[Jesse17]

So I was watching a commercial for some ceramic cheif knife (and a cheese slicer) They claim it will never get dull.

I'm thinking that ceramic being harder than steel would stay sharper longer, but only slightly longer than an un-abused matalic blade since a kitchen knife is rarly used on anything very hard in the first place.

Also, I would think it would be quite brittle which I assume is why they don't offer it in anything but a thick cheif knife.

[Dillinger]

We have (3) of them. All Kyocera chef style knives.

As for sharp, they are hands down the sharpest knives in my kitchen, as long as you are NOT trying to cut meat with them. Vegetables, fruits, potatoes and anything else that wasn't once walking around feeding, stand no chance.

For quick cutting of an entire stir fry, they are amazing. They hold their edge for about this long - as long as you NEVER place them in the dishwasher and always hand wash them immediately after use and put them away.

Leaving them lying around, or putting them in the dishwasher as my lovely Mrs. JD has done, leaves you with a ceramic blade that looks like a comb or a gardening trowel.

If you take care of them, they are awesome and I highly recommend them. But you have to take care of them, or they are very fragile and will be a short use tool for you.

JD

[Franciscomv]

IMHO, they just aren't worth it. You need to be too careful with them and although edge holding is quite good it's not impressive when compared with top notch premium steels.

The thing is, most kitchen knives are made out of rather crappy steel. Most of the times properties like ease of sharpening and corrosion resistance (as well as price) take precedence to edge holding when a manufacturer chooses his steel. Good blade and edge geometries help make these steels perform well enough for most people's cooking needs.

I know loads of obsessive knife collectors, guys who wouldn't be caught dead with anything less than a S90V folder clipped to their pocket, who are perfectly happy with Victorinox kitchen knives. Althought the steel on most of those kitchen knives isn't anything to write home about compared to the top performers, they are very easy to keep hair splitting sharp. And since they are designed to be used at home, not in some distant wilderness, a couple of swipes on a stone after washing them isn't a big deal.

However, if you're looking for better performance in your kitchen cutlery, I think ceramic knives aren't the right way to go. I'd rather invest in something more durable, made from premium stainless steel. Shun is a good production brand to start with, it's owned by Kai Cutlery (the same folks behind Kershaw and Zero Tolerance). Their knife blades are 32 layer stainless damascus with a VG-10 core. The damascus outer layers are just for looks (they claim it improves performance, but I'm not 100% sold on that), but the VG-10 is much, much better than what most kitchen knife manufacturers use. You can get them here: Shun Kitchen Cutlery from Knifeworks

If you want something more unique, then check out JapaneseChefsKnife.Com Top Page Japanese Knife,Japanese Kitchen Knife,Japanese Cutlery,Japanese Chef's Knives.Com they offer loads of different Japanese models, both custom and production pieces.

So in a nutshell, I could have just answered "+1 to what JD said", but I love to hear myself type.

[TheDaggle]

Originally Posted by Franciscomv

I know loads of obsessive knife collectors, guys who wouldn't be caught dead with anything less than a S90V folder clipped to their pocket, who are perfectly happy with Victorinox kitchen knives. Althought the steel on most of those kitchen knives isn't anything to write home about compared to the top performers, they are very easy to keep hair splitting sharp...

What he said. I have my Victorinox Forschner set from my meatcutting days, and I don't really feel a need for much else, even though my particular knives are not intended for general kitchen applications.
Back when I was cutting, there were days I'd have to sharpen my beef knife and my boning knife 10, 15, maybe 20 times each per day, but when acquiring a near-razor edge takes less than a minute....
Victorinox is a solid choice.

[Jesse17]

Thanks guys! I forgot how much I like FTF. You guys are a wealth of information, and have a sence of humor too

[cpttango30]

I treat my knives like red headed step kids. I just got a new set of Kitchen-Aid knives not the best but better than I had. I almost got a Kyocera kife till I read up on all the care you have to give it and I am not for that. I am amazd that in 2 days I cleaned 3 guns. Now just two left.

My next knives are going to be a set of Knuckle sandwich knives from my man crush Guy Fieri.... ERGO CHEF :: The Home of the Ergonomic Knife

I still need a set of Ceramic cast iron as well but at over $500 for pots and pans they have to wait for a while.

[lonyaeger]

I'm tellin' ya, this is all we need any more. The days of the $200 steel Chef's knives are over. These babies stay sharp as hell, cut anything, and are so cheap at about $25 that, if you ever need another one, just throw it away and buy another one. I have many heavy-duty Henckels that I hardly use any more....I always grab this one!

[spyderfan]

I think some of the best kitchen knives are Shun Knives yea they are expensive like really expensive but they have superb steel vg-10. Close second is the Victorinox fibrox like above. Or you could buy a spyderco Endura that has Vg-10 steel but not really a kitchen knife.

[dwhawkman]

I cant stand it when my wife or daughter puts knives in the dishwasher. I always have to take them out and hand wash them myself.

Originally Posted by Dillinger

We have (3) of them. All Kyocera chef style knives.

As for sharp, they are hands down the sharpest knives in my kitchen, as long as you are NOT trying to cut meat with them. Vegetables, fruits, potatoes and anything else that wasn't once walking around feeding, stand no chance.

For quick cutting of an entire stir fry, they are amazing. They hold their edge for about this long - as long as you NEVER place them in the dishwasher and always hand wash them immediately after use and put them away.

Leaving them lying around, or putting them in the dishwasher as my lovely Mrs. JD has done, leaves you with a ceramic blade that looks like a comb or a gardening trowel.

If you take care of them, they are awesome and I highly recommend them. But you have to take care of them, or they are very fragile and will be a short use tool for you.

JD

[Glasshartt]

My best kitchen knives are my spydies. It is a shame that they don't make them any more.