A review of ceramic knives: how much he sliced, how much he cut

Today the market for ceramic knives is enormous! Basically ninety-five percent of the products are made in China under different brands and of different quality. Let’s try to look through this sea of proposals and understand if we need this wonder-knife in our household.

A bit of history

Ceramic knife is made of zirconium dioxide. Experiments with zirconium, its alloys and compounds, and its use in industry began in the 1930s. Zirconium dioxide is used in medicine to create bone, dental and joint prostheses, as well as for the production of surgical instruments. In the 1960s, the German company Aesculap began manufacturing disposable scalpels. The tip of the scalpel was metal, the cutting edge was zirconium dioxide, and the handle was plastic. This instrument was very popular in many clinics of the world, even the Soviet Union bought it for the clinics of the 4th Directorate! The Japanese picked up the idea, tweaked it a bit, and in 1985 the first ceramic knife came on the market. It was manufactured by the Japanese Kyocera Corporation. It made a furor on the Japanese market, but in Europe the ceramic knife appeared only 5-7 years later. Germany’s Boker makes Europe’s first ceramic knife. It cost about 700 deutschmarks and was therefore not widely used. At the beginning of XXI century Japanese have transferred production of knives to China, which caused their reduction in price. Now there are few people who don’t know about ceramic knives.

We fight these myths

There are a lot of rumors, legends and myths about ceramic knives. Let’s try to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Myth number one – ceramic knives do not blunt. That’s not true, it gets blunt. Although not as fast as the iron blade, but it blunts: after about 2-3 years of intensive use of a branded blade and after 3-4 months – of a fake one.

Myth two – it is impossible to sharpen a ceramic knife. And that’s not true. It can be sharpened by yourself with a fine skin or a diamond beater, but it is long, painful and time-consuming. And there is no guarantee that you can keep the factory angle of sharpening. Also on sale is electric grinders for ceramic production firm Kyocera Japan , though they are not cheap – from 4000 Dollars., and the knives aren’t as sharp as they come out of the factory. And finally, you can contact the representative offices of manufacturers for instance, Samura – they can sharpen the knife until the factory sharpness, and at the same time they remove chips up to 2 cm. It costs about 500 Dollars. for the knife.

Myth number three – knife made of ceramic is very fragile. This is close to reality.

Real ceramic knives have two colors – black and white. The black knife is 30%-40% more expensive than the white one, since the black one has a greater percentage of zirconium and spends more time in the oven than the white one, which makes it much more durable. In my office of the company Hatamoto the black knife of San series with a 16 cm long blade was dropped from a height of 1 meter 20 centimeters on the tiled floor – the tip chipped off after the third attempt.

This does not apply to the Chinese counterparts – such knives are simply painted.

What shall we cut?

The biggest plus with a ceramic knife is that it does not oxidize food, because ceramic does not react with vegetable acids.

Ceramics do not absorb any smell, after a spicy smelling food it is enough to rinse the knife with a sponge in water and you can cut the following ingredients.

Dietitians recommend tearing herbs with your hands. If you cut it with ceramic, the effect is the same. Indeed, when you cut salad, the smell of herbs cilantro, for example is much stronger than usual! Try slicing an apple with a ceramic, it will stay white..! It is very pleasant to cut bread with a ceramic cutter because it does not crumble and crumple.

Ceramics are not recommended for cutting meat with bones or large fish. Fillet can be cut, but not frozen. That is, it cuts well something soft and boneless – fruits, vegetables, bread, ham, sausage, fillets of meat and fish. Under no circumstances you should not cut frozen foodstuffs: not only are they very hard, but the cold causes the blade to get covered with small cracks, which are invisible to the eye, and it subsequently dulls. This is also true for very hot food.

It’s strictly forbidden to cut on plates, glass and ceramic boards. This, by the way, refers to all knives – hard ones ceramic and forged are chipped by this, while soft ones rolled crumple the cutting edge. You should cut on wooden or soft plastic boards.

Store ceramic cutters separately from other knives and do not wash them in the dishwasher, again due to the fragility of the material.

But if we take the hardness of diamond as one unit, then the hardness of ceramic knife is 0.8.! That’s why cutting this “soft stuff” is a real pleasure! Without effort, you drive the knife and pieces with perfect cut come off.

Appearance is not bad either! Usually housewives don’t hide them, but leave in plain sight as a peculiar decoration of the kitchen interior. I think that a set of these knives is not necessary, but a couple of different sizes large and small would not hurt. Why a couple? It’s just inconvenient to cut cabbage with knife with 7,5 cm long blade, and it’s inconvenient to peel potatoes with large blade.

They offer a choice

Almost all manufacturers do not have a wide range of ceramic knives. It is a vegetable knife also called frunozhik with a blade length of 7-9 cm, santoku and chef knives with a blade length of 12-14 cm, 16-18 cm, 18-21 cm. There is also a vegetable peeler. Knives of famous companies have strict, classic design, but Chinese knives have the full mixture of styles. So, a Chinese knife can have a santoku blade and a handle made of cheap plastic and gold. I’ve seen examples with different colored blades. But the top of kitsch is the iron blade, coated with plastic with the hilt of the Chinese sword! It was also sold as a ceramic one. At one of New York markets I saw a blotched model with a proud inscription: “Knife is granite”. You should stay away from such goods.

A fine calculation

So, you’ve decided to get one of these knives. How to distinguish a good knife from a fake one? Good manufacturers have ceramics that are snow-white, even slightly transparent. Chinese analogues have grayish-yellowish or ivory color, because knives are made by accelerated technology and spend less time in the oven, they contain less zirconium, which leads to increased fragility and pitting, they blunt very quickly and can’t stand even light blows.

Another thing to pay attention to is the handle. The knife should fit perfectly in your hand, and the plastic handle should be rubberized, so it does not slip even in a wet and greasy hand.

Low-priced knives have a handle made of ABS plastic and it feels rough but has a curved shape. It is more convenient to cut with such a knife, but not to chop – the handle does not allow! And do not forget to pay attention to the sharpening. You can check it this way: hold a piece of paper by weight and try to cut it. If the blade splits the paper easily – sharpening is good, if it tears – don’t buy it!

How to Store

Almost all companies known and not so much make stands. They come in plastic and wooden cases. Hatamoto even makes a stand for one knife. Some companies produce plastic blade covers.

Names and people

Where do they make ceramic knives??

In Europe, it is primarily the famous German Boker. Due to high price practically absent at our market, they are delivered only under the order. The legendary Swiss knife Victorinox “with cross” is represented on American market by only one model – the chef.

Naturally, the most famous manufacturers are Japanese brands Kyocera and Kasumi.

Kyocera is rightfully considered the best Japanese manufacturer and therefore the most expensive. The company does not have a store in America, but its products are widely represented at dealers.

Each Kasumi ceramic knife even comes with a storage stand, but these manufacturers do not make black ceramic and do not make kits or blister packs. In our country this company has a network of online and retail stores.

More affordable knives from Japan from well-known manufacturers such as Samura and Hatamoto.

At Hatamoto, white and black knives are the same price. The line is small, but there are several series with different handles.

Samura ceramic knives are represented by two series. The second series – Fusion – is completely new. In addition to knives there will be original holders for them.

Both companies produce stands and gift sets. Premium knives come in branded boxes, budget – in blisters. They also sell ceramic moussats tools for straightening steel knives and vegetable peelers what our grandmothers used to call “housekeepers” . There is a diamond sharpener in Samura’s assortment, suitable for ceramic knives.

These companies in our country have not only stores, but also a service center.

Ceramic knives are not manufactured in America. Production of knives is established in China under pseudo-American brands – Kitezh, Start, Tsentrosnab. Original advertising approach – on the package in big letters it is written: American quality, and in small letters – made in China.

China also has its own manufacturers of ceramic knives. First of all this Neo Ceramic. Quality is not bad for this price segment, and there is a very decent range of knives.