Whats the deal with ceramic blades?

Crank

Crank

Joined
Apr 22, 2003
Messages
9
I'm just curious. What exactly would you want a ceramic blade for? Do they hold an edge better? Are they stronger? I'm sure one benefit would be the anti-rust factor. Or is it just a marketing ploy to get you to buy something different? Someone please fill me in on their pros and cons and let me know what they are used for. Thanks.

...Crank
 
Crank, welcome to Bladeforums!

Ceramic knives are more hype than anything else. They are too brittle for heavy use. They are good at holding an edge, but unfortunately most of them don't seem very sharp -- the secondary bevel is blunt, to prevent chipping, I guess.

I have a Boker Delta folder, a real space-age look, and it cuts well, but not superbly. With its titanium handle, it cleans up easily, and makes a good small kitchen knife.

I've read that Kyocera kitchen knives are good, but they cost real money and I do fine with steel, so I never got into them.
 
Crank,

I recieved one just after Boker introduced thiers, I beleive they were the first to market ceramic blades. To make a short story shorter, I dropped it, blade broke, I threw it in the trash and never looked back. The Boker was/is to damn brittle for every day usage. Add that to the inability to sharpen, and you have a tool with limited uses and life.

At this point in time I don't believe there is any ceramic compositions that are competitive with steel for knife blades. Especially, that can compete price wise.
 
Another issue of ceramic blades is that you cant sharpen them yourself. Have to send them back to the Manufacterer to have it done.
 
You can sharpen ceramic knives yourself, then can be ground on common abrasives. I use a several grades of SiC sandpaper that I bought for a dollar at a craft store.

Many manufacturers leave the bevels thick on ceramic knives, and also generally they are not sharpened well. This doesn't indicate the optimal performance, you find similar performance in many steel blades, you need to seek out the quality manufacturers.

Ceramic blades cannot get sharper than steel, at least I have seen none that were. However ceramic kitchen knives from Kyocera come *far* sharper than most western kitchen knives and have far more acute bevels so they cut much better as well.

They however are not overly durable as are all ceramic blades and you can break them without much effort so no prying or bone cutting. They are however completely free of oxidation and the edges last much longer than the common steel knives in the kitchen.

-Cliff
 
The major practical use of ceramic blades is in kitchen knives.

Some foods can take on a bitter, metalic taste from even momentary contact with a metal blade. Others will react with a metal blade and discolor. Again, this can happen almost instantly from only momentary contact.

Finally, there are people who have very extreme metal sensitivities (for practical purposes, an alergy though technically you can't be alergic to an inorganic material). This is particularly common among people taking certain chemotherapy drugs. Some people can become so sensitive that eating foods cut with a metal knife can make them sick.
 
I bought a Boker Infinity, and I've corresponded with some ceramic researchers. I'll reinforce a couple of previously made comments. It is possible to sharpen them yourselves (for example with an Edge Pro and diamond strips). In theory they have better abrasion resistance than steel so in theory they should require less edge maintenance. However they chip so much that I ended up spending a lot more time rather than less maintaining the Infinity. I could get it reasonably sharp, but not nearly as sharp as a steel edge for the same effort.

I expect that some of the new ceramics coming down the pike will improve on the toughness, and hopefully improve the sharpness, and wouldn't be surprised if ceramics replaced steel in many knife applications in, say, a decade. Right now though they aren't really a good choice except in specialized situations where you don't want steel.
 
i too have a boker ceramic blade. i quite like it it is very lightweight and as sharp as steel. plus its always nice to have something different

its definately not for heavy use i would say its good as a weapon more than anything else. very lightweight, sharp and virtually undetectable by metal detectors are their main advantages. I dont even know if they would show as anything special on an x ray machine?

its also totally corrosion proof as previousley stated. I would however not use it as an EDC. If i could i would probably carry it sometimes however only with a steel blade for EDC use

if you like the black blade look then this black blade will never wear through to shiny steel cos its black right through!
 
The advantage of ceramic blades is that they hold an edge for a long time - usually 5 or more times longer than any steel blade. The reason for this, though, is that the blades are hard. In fact they are hard enough to be brittle and that's the reason for the issues that others have listed above. While I don't care for and own ceramic blades myself, I can tell you that they are popular and we see very few returns so the benefits outweigh the disadvantages for many people. Take care.
 
Originally posted by bladefixation
very lightweight, sharp and virtually undetectable by metal detectors are their main advantages. I dont even know if they would show as anything special on an x ray machine?
Click to expand...
Presumably you have a knife in mind with ceramic blade, handle, lock, and pivot?

My Boker's ceramic blade may not show on a metal detector but the titanium handle sure will! Even if that were Zytel, the stainless steel lockback would.
 
Originally posted by Esav Benyamin
Presumably you have a knife in mind with ceramic blade, handle, lock, and pivot?

My Boker's ceramic blade may not show on a metal detector but the titanium handle sure will! Even if that were Zytel, the stainless steel lockback would.
Click to expand...

i have the ceramic infinity the only metal in that is a 1/2 mm thick titamium liner lock. With a small allen key i guess i could take that out and replace it with something plastic which would to the job 'in extremis' ??
 
I have dropped Mad Dog Mirage X ceramics on some hard surfaces with nary a problem. They cut very well and are not that sharp to the touch, due to the bevel angle. I enjoy having these fine ceramic blades along with my varied steel knives. Every once in a while, it's nice to have some ceramic-ware for social situations where steel won't do.
 
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