This guy gets it about the drawbacks of ceramic knives. Except he misses a few points why I am not giving up my liking for ceramic knives. It is all in the applications, and there is the fact that Kyocera offers factory sharpening if you need it. But first the video, for you’ll learn a lot.
I did not think it was fair of this reviewer not to mention the factory sharpening by Kyocera. Kyocera is my hands down favorite in the world, they are the best ceramics manufacturer, for many applications, and they are also extremely well managed the book From Zero to Kyocera, by company founder Kazuo Inamori is highly recommended.
The simple fact is ceramics stay sharp longer, as long as you use them in a reasonable fashion, but also, they can solve few problems. My main use cases are for working on lemons and limes, so I do not have to expose my steel knives to all that acid, and secondly they are my favorite for gutting the ribs out of serrano and jalapeño peppers, when I want to de-seed them. I find that with their rounded tip, thiey are very good at this particular task, whereas a sharper tip that is typical with steel knives might get me caught here and there.
Note also that they do offer a sharpener that can handle ceramic knives, so the factory sharpening is not your only option. Here are my favorites:
- Kyocera Innovation White 3″ paring knife.
- Kyocera Revolution 3″ Paring knife
- Kyocera Advanced Ceramic Revolution Series 4.5-inch Utility Knife
- Kyocera Innovation White 4.5″ Utility Knife
- Kyocera Advanced Diamond Knife Sharpener for Ceramic or Steel Knives.
The reason I like the ceramic knives is because they excel in cutting delicate things, if you ever make the mistake of trying to cut hard things, you will likely regret it. I ruined one once by trying to cut the stem of an artichoke.
Can you live without ceramic knives? Yes! But if you do a lot of food prep like I do, it pays to have the right utensils. Just know what they are good at and don’t ruin them by using them for the wrong tasks.