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It is a fact that a sharp knife is essential not only for cutting chores but also for preventing any damage that a dull knife is likely to induce. Thus, re-sharpening is indispensable! After all, no knife can stay sharp throughout its lifetime without re-sharpening.
However, how would it be if you have a knife that requires re-sharpening the least number of times? This is the power of a ceramic knife. Instead of sharpening your chef’s knife made up of steel now and then, isn’t it efficient to have a knife made up of the ceramic material? This guide will help you find the best ceramic knife you’re looking for.
Click here to find out our favorite ceramic knife on Amazon
Sharper than steel, a ceramic edge will retain its sharpness for a far longer period than a steel one and hardly demands re-sharpening. This is why ceramic knives are becoming the most preferred knives for several home cooks.
This guide will help you choose the best ceramic knives. To make this informed decision, you need to know about them inside out. So, let’s explore them!
2024’s 3 Best Ceramic Knives Reviews
Kyocera Advanced Ceramic Revolution Series 7-inch Professional Chef’s Knife
One of the best ceramic knives comes from the esteemed brand, Kyocera. It is ideal for larger slicing chores. Made with the Japanese zirconia Z206 material, the 7-inch ceramic, professional chef’s knife sustains its extremely sharp edge up to 10x longer than a steel edge.
Easy to clean, the blades are such that no food contamination or discoloration will occur regardless of the food you are handling. Kyocera ceramic knife is dishwasher-friendly but should be on the top rack.
Pros
- Light
- Professional-size blade
- Ultra-sharp
- Clean and precise cuts
- No food browning
- Ergonomic handle
Cons
- No sheath
VOS 8-inch Ceramic Knife Chef with Sheath Cover Box and Cookbook
This green-colored ceramic knife is admired for its ability to slice quickly. It is very light in weight, has a white ceramic blade, and comes with the ergonomic, green handle. It is also dishwasher-friendly.
While holding it, the lightweight feeling is great; it gives an illusion of not holding anything. You also get more control along with speed while slicing things. The sharp blade cuts anything as if it is passing through butter.
The zirconium ceramic blade is such that the sharpness is retained 15x longer than the steel counterparts. It is impervious to all kitchen ingredients. The handle is ergonomic with its solid grip feel.
Pros
- Modern look
- Light
- Ergonomic handle
- Quick slicing
- Well-balanced
- Blade guard, sheath, and e-cookbook included
- Affordable
Cons
- Not very sharp
VOS Ceramic Knife Set
Shipped with a storage-cum-presentation box, this VOS ceramic knife comes with a 3-inch paring, 4-inch utility, and a 6-inch chef’s knife along with a peeler made up of ceramic. All of them have white zirconia blades, blade guards, and colored handles, ensuring a proper grip. You also get a protective sheath for each of them. It’s one of the best ceramic knife set available in the market.
The original sharpness is retained up to 15x longer than the steel counterparts. With these knives, tough cutting gets easy due to a well-balanced and safe grip. They are also easy to clean with no rust at all.
Pros
- Colorful look
- Knives of different sizes
- Ergonomic
- Blade guards and cookbook included
- Super affordable
Cons
- Not that sharp
- No thin-slicing possible
Overview
As the name indicates, ceramic knives are made using a ceramic material, which is typically zirconium dioxide or zirconia. This material is quite hard and profoundly lasting. Many manufacturers use dry-pressing powder of zirconia, which is then fired. Next, the blade is grounded using a grinding wheel that is layered with diamond dust.
The best options are lighter than metal knives and are resistant to oxidization, rust, or erosion, unlike metal knives. They also bear acids and caustic items better than metal knives and require minimal sharpening. They are versatile enough to cut veggies and fruits. If serrated, they can even slice bread.
Sounds perfect, isn’t it? Well, on the flip side, ceramic knives are not all-purpose tools. They are limited to a few kitchen chores. Thus, ceramic knives cannot replace steel knives. Where they cannot work, steel knives can!
The Difference between Ceramic Knives and Steel Knives
Both these knives are useful in kitchens for cutting and thin slicing, but they have their benefits and limitations. On the Moh’s hardness scale, zirconia ranks 8.5, which is more than steel with a rating of 4.5 and hardened steel with 7.5 to 8. Diamond ranks 10, which is why it is tagged as the toughest material.
From these rankings, it is clear that ceramic is harder than steel. This is also the reason why they can retain sharpness until such a duration due to which re-sharpening them becomes quite infrequent.
On the other hand, when it comes to re-sharpening steel knives, the frequency is significant. In many cases, you will have to give them to the company. At times, you will have to do the task on your own by using a professional sharpener that can be costly.
The hardness that the ceramic tools have come at a price; they are more prone to chipping due to being more brittle than steel if you mishandle them (drop them).
Following are more points of distinction:
- Steel knives are usually heavier than ceramic knives. Thus, the latter can quickly chop and slice
- Unlike steel knives, ceramic knives do not sustain odors. This means they transfer fewer germs. They do not even get stained while slicing foods. To keep the odor at bay after cutting spices or onions, you only have to rinse a ceramic knife.
- Ceramic knives are non-reactive, meaning they do not rust or corrode, unlike steel knives.
From these points of distinction, it is clear that a ceramic knife is a better option for those who are tired of re-sharpening and a healthier option for whom food contamination is a big issue.
How to Choose the Best Ceramic Knife for Your Kitchen
Ceramic knives are valuable assets for any culinary master. However, they are available in different varieties, such as in various sizes, shapes, and price tags. This is why you can rely on them for undertaking multiple chores.
However, choosing one or two from them can be confusing, considering the different options available. To make this selection easy, you should consider comparing the different, promising models based on their features. In this way, you can find the best ceramic knife for your needs. So, let’s explore these features.
Types
There are different types of ceramic knives from which you can choose. These are as follows:
- Ceramic chef’s knives, which are ideal for fast tasks. They are reliable for mincing, dicing, cutting, and slicing veggies. They are easy to use.
- Ceramic serrated knives are ideal for slicing bread and chopping veggies and soft fruits.
- Ceramic utility knives are ideal for getting clean cuts. You can rely on them for peeling, slicing, and chopping. However, their blades are smaller than those of the ceramic chef’s knives.
- Ceramic paring knives are ideal for any task, except for cutting into bones. Their blades are smaller than chef’s as well as utility knives.
- Ceramic Santoku knives are ideal for several uses, just like the traditional santokus being used in Japanese kitchens. The blades are likely to be 5-6 inches long.
In short, the type is nothing but the kind of knife you need in your kitchen. It is just that you can buy its ceramic version instead of the steel one.
Construction
How ceramic knives are built matters significantly. This is because it is what contributes to quality and durability. Different construction types exist for these knives, which are as follows:
- Stamped: This is how a flat sheet of build material or metal is used to make a ceramic knife. Such a knife can act as a boning knife. Its blade is light but cannot hold a sharp edge.
- Forged: This is how each unit of build material is molded by generating high heat. Such a knife is balanced as well as long-lasting. It can even hold its sharp edge. As ceramic knives have very sharp blades, the knack to retain the sharp edge makes forged construction a better option.
Blade
The best ceramic kitchen knives will have all the top blade features. Their blades are resistant to rust, and bacterial growth retains the edge sharpness for long periods, does not get damaged with regular use, and does not react with salts, acids, oils, and fats. Look for such a blade!
You also need to choose the edge material that should be pure zirconium, which is affordable as well as highly durable. However, ensure that it is only zirconium, and no other blending ingredients are present. You can find this out by going through the customer reviews.
Tang
Tang refers to the section of the blade extending into the handle. The more the extension is, the stronger the knife is. A ceramic knife can feature a partial, rat-tail, or a full tang.
Full tang is where that section of the blade passes throughout the handle. In partial tang, the extension is only until the handle’s top. Rat-tail tang features a thin tail going inside the handle and being wrapped by the handle.
It is advisable to choose full tang, as it makes a knife easier to control and ensures more stability.
One Knife or Set
Several ceramic knives are sold in sets. So, you will quickly come across the sets with two or more ceramic knives. Each one of them will differ in blade size and tasks to be handled. Your choice will be as per the desired use of the available blades. It is wise to choose the best ceramic knife set if you have several chores to do with ceramic knives.
Ease of Cleaning
It is easy to clean a ceramic knife. However, you will only have to protect your hands from the extremely sharp edge. While a few knives are washable by hands, others are labeled as dishwasher-friendly. For the latter, it is wise to check the manufacturer’s product description.
FAQs
Can I cut anything with a ceramic knife?
No! You should not use this knife for cutting semi-frozen or frozen foods, meats, bones, or anything harder than them. This is because the blade is so thin and brittle enough to handle these items. If you try to use it over them, it is likely to chip from the tip and edge. Even if it drops onto the hard floor, it is prone to chipping.
How to sharpen a ceramic knife?
Ceramic knives indeed retain their sharp edge ten times longer than their metallic counterparts. Thus, there is no need to re-sharpen it consistently. However, this cannot deny the fact the sharpness will start losing, although after a long time.
As ceramic is a hard material, it is tough for anyone to re-sharpen. This is because the known sharpening tools such as whetstone, honing steel, and electric knife sharpeners are ineffective. You would need a tougher material such as diamond for re-sharpening it.
A diamond grit sharpener working on electricity is required here. Nevertheless, such a sharpener can be costly. Thus, a more affordable option is to buy another ceramic knife as they will perform well for a long time.
Here is our detailed article on how to sharpen a ceramic knife
How do I care for ceramic knives?
Always use your ceramic knife on a cutting board made up of plastic, softwood, or silicone. Marble, ceramic, or glass boards can harm the blade. Even if a ceramic knife is dishwasher-friendly, it is recommended not to put it in your dishwasher. This is because the pressure of the water puts force on its cutting edge such that it can chip.
How do I store ceramic knives?
Ceramic knives are prone to chipping due to which they need thorough protection in your storage area where other utensils are also kept. It is wise to place in a plastic sheath, wooden block, or in the integrated blade guard if available.
Are black ceramic blades stronger than the white ones?
Yes, as they pass through a special process that makes them stronger.
Conclusion
Ceramic knives, although very sharp, are not meant for all kitchen tasks. However, they rarely need sharpening during their lifespan. They are also very light, tough, and economical. The best ceramic knife should be versatile, last longer, and great value for money. Hence we recommend Kyocera ceramic knife.
Hi, I am Jay. I am the creator of Knife Guides, your one-stop site for everything related to knives. I am a computer engineer by profession, knife aficionado by passion. Here I work with a group of people who’ve always had a passion for knives and blades. Over the years we’ve kind of become experts and decided to share our knowledge and ideas. I am also an avid hiker and enjoy offshore gamefishing.
