# Ceramic Cooking Knives **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 21, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceramic-cooking-knives/393075 "2007-02-21T12:24:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceramic-cooking-knives/393075/1 "2007-02-21T12:24:44Z")
I’m not sure if this need to go here or in Cafe Society as it relates specifically to kitchen knives, but I’m intrigued by the idea of a ceramic blade. They are supposed to be ultra sharp and to hold their edge better than even carbon steel, but they sound a bit gimmicky to me and possibly even too brittle to stand up to the rough and tumble of regular home kitchen use. Does anyone here own one? Would any professional chef worth his salt ever use one? They all seem to be going for Global knives in traditional steel. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceramic-cooking-knives/393075/2 "2007-02-21T15:39:26Z")
I’ve never used one, so I have no firsthand experience. Still, I’ve done a ton of reading as I’ve outfitted my kitchen over the years, and everybody says ceramic knives are really cool for the first two weeks, until they get the first little chip or ding out of the blade, at which point they become entirely useless, and you wonder if you shouldn’t have just thrown the $200 right in the trash. They can’t be honed or sharpened or repaired, see. And there’s virtually nothing they can do that you can’t do with a high-quality metal blade at a quarter of the cost and a significant multiple of the lifespan. The one exception might be super-high-end sushi, where you don’t want even a hint of a taste of the metal, but how often will you be doing that? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceramic-cooking-knives/393075/3 "2007-02-21T15:44:48Z")
I love my ceramic knife. I have used it for a couple of years. I gave them a Christmas gifts to family and friends. They love them also. It is great for vegetables. You still need a metal knife for things with bones. ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceramic-cooking-knives/393075/4 "2007-02-21T15:48:36Z")
Was it expensive? How do you protect it against the chips and dings Cervaise mentioned? How on earth are you supposed to keep it sharp if you can’t sharpen it? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceramic-cooking-knives/393075/5 "2007-02-21T16:09:48Z")
Keeping it free of chips. Don’t cut meat with bones in it. Don’t throw it in the sink when cleaning it. Don’t store it in a drawer. Basically except for the bones treat it like a nice knife. It has not needed sharpening yet to a large extent that is sort of the point of these knives. When it does you send it to kyocera to sharpen. I got it for about $130 or so. Here has it for $117. > **[Chef's Resource - We are trusted by millions of home cooks as the authority...](https://www.chefsresource.com)** > > We are trusted by millions of home cooks as the authority for best recipes, cooking tips, and much more. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceramic-cooking-knives/393075/6 "2007-02-21T18:32:31Z")
Ceramic? Great for sushi. It don’t rust or stain. Stay sharp for a long time. Just don’t drop it. Or put in dishwasher. And please don’t use it to pry apart two frozen hamburger patties. _S N A P ! ! !_ ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceramic-cooking-knives/393075/7 "2007-02-21T20:37:46Z")
My parents have a couple of them, and have for several years. Mom loves them for things like slicing grape tomatoes finely. On the other hand, if she could turn back time to when she acquired them and the new (very hard) cutting board, she’d never have used the ceramic knives on that cutting board. And yes, at least one has an appalling amount of chips, though the knife is still functional.