Why we use knives? The most general answer will be to make our cutting and chopping job easier. Among various types of knives, every knife type has its own specialty. If so, then what would be an ultimate feature that we look for in every perfect knife?
Sharpness!
Yes, the answer is sharpness. It doesn’t matter whether you are a professional chef, housewife or a student. Everyone needs a sharp knife to do their kitchen job smoother and easier.
So, among huge types of knives, which one should you choose? You may think about steel made knives. Well, the steel made knives are the market dominated knives for recent decades.
However, if you need an affordable, lightweight, and very, very sharp knife, then I will suggest you go for ceramic knives. Okay then, what is ceramic knives and why you should go for it? Let me explain it to you.
What is a ceramic knife?
Ceramic knife is a non-metallic knife that is made from a special chemical element named Zirconium Dioxide. These knives are produced by dry pressing of Zirconium Dioxide powder and then firing them through solid-state sintering.
During this firing process, the ceramic knives become stable and sharper than traditional stainless steel made knives. However, for ceramic knives sharpening, you need a diamond. Because only diamond is harder than Zirconium Dioxide. With the help of a ceramic made knives, you can do your daily kitchen chores easier and hassle-free.
1. They are totally ceramic made
Whenever people think about ceramic, they may visualize a coffee mug or another soft kitchen utensil. But, the element of a coffee mug and ceramic build knives are not same. The most widely used ceramic for knives is known as “Zirconium Oxide” or simply “Zirconia”. This element is very hard. Actually harder than carbon steel or stainless steels. Moreover, it is rust free and won’t absorb any smell.
2. They are sharper than others
While introducing with a ceramic knife for the first time, it may look like a fancy plastic cutlery to you. But you will realize your mistake just after you had started working with this. The ceramic knives are super sharp. Moreover, for the ceramic knives sharpening is not a big deal.
They do not need to go through any sharpening process for a longer time. They stay sharp for years. There is already a famous rumor that the ceramic made knives will never need to be sharpened! Well, that’s not true by the way!
3. They are lightweight
Another great ceramic knife benefit is they are so lightweight. You may go crazy about thinking that how a knife can be that much thin with ultimate sharpness! Its weight gives an advantage over steel made knives. An average size ceramic knife is about half the weight of a steel blade.
However, the ultralight isn’t ideal for all. It will be ok for the kitchen chores, but you should not do any harder job with a lightweight knife. As a suggestion from us, you may go for the Japanese ceramic knives to get the best service from a ceramic knife.
4. Easy to clean and rust free
The steel made knives contain lots of pores which allows the dirt’s to get intimated with the material. On the other hand, the ceramic made knives contain tiny pores and they are easier to clean.
5. They are fragile
Though the hardness makes the ceramic knives too much resistant and sharp, they have a tendency of being fragile. That’s why a ceramic knife cannot be a replacement of a chef’s knife. However, the Kyocera ceramic knives aren’t that much fragile than others. If you are a student or single housewife, then the Kyocera ceramic knives will be a lifesaver for you.
Just because of a fan of steel made knives, you cannot underestimate any ceramic knife. On the other hand, you shouldn’t underestimate the steel made knives just because you are a fan of the ceramic knives. Let’s analyze the ceramic knives and steel made knives.
Nowadays most of the people go for ceramic knives because of their ultimate sharpness. Further, they are also harder than any steel made knives. On a hardness scale, their hardness is close to diamonds. Because of the larger edges, they don’t need to be sharpened as often.
Moreover, they are also lightweight, easy to clean, stain resistant, rust free and doesn’t absorb any odors. However, the hardness doesn’t mean that ceramic knives are unbreakable. They’re brittle.
They are also expensive than steel made knives. They are not versatile too. You cannot cut any hard ingredients using these knives. If you do so, it may break or chip.
Though the ceramic knives are good, the steel made knives are also good for the tough jobs. Unlike the ceramic knives, the steel made knives are easily stuck with magnet plate. They can be easily sharpened and the steel sharpener also widely available in the market.
The blade of these knives is more solid than the ceramics. But the steel knives need to be sharpened more frequently. The blade is almost breakable and tough jobs are riskier for the handle. That’s why you have to ensure a great care for these knives.
In conclusion:
Hope that now you have an overall idea about ceramic knives and steel made. Both of them have their unique specialty. Just like another element of your kitchen, choosing a knife is also coming down to your personal preference. However, my personal recommendation will be to keep both types of knives in your kitchen.
Though you can do almost every cutting jobs with your ceramic knife, the steel made knife will help you to cut the harder ingredients like frozen meat, meat with bones etc. But if you have already decided to keep only one knife in your kitchen, then I will suggest you go for ceramic knives. Remember, ceramic knives are simply marvelous!
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_knife
https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-rehandle-ceramic-knives/
https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/1578/How+do+you+keep+Ceramic+Knives+sharp
