
>
> But then there was a sale on pineapples at the nearby
> Asian food store. The first time in a year that I
> tried peeling a pineapple with a steel knife the
> difference was very noticable. Even freshly sharpened,
> the steel knife didn't do nearly as well going through
> pineapple skin. I had been using the spiral method
> of removing the eyes with the ceramic knife, but that
> was just too difficult with the steel knife.
>
> So I bought a new ceramic knife. This one does have
> a curved blade. On my first pineapple with this knife,
> I could tell it was even sharper than the old one.
> I've only had it a little while, but it already seems
> to be a great knife. It's made in China, and it's
> called THE CERABLADE, or at least that's what's printed
> on the blade. I bought it at the Asian food store for
> $21. They had two smaller sizes that were cheaper,
> but I thought I should get what I wanted rather than
> save a couple bucks and live in misery for the rest
> of my life. There wasn't any sale or discount, so
> I imagine that price can be beaten on the net.
>
> I do take care not to drop it or use it on any hard
> surface. The edge only sees fruit and a wooden cutting
> board. Only cut myself once so far. On the first day
> I had it, it was sitting edge-up in my dish rack when
> I accidently dropped a pistachio in the vicinity. When
> I reached down to hunt for it, my arm lightly brushed
> against it and got cut. I barely felt it, but it sure
> bled for a while. I'm a little more careful now.

I have three inexpensive ceramic ones. First one bought online. The other
two were bought at TJ Maxx. They're small. They're good. And I like that
the ones I have came with sheaths so I can use them for travel.

Mark Thorson wrote:
>
> My mom gave me one for Christmas last year, and it
> was okay but I was thinking about dumping it because
> I prefer my regular kitchen knife. The ceramic one
> had a straight blade and I'm used to the curve of
> a conventional kitchen knife. The ceramic knife
> did seem to be plenty sharp.
>
> About a week ago I lost it. I think it fell in the
> trash. Because I was already thinking about throwing
> it away, it didn't seem to be a significant loss.
>
> But then there was a sale on pineapples at the nearby
> Asian food store. The first time in a year that I
> tried peeling a pineapple with a steel knife the
> difference was very noticable. Even freshly sharpened,
> the steel knife didn't do nearly as well going through
> pineapple skin. I had been using the spiral method
> of removing the eyes with the ceramic knife, but that
> was just too difficult with the steel knife.
>
> So I bought a new ceramic knife. This one does have
> a curved blade. On my first pineapple with this knife,
> I could tell it was even sharper than the old one.
> I've only had it a little while, but it already seems
> to be a great knife. It's made in China, and it's
> called THE CERABLADE, or at least that's what's printed
> on the blade. I bought it at the Asian food store for
> $21. They had two smaller sizes that were cheaper,
> but I thought I should get what I wanted rather than
> save a couple bucks and live in misery for the rest
> of my life. There wasn't any sale or discount, so
> I imagine that price can be beaten on the net.
>
> I do take care not to drop it or use it on any hard
> surface. The edge only sees fruit and a wooden cutting
> board. Only cut myself once so far. On the first day
> I had it, it was sitting edge-up in my dish rack when
> I accidently dropped a pistachio in the vicinity. When
> I reached down to hunt for it, my arm lightly brushed
> against it and got cut. I barely felt it, but it sure
> bled for a while. I'm a little more careful now.

A while back I noted that Harbor Freight carries several ceramic kitchen
knives ranging from about $6-$11 when on sale that work well and are an
excellent way to try out ceramic knives without much investment. Don't
drop or pry with them and they do just fine. They also don't react with
acidic foods like good carbon steel knives will.

Sky wrote:
>
> Regardless, I'm not surprised the ceramic knife performed so well.
> Anywho, my point is I recently saw a rerun(?) the other day of "How It's
> Made" (or something like that) on one of the sat/cable channels
> regarding the "Kyocera" ceramic knives. I was impressed with the
> process used to manufacture Kyocera knives! One issue I learned was
> 'ceramic' cannot be picked up by metal detectors at airports and other
> points of security! So, Kyocera purposely implants enough minute metal
> elements into their ceramic knives so they 'can' be detected by metal
> detectors (smart!).

Ceramic knives have become cheap enough to treat them like junk blades.
When they break trash them and pull one of the spares out of the drawer.
Amazing how the market for them went from a high tech speciality product
to economy of scale mass manufacturing in a coupleof decades.

Maybe they should be called "jewel knives" because their material is a
synethic gem. The name would parallel "jewel watches".

On Fri, 9 Dec 2011 22:13:23 -0600, "Polly Esther"
<[email protected]> wrote:
snip
>
>Waaaah! Never, Ever put down anything sharp 'edge up'. Even our salad
>forks are placed tines down in the dishwasher. snip
.. Polly
Everyone here is taught to put any sharp utensil in the last, at the
back, utensil basket. That way, anyone unloading the dishwasher know
where to expect sharps. I am not a fan of putting pokey/sharp things
sharp side down in the basket. They often ruin the basket bottom or
stick through far enough to snag the passing washer arm.
Janet US

Mark Thorson <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I do take care not to drop it or use it on any hard
> surface. The edge only sees fruit and a wooden cutting
> board. Only cut myself once so far. On the first day
> I had it, it was sitting edge-up in my dish rack when
> I accidently dropped a pistachio in the vicinity. When
> I reached down to hunt for it, my arm lightly brushed
> against it and got cut. I barely felt it, but it sure
> bled for a while. I'm a little more careful now.

I like ceramics for limited uses. As you said they are very sharp but they
certainly are not durable or versatile.

I like them for vegetables except that you have to be careful not to snag
them in the cutting surface if you are trying to work quickly. They feel to
me like they catch in the cutting mat or board and I fear chipping them so I
have to slow down and make sure each cut is released from the mat before
going to the next.

While they are supposedly ok as long as there are no bones, I don't like
using them on meat, boneless or not, except for fish. Steel knives are far
superior.

They also require extra care in handling, cleaning, and storage to avoid
damaging them.

However when you want really nice precise and uniform cuts of vegetables
they work quite well. But for making the major cuts, such as halving an
onion, I still prefer steel. At that point I may as well proceed with the
steel knife.

Given all the hassle for limited usefulness, I wouldn't buy another one.

MartyB

Janet Bostwick wrote:
>
> Everyone here is taught to put any sharp utensil in the last, at the
> back, utensil basket. That way, anyone unloading the dishwasher know
> where to expect sharps. I am not a fan of putting pokey/sharp things
> sharp side down in the basket. They often ruin the basket bottom or
> stick through far enough to snag the passing washer arm.

No, I'm going to continue to put my ceramic knife
in the dishrack sharp edge up, and bitch about it here
every time I cut myself. I'm like John Kuthe that way.

On 12/10/2011 5:41 PM, Mark Thorson wrote:
> Janet Bostwick wrote:
>>
>> Everyone here is taught to put any sharp utensil in the last, at the
>> back, utensil basket. That way, anyone unloading the dishwasher know
>> where to expect sharps. I am not a fan of putting pokey/sharp things
>> sharp side down in the basket. They often ruin the basket bottom or
>> stick through far enough to snag the passing washer arm.
>
> No, I'm going to continue to put my ceramic knife
> in the dishrack sharp edge up, and bitch about it here
> every time I cut myself. I'm like John Kuthe that way.

I've been using two ceramic knives for about 9 months now. They cost
about $20 for the set and are still very sharp; so much so that they've
replaced most of my collection of steel knives. They do need to be wiped
with a soapy sponge if they are not to transfer odors. Onion-flavored
pineapple is not good! I don't wash them in the dishwasher but I never
did that for kitchen knives anyway.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm *not* [email protected]

On Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:41:48 -0800, Mark Thorson <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Janet Bostwick wrote:
>>
>> Everyone here is taught to put any sharp utensil in the last, at the
>> back, utensil basket. That way, anyone unloading the dishwasher know
>> where to expect sharps. I am not a fan of putting pokey/sharp things
>> sharp side down in the basket. They often ruin the basket bottom or
>> stick through far enough to snag the passing washer arm.
>
>No, I'm going to continue to put my ceramic knife
>in the dishrack sharp edge up, and bitch about it here
>every time I cut myself. I'm like John Kuthe that way.

I never suggested that anyone put their preparation knives in the
dishwasher (upside or downside). I was only talking about the other
sharp and pokey things that we use that do go into the dishwasher. Now
don't make me worry about you. Be good and don't put your sharp
knives in the dishwasher )
Janet US

On Dec 10, 1:44*pm, "Nunya Bidnits" <nunyabidn...@eternal-
september.invalid> wrote:
> Mark Thorson <nos...@sonic.net> wrote:
>
> > I do take care not to drop it or use it on any hard
> > surface. *The edge only sees fruit and a wooden cutting
> > board. *Only cut myself once so far. *On the first day
> > I had it, it was sitting edge-up in my dish rack when
> > I accidently dropped a pistachio in the vicinity. *When
> > I reached down to hunt for it, my arm lightly brushed
> > against it and got cut. *I barely felt it, but it sure
> > bled for a while. *I'm a little more careful now.
>
> I like ceramics for limited uses. As you said they are very sharp but they
> certainly are not durable or versatile.
>
> I like them for vegetables except that you have to be careful not to snag
> them in the cutting surface if you are trying to work quickly. They feel to
> me like they catch in the cutting mat or board and I fear chipping them so I
> have to slow down and make sure each cut is released from the mat before
> going to the next.
>
> While they are supposedly ok as long as there are no bones, I don't like
> using them on meat, boneless or not, except for fish. Steel knives are far
> superior.
>
> They also require extra care in handling, cleaning, and storage to avoid
> damaging them.
>
> However when you want really nice precise and uniform cuts of vegetables
> they work quite well. But for making the major cuts, such as halving an
> onion, I still prefer steel. At that point I may as well proceed with the
> steel knife.
>
> Given all the hassle for limited usefulness, I wouldn't buy another one.
>
> MartyB

Thanks for convincing me not to fall prey.

On 10/12/2011 1:44 PM, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
> Mark Thorson<[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> I do take care not to drop it or use it on any hard
>> surface. The edge only sees fruit and a wooden cutting
>> board. Only cut myself once so far. On the first day
>> I had it, it was sitting edge-up in my dish rack when
>> I accidently dropped a pistachio in the vicinity. When
>> I reached down to hunt for it, my arm lightly brushed
>> against it and got cut. I barely felt it, but it sure
>> bled for a while. I'm a little more careful now.
>
> I like ceramics for limited uses. As you said they are very sharp but they
> certainly are not durable or versatile.


That about sums it up. They are good for some things. It is nice to have
a knife that ids razor sharp, but it there are those issues of
durability and versatility. While they are terrific for tasks where you
need an extremely sharp knife to cut something that is relatively soft,
you can't use them for a lot of things that you might normally use a
knife for. You can't use them for hard things, anything frozen. No
poking and no prying. No cutting into or around bones.


I have three of them, including one that I had bought for my mother on
Christmas and reclaimed after she died. They are handy for some things
but If I had to choose between steel or ceramic, there is no doubt that
I would opt for steel.

Janet Bostwick wrote:
>
> I never suggested that anyone put their preparation knives in the
> dishwasher (upside or downside). I was only talking about the other
> sharp and pokey things that we use that do go into the dishwasher. Now
> don't make me worry about you. Be good and don't put your sharp
> knives in the dishwasher )

I don't have a dishwasher. The dish rack is for drying.

Kalmia <[email protected]> wrote:

I have a top of the line Kyocera santaku that is one of the finest knives
I've ever used. I've had it for a year and I use it daily. It's still sharp
enough to shave with. It's also taken two falls to the floor that didn't
damage it. I also have one of the smaller cheaper ceramic knives that
doesn't even begin to compare to it. You get what you pay for.

BubbaBob <rnorton47@_remove_this_comcast.net> wrote:

> Kalmia <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I have a top of the line Kyocera santaku that is one of the finest
> knives I've ever used. I've had it for a year and I use it daily. It's
> still sharp enough to shave with. It's also taken two falls to the
> floor that didn't damage it. I also have one of the smaller cheaper
> ceramic knives that doesn't even begin to compare to it. You get what
> you pay for.


I have a kyocera white ceramic 5.5" utility knife.

It's an excellent knife! It's almost gravity free, smoothly drifting
through anything like butter!

For anyone interested, it's NOT good for carving bones!

Bend the blade on bones and it will break!

Otherwise it will stay sharp and last for years.

I bought the ceramic knife thanks to Ming Sai's expertise/demonstrations.

Andy
--
I AM brave!!! I just saved a fish from drowning!
--From "Scrubbs"

Question: When it does get dull (and in some time frame it must), how
does one sharpen it? -- Rik


--
Rik Brown

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