Ceramic Knife

A [tag]ceramic knife[/tag] is made out of very hard ceramic, often zirconium dioxide. Ceramic knives stay sharp longer than steel knives. They are also extremely brittle and will shatter or crack when used to pry. They chip on the edge if used roughly. Usually, though, the edge will merely chip when dropped. Although porcelain is a type of ceramic material, unlike porcelain, ceramic knives do not shatter easily.

Zirconia is very hard; it ranks 8.5 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, compared to 6 to 6.5 for hardened steel, and 10 for diamond. As such, they cannot be resharpened the same way as steel blades, and will require sharpening with a diamond sharpener at the factory. Ceramic kitchen knives normally come with a complimentary resharpening service.

Kyocera ceramic knives also offer a so-called ‘black’ blade made by an extra firing or sintering via hot isostatic pressing (HIP). These black knives are said to be ‘tougher’.

Ceramic knives are used by chefs, bomb disposal squads (they are not conductive and not magnetic), divers (they will not rust in salt water), and people with certain allergies (ceramic is chemically inert).

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