Ceramic Knives – The Cutting Edge?

Since time immemorial, chefs have wanted one thing – a quality knife that stays sharp. Kyocera ceramic knives may be the answer…

Ceramic knives, once treated with distrust by traditionalists, are becoming increasingly popular with professional and home chefs alike. Based in Japan, the Kyocera Corporation is one of the world leaders in the manufacture of ceramic components for the technology industry. When they turned their attention to the kitchen, the Kyocera knife range was born. But what exactly is a ceramic knife, and what are the benefits?

The Manufacturing Process

Ceramic knives are usually made from zirconium dioxide. This mineral powder is dry pressed into a mould, and then fired to an incredibly high temperature, using the sintering method. The powder melts, and fuses together, to create a blank. This blank is then shaped, and an edge ground on using diamond dust coated grinding wheels. Technically speaking, zirconia is harder than steel. On the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, steel knives (even hardened ones) rank approximately 6-6.5, whereas zirconia ranks 8.5, second only to diamond. You also may have noticed that there are different colours of blades, white and black, and that the black tend to be more expensive than the white. The reason for this is that the black blades have been through an extra stage during manufacture, hot isostatic pressing. This process makes them even tougher than their white counterparts.

Features and Benefits

Harder than Steel – A ceramic knife will hold a sharper edge, for longer than a traditional steel knife. This means that where a steel knife will need sharpened by a home cook approximately every few months, a ceramic knife will last a year without being sharpened, possibly a lot longer depending on use.

Stain and Rust Proof – Unlike traditional steel knives, which can develop rust spots (particularly ones with a higher carbon content), ceramic is impervious to corrosion, so no more rust spots on the blade after cutting lemons and limes!

Lightweight – Kyocera ceramic knives are incredibly light, at least half the weight of a traditional steel knife. For chefs working for long periods of time (or the rest of us, when the extended family drops by for dinner!) this is actually very important as fatigue in the hands is less of a problem.

Hygienic – Zirconia ceramic is far less porous than steel, meaning that there are less nooks and crannies for germs to hide in. The will also not degrade in the way that some cheaper steel knives can.

Taint Free - The Kyocera ceramic blade will impart no metallic after taste upon fruit and vegetables and will not brown the edges of salad leaves.

TOP TIP! - As Kyocera ceramic knives are very hard, they are not suitable for cutting bone, frozen foods or very firm items. A cleaver would be most suitable for these tasks.