Ceramic Knife

[davidpm]

I picked up a few of these a couple days ago.
Ceramic Paring Knife - Save on this 3" Ceramic Paring Knife

I've been doing crafty things with amsteel blue the last few days.
Making soft shackles
Rope ring
Woopie Sling

And generally just fooling around with it to see what it can be used for.
In the videos I noticed the guys often use a ceramic knife to cut it.

I just found out that Harbor Freight had a store near buy so I figured I would check it out.
I bought a few 3" and one 6" for the kitchen.
They are really amazing for the line. They don't seem sharp to the thumb but really slice line and pork tenderloin amazingly well.

Didn't seem to be any advantage to cutting a spaghetti squash however.

It looks like use of this knife will ruin my plastic cutting board very quickly though.

I wonder if it will pass through airport security?

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by davidpm

....I wonder if it will pass through airport security?

Not sure if it would be identified by metal detectors. Assume not.

While, I find most of the restrictions to be useless, I would not want to be the guy who sneaked a knife aboard and it ended up in the wrong hands. Admittedly small odds, but you would be rightfully lynched.

[chef2sail]

For the kitchen....they can chip. Buy Wustaff or Shun.

[hellosailor]

Airport security: Shhh! Don't tell anyone, any paleolithic cutting tool will pass airport security. And if you get caught, you get free room and board and medical care for an easy five years. Or maybe, not such an easy five years.

In the kitchen, I've used a ceramic (one paring, one chef's) knife for about a year now, two different brand names. They do seem to stay sharp but not quite as sharp as a fine edge on a good metal blade. No problem with the cutting boards (delrin or similar) holding up. I picked up the first one because it was on sale while I was looking for a particular size/profile that somehow I'd never gotten, for vegetable dicing mainly.

[Tempest]

My Favorite knive is the 10 inch version of this serrated knife. I've owned two of them for over 20 years. They get extensive use. They've never lost their edge.

Victorinox Forschner Rosewood Serrated Chef's Knife, 10-inch | cutleryandmore.com


They make a paring knife with a serrated edge too. Many of the higher end knives don't fit my hand as comfortably as the rosewood handles.

Victorinox (formerly Forschner) Rosewood 3.25" Serrated Paring Knife at Swiss Knife Shop

On the boat I keep a set of Kershaw interchangable blades similar to this one. they store nicely in a drawer.

Kershaw Deluxe Blade Trader Knife at The Kershaw Store

I've looked at the ceramic knifes, but haven't felt the need to experiment..

[Stumble]

For working with dyneema ceramics are the only thing that seem to least more than one or two cuts before you have to resharpen them.

For cooking I have two ceramic knifes, and they are amazing. But I don't like them as much as steel. The weight is just wrong, and because the blades are prone to chipping I find I am afraid to use them (even though I have never actually chipped one.

Personally I am not a fan of the shun/wustoff brands. They are really expensive for the quality, and while I consider them Ok knives, there are much better ones out there for less.

As for using serrated knives... Unless you are cutting bread they are terrible at everything. Just sharpen your knives regularly.

[Tempest]

Originally Posted by Stumble

As for using serrated knives... Unless you are cutting bread they are terrible at everything.

Since I'm the one who mentioned serrated knives, I'm going to clearly disagree with this statement. But, I'm not offended. I'm pretty confident in my knives and my ability to use them to cut more than bread..

[miatapaul]

I have a few cheap ceramics, and they work great for utility/crafts, I also have a Kyocera that is scarey sharp. I don't think the cheap ones are nearly as sharp, or durable but they are good for rope and other tough to cut things. I prefer a good steel knife in the kitchen as I am scared of breaking the ceramics and never really feel comfortable with them. I will say the ceramics do seem particularly good at some cutting and not as good at others. Where ceramics are not good, they seem really bad as in the spaghetti squash mentioned above, for that I want a big heavy chefs knife.

[chef2sail]

Originally Posted by Tempest

My Favorite knive is the 10 inch version of this serrated knife. I've owned two of them for over 20 years. They get extensive use. They've never lost their edge.

Victorinox Forschner Rosewood Serrated Chef's Knife, 10-inch | cutleryandmore.com


They make a paring knife with a serrated edge too. Many of the higher end knives don't fit my hand as comfortably as the rosewood handles.

Victorinox (formerly Forschner) Rosewood 3.25" Serrated Paring Knife at Swiss Knife Shop

On the boat I keep a set of Kershaw interchangable blades similar to this one. they store nicely in a drawer.

Kershaw Deluxe Blade Trader Knife at The Kershaw Store

I've looked at the ceramic knifes, but haven't felt the need to experiment..

You cant hone a serated knife and line molecules on the edge for a superior cut, When you cut yourself with a serated knife it never heals right either. You cant sharpen a serated knife effectively either. Serrated knives are for cutting bread.

[chef2sail]

Originally Posted by Stumble

Personally I am not a fan of the shun/wustoff brands. They are really expensive for the quality, and while I consider them Ok knives, there are much better ones out there for less.

I beg to differ, but what do you consider better then? Is this a personal opinion or a professional one?

Dave