Are Ceramic Knives Better Than Stainless Steel (Pros & Cons)
If I be extremely straight forward in answering the question “Are Ceramic Knives Better Than Stainless Steel?”, I’d say “NO”, Ceramic knives are certainly NOT better than stainless steel knives, but later in this article you will learn.
What will you learn in this article?
- Ceramic Knife vs Stainless steel knife (Which one is better to have?)
- How to Sharpen a Ceramic Knife at Home
- 3 Best Knife Sharpeners for Your Ceramic Knife
There is a vast number of people, who use ceramic knives and actually love them, including me.
So I am going to give you an idea where the ceramic knives are better than stainless steel knives and where they are not.
Here is the story…
I never felt like having a ceramic knife in my kitchen, never before. I mean, I was used to having stainless steel knives. I’ve always loved their sharpness, the way they cut food and meat, and the feel of a stainless steel knife in your hand, that’s something out of this world.
One thing that I had in my mind was, “how could a Ceramic Knife be Better Than a Stainless Steel Knife”.
It was summer (2018) when I had the chance of having hands-on experience with a ceramic knife. I looked at the sheath, it was impressive, I opened the box, the presentation was excellent. Picked up the knife, it was so damn lightweight, couldn’t believe I was holding a kitchen knife in my hand, hahahaa…
Straightaway, I went on and purchased it. And now, it’s my favorite one ?
I must admit, I am not a good cook nor regular in the kitchen, but I do help out my wife with cutting and chopping food for her whenever I can.
Question: Are you regular in your kitchen?
Now that I have used the ceramic knife for a while, I am in a better position to give you a sort of “Pros and Cons” for this particular knife type.
Ceramic Knife vs Stainless Steel Knife (Which One is Better To Have?)
The ceramic knife blade is made of a ceramic type called “Zirconium Oxide” or Zirconia. Not the type of ceramic our coffee mug is made of.
Zirconia according to ceramcoceramics, is extremely tough ceramic with the melting point of 2715°C and a boiling point of 4300°C.
Because the blade is made of such tough ceramic, it’s ultra sharp and extremely useful for cutting and chopping through vegetables and fruits.
Every time when I do some cutting and chopping of vegetable or herbs, it feels like I have just bought a brand new razor sharp knife.
Feels soooooo good. ?
The knife itself is very lightweight as compared to stainless steel knife, although I do use a stainless steel knife because there are certain areas where the ceramic knife lag and a stainless steel knives dominate.
A ceramic knife is easy to hold, handle and use because of its lightweight.
Now I put the “lightweight” of this knife in Pros as well as in Cons. Here’s why?
Lightweight of this knife is one of the Pros because, it becomes very easy to use, but its one of the Cons as well because when the knife is very lightweight, your hand and wrist have to do extra hard work to process food.
But the case may be different with you. You may find it more convenient but I feel discomfort around my wrist and arm when the cutting and chopping process exceeds the normal time duration.
You must not use a ceramic knife for cutting of frozen food and bones. It’s a big NO NO. Ceramic knives are not made for this job. And I certainly have never seen a ceramic knife to be the main cutting knife in a professional kitchen.
That’s where I use my all-purpose Japanese stainless steel knife.
It’s like a common practice that the kitchen knives are kept in a drawer with all other kitchen tools, but it’s a common complaint about the ceramic knife that it breaks and chips very easily, that’s a very big con for many.
So I would recommend to keep it in its sheath when not in use, for safety and long-lasting use.
How To Sharpen Ceramic Knives At Home?
A few days back a question was asked “How To Sharpen Ceramic Knife”, so because I talk about the kitchen stuff mostly in my blog, I started my research to find the best answer to this question.
There is no question about the fact that ceramic knives look great, they are incredibly lightweight, but its also the fact that because they are made from ceramic, they come very brittle and have a tendency of chipping off.
“The hardness that makes ceramic knives incredibly sharp and resistant to wear also makes them susceptible to chipping or breaking. “They tend towards being very fragile,” says Kilcher. “I think they are really cool — I’ve used a few of them — but I probably shouldn’t own one. I would be worried about chipping the blade.” Taylor Erkkinen, co-founder of Brooklyn Kitchen, advises steering clear of anything with pits, seeds, or bones. And if you drop your ceramic knife, you’re probably going to need a new blade.” (Courtesy)
Sharpening a ceramic knife is an entirely different task than sharpening a steel blade. I will strongly recommend having a Diamond Whetstone for this purpose. While sharpening the ceramic blade, no burr will be formed because ceramic is not a spongy material. Keep one rule in mind while sharpening a ceramic knife, you cannot apply force on the blade, or it would likely be chipped off.
The image below is the perfect example of what you shouldn’t be doing while sharpening a ceramic knife.
It is a lot better to hold your blade with your fingers giving it all the support it needs. See the image below. Keep your fingers all along the blade, and apply very light force and make sure no flex occurs.
While sharpening a knife, I prefer to move my hands in the downward motion, but it technically makes no difference keeping the motion up or down, only up or only down or both. The result will have your knife sharped.
Slow up-down movement, with very light consistent pressure with no flex, is the best way to sharpen a ceramic knife.
Conclusion:
No knives are perfect. Every knife has its own Pros and Cons. That’s why we keep several knives for different purposes in our kitchen.
So if you are an occasional cook like me, and you want to have a knife which is so perfect for cutting and chopping of vegetables fruits and herbs and have fun working in the kitchen, then you must have a ceramic knife for that purpose. But as I said earlier, ceramic knives need extra bit of care while using and storing, and if you are not that good in taking extra care of your things, then ceramic knives are certainly not for you.
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- Are Ceramic Knives Better Than Stainless Steel