Ceramic

[coinbuysell]

I also bought one on clearance for under $5 about 6-7 years ago and it is still going strong. It is fully serrated and does a solid job on reactive and softer foods but I am sure not to use it on bone in meat, etc. It is a little small so my wife got me another one last Christmas on sale for the same $5ish and it is a little larger santoku that works great for slicing tender smoked brisket and roasts from the crock pot but I use my "real" knives when cutting much else.

My wife uses them constantly and cuts raw carrots with them every couple of days for dog treats (don't get me started) and they have never chipped or broken and seem to be as sharp as they ever were.

Her grandfather was a butcher in W TX so we inherited a few really nice old carbon Case knives and received a pretty nice set for a wedding present 30+ years ago so I tend to use the steel but they have their place as long as you don't abuse them.

 

[Rhinoknives1]

I also bought one on clearance for under $5 about 6-7 years ago and it is still going strong. It is fully serrated and does a solid job on reactive and softer foods but I am sure not to use it on bone in meat, etc. It is a little small so my wife got me another one last Christmas on sale for the same $5ish and it is a little larger santoku that works great for slicing tender smoked brisket and roasts from the crock pot but I use my "real" knives when cutting much else.

My wife uses them constantly and cuts raw carrots with them every couple of days for dog treats (don't get me started) and they have never chipped or broken and seem to be as sharp as they ever were.

Her grandfather was a butcher in W TX so we inherited a few really nice old carbon Case knives and received a pretty nice set for a wedding present 30+ years ago so I tend to use the steel but they have their place as long as you don't abuse them.

Dogs love carrots I’d buy the baby carrots and put them in with the dogs good! She’s gone now and the little doggie we adopted after her passing doesn’t have any teeth. No more carrots! Ceramic Knives? No thanks! Steel all of the way!

 

[whp]

The chipping is a HUGE issue with ceramic kitchen knives.
If you got a sec, I got a story that relates.

I work in a professional kitchen (worked actually, thanks covid!) and one day we had a company floating chef come in to help with a big catering event. He brought in his own knives and proceeded to cut a whole slew of raw veggies for a bunch of crudite platters (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, celery, etc.). When he finished the head chef and I came over to help plate all the veggies.
When we were nearly done I noticed the white bladed knife and asked the guy if it was ceramic.
He proudly replied "Yeah, I love it. It never needs to be sharpened."
I pick it up, look close at the edge and ask him "don't these things chip?"
"only when you cut something really dense or with bones"
"Like say, a bunch of large carrots? This has a bunch of nicks along the edge." I said.
silence..
Without saying a word, the head chef walks over, gently removes the knife from my hand, and inspects the edge. Next he uses his arm to sweep everything off the table into the trash basket and all over the floor. He then walks away. About 5 minutes later he comes back with a cart full of uncut veggies, kicks the trash barrel out of the way , making more of a mess, grabs a new cutting board and a regular kitchen knife and drops them in front of the other chef.
Finally he speaks and says to me "go take your break". He looks at the guy and gestures to the cart, "Service starts in less than an hour" and walks away.

So yeah, I avoid ceramic like the plague.

Interesting story. This killed any interest I might have had in getting one for the kitchen.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

I like them for what they are. They tend to hold up to most kitchen food prep barring thick/hard foods, and their thin profile makes them slice really well even when they start to lose their edge. I had a cheap set of three that came in a plastic block that we beat on for about 5 years. Chipped the edge out of a couple, but the last one only died from all the years of putting pressure on the blade to the point that the partial tang actually cracked through the cheap plastic handle. The blade and tang was totally fine. The handle just split down the seam.

My wife just bought me a cased 4 pack set that also came with a ceramic peeler for Father's Day. I bet they ran about $40 for the set. A Chef-like knife with more of a Santoku shape, a utility, and two sizes of what I am going to call paring knives. I mostly use the Chef knife, so I keep it in the drawer so that it's handy. The rest just stay in the case. The peeler is garbage.

I enjoy them, and when they chip out/break, I'll just toss them. I'm not going to spend time and effort sharpening a knife that was basically designed to be disposable.

One thing I am happy to read about in this thread is the ceramic utility blades. Those would be perfect for my ScrewPop with the only draw back being that the magnet won't hold them in place.