The Shocking Truth About Ceramic Knives

[@OUTDOORS55]

Ceramic Knife and what I used to sharpen it⬇ Ceramic knife →amzn.to/3zyNguD Diamond stone 1 → amzn.to/4cU2l9b Diamond stone 2 → amzn.to/4f59ogH Diamond stone 3 → amzn.to/3xLFqxr Affiliated links. As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@joewiese4174]

How is your health? Did the immune test help?

[@dombond6515]

Can u try a paper wheel with diamond paste. Actually any type of power sharpening equipment. That's the go to I've seen people use. Heat is a non issue and is fast and works

[@eriksmith300]

M8 you make the absolute best sharpening videos. Nothing better than physically seeing the changes to the blade.

[@SolidSnakeFPV]

The first vid of this was one of my favorite videos lol

[@SolidSnakeFPV]

What an Obtuse perspective 😂

[@MWodenberg]

I think the vast majority of households do not know or care about sharpening their knives. The industrial solution has been to make serrated blades which cut better over a longer time. They make them cheap so you can just throw them away and buy a new one. I remember sharpening up my mother's kitchen knives with my newly acquired sharpening skills; she promptly cut herself and chastised me for making them too sharp. LOL

[@valerie_screws_around]

Skill issue

[@YuckFoutube-e1z]

Blunt knives are way more dangerous than sharp knives.

[@willguggn2]

My mom does the same thing occasionally. She's grateful to have knives that cut, though. ^^ _(And those cuts heal pretty quickly because there isn't much tissue damage -- other than slipping with a dull knive.)_

[@angelsjoker8190]

True, most of my friends and acquaintances I go to to cook together have dull knives in their kitchen, so the first thing I do is to grab a ceramic coffee cup and sharpen the chef knife on its bottom side. And yes, most people are not used to sharp knives, and my mom has cut herself also multiple times on my (sharp) kitchen knives, she's never cut herself with dull kitchen knives. As someone said here, dull knives are not necessarily more dangerous than sharp knives. It depends on your expectations and how you handle them.

[@angelsjoker8190]

​@@valerie_screws_around Of course, it's a skill issue, but you can't expect regular people to have above average knife skills.

[@christianstonecipher1547]

For those wondering who would possibly be cutting cardboard all day long. It's me, I work in a warehouse where a not insignificant amount of time is spent cutting cardboard and we are given ceramic box cutters that never get sharpened and they will still cut fine after months of use.

[@Jehty_]

Why do you have to cut cardboard?

[@nimeq]

@@Jehty_ Maybe cutting cartboard is cheaper than cutting foam?

[@christianstonecipher1547]

@Jehty_ The warehouse I work at is specifically a customer returns site. So, most boxes need to be opened(which admittedly is often cutting tape, not cardboard), and oftentimes requires cutting off the shipping labels from the box or fully breaking down the box.

[@TheTuttle99]

Are they regular box cutter style? Or how do they look? I've never seen a ceramic blade in anything other than a small paring knife

[@Jehty_]

@@christianstonecipher1547 interesting. Some time ago I also worked in a warehouse doing customer returns. And never had to cut any cardboard. Just had to cut open the tape. And the boxes were just dumped into a trash compactor.

[@thelostforager]

They actually make a "safety" ceramic knifes for cardboard and paper. Instead of a perfectly sharp edge they jave a microscopically rounded over edge. it wont cut skin but it cuts cardboard no problem. The rounded edge also significantly helps prevent the micro chipping. The ceramic utility kife blades last easily a few years in a wearhouse where we cutup a dozen boxes a day.

[@Nefville]

Can you please tell me the make and model of the knife? I work morning merch, stocking at Costco and I am going through a razor blade a day. Thanks in advance!

[@thelostforager]

@@Nefville Slice is the original, but just look up ceramic safety blade and find what suits you Edit: it is best suited ONLY for paper and cardboard. Cutting the hard plastic pallet tie down straps is not advised, you totally can do it but I found it did dull it, likely because I had to apply too much force from the beginning

[@thelostforager]

@@Nefville wow, y the f did yt censor me?! Just look up ceramic safety blades. Slice is the OG but just find what works for you. Works best on paper products, not hard plastics or thin wire.

[@thelostforager]

@@Nefville look up ceramic safety blade, Slice is the original manufacturer

[@thelostforager]

Yt literally won't let me reply

[@yottanuclei]

dude come on I JUST started telling people you can't resharpen ceramic knives like last week. You're making me look like a clown here.

[@micahmorrison1131]

lol

[@4f52]

That's why you don't take spread Reddit/KZbin "evidence" like it's a scientific breakthrough.

[@4f52]

Only difference between videos like this and common sense is that common sense takes away the sample size problems of the information

[@AleaumeAnders]

Well, YOU can't sew back on a sawn off arm either ... except if you have it handled by a hospital that has access to a state of the art team of extremely specialised chirurgs, a top notch operation zone, and a buttload of money. Your sentence is still valid, just put a tad more emphasize on the YOU part. ;)

[@Yupppi]

You can still claim that you're talking in averages, one outlier doesn't flip the situation. One (very skilled) guy sharpening a ceramic knife is an anomaly, not the standard.

[@FlyingScot911]

I was at a friend's barbecue many years ago where I pitched in to help prepare the food. I found all of their knives so dull they were almost useless. I asked if they had any type of knife sharpening tools. Nope. As I was standing there in the kitchen drinking my coffee I looked at the ceramic coffee cup in my hand and got an idea. I finished the coffee in a gulp, rinsed out the cup, turned it over and used the the rough rim around the bottom of the cup like a sharpening stone. In short order I was able to sharpen all of their knives using the cups in their cupboard. Not perfect, but in a pinch...a DIY sharpener.

[@TechyTech-cd9xh]

Well done buddy, That is a perfect example of using the old noggin!!😅

[@jtris01]

That's what my Asian parents do

[@ZoomingAlong-fx1oi]

@@jtris01 My Chinese Mom would never own a ceramic knife because they are very brittle and do not stand up to impact due to their inherent brittleness which he does not address in this post..grrrrrr

[@thebeangularity9798]

​@@ZoomingAlong-fx1oi I'd say he implied it well enough across both videos, especially in htis video, by stating how sharpening at too acute of an angle would cause it to chip off befall the blade was finished. That, and that's just the inherent property of ceramic and other such objects of similar materials.

[@ZoomingAlong-fx1oi]

@@thebeangularity9798 I agree with your post, however ceramic knives are inherently thin and do shatter not just chip..its a large price to pay when there are super high quality American, European and Japanese knives that are equally sharp and can last 100 years ...

[@VTPSTTU]

Thanks for the video. I bought a ceramic kitchen knife about ten years ago. I was at Harbor Freight, and the knife cost about a dollar. For a dollar knife, it's been great, and I'm still using it.

[@somaday2595]

I picked up a couple of 6" ceramic knives at HF about a year ago for $7.50 each, (a couldn't believe the low price), but this was HF, so try these before buying more. The pointed tip quickly chipped off but the knives still seemed worth the money. I could see a person mistakenly using the blade turned upside down. The handle on one broke off without all that much down force so now there is one knife without a handle. -The biggest problem- HF no longer sells these or lists is the online catalog.

[@jonathanblum2994]

Ceramic knives are great for cutting vegetables - super lightweight and thin. Allows high speed, accurate cutting and is much easier to use than a steel knife, particularly for large quantities. And my knife never got dull when I used it for food instead of cardboard.

[@cristibaluta]

kyocera are the only good ones from what i've tested, the cheap ones are thick, they don't cut so nicely

[@mikafoxx2717]

​@@jonathanblum2994And they can go through a metal detector! Just kidding.

[@randy-9842]

I'm not a knife sharpening expert by a LONG shot so my comment is a bit different: I very much appreciate a person who is willing to revisit old (failed) issues and are willing to post the change in their opinions or to explain why their opinions have not changed. Thank you, Alex! Question: do your trash disposal folks / recycling folks ever wonder why you have so much sliced up cardboard scrap? _:-p_

[@HansJuergen-ps8bt]

I always have these moments. It's network tech for me, but when I revisit old designs: Damn I was a moron back then, could've been so much simpler. It's usually only my sanity that suffers during it, so no third parties were hurt. But I could've prevented a lot of suffering to myself. Usually helps to bounce ideas against professional peers. They usually see your obvious mistakes which helps a lot. Sometimes just formulating the issue and the other person just beginning the sentence solves the mystery. Human brains are stupid sometimes, people that don't admit to their own past stupidity usually lie.

[@myparceltape1169]

I used to have a very sharp little ceramic knife which gradually turned into a saw.

[@Bob_Adkins]

I did the same thing 3 times, and failed each time. My next thing to try was (honest!) a higher angle.

[@ludvig3242]

They do not care lol

[@JkDSnake]

I've used a ceramic knife as a bait knife for fishing in salt water. 3 years - No rust and still sharp enough to cut up frozen mullet.

[@ColonelSandersLite]

Ok but how many frozen rednecks do you *really* run into out on the ocean?

[@zixvirzjghamn737]

whats a bait knife

[@JkDSnake]

@@zixvirzjghamn737 Usually a cheap, disposable knife for cutting fish, squid, etc into bite size chunks to fish with.

[@Ghorda9]

@@zixvirzjghamn737 probably for slicing up small fish for bait

[@KevinG3699]

That is a good example of situations cermic would be very nice.

[@courier11sec]

Thank you for recognizing my normal use case of cutting a thousand feet of cardboard and not being allowed to sharpen. I'm feeling very seen.

[@nathanielyoungman4454]

Stocking and warehousing eh?

[@courier11sec]

@nathanielyoungman4454 actually my neighborhood is frequently attacked by the corrugated bandit gang.

[@jamesyoungquist6923]

​@@courier11sec do you make house calls? I recently moved and need to turn 50 moving boxes into mulch. My normal cardboard guy is on vacation. I can provide lemonade and jazz flute, but expect you to provide the edge game. Thx TIA

[@josephburchanowski4636]

@@courier11sec You just caused me to remember the "Cardboard Warfare" series of videos on youtube. Now I feel old, that Carboard Warfare 2 video is from 12 years ago.

[@mrcryptozoic817]

Lol

[@davep2945]

My aunt gave me a ceramic knife and potato peller about twenty years ago. The knife still cuts pretty well but the real star is the potato peeler. Of course, I don't use it that often but it's still sharper than any steel peeler and most of the steel peeler's I've ever used couldn't be taken apart to sharpen (not that I would at $5 a pop anyway) so in this case it's ceramic for the win. I think in a throw away home ceramics are superior because they are typically sharper out of the box and stay that way longer and when knives get dull most households just trow them out and get new ones anyway. In a household where someone is will to sharpen the knives regularly then a good steel knife is better long term.

[@jeffwillis2592]

Thanks man. It hadn't occured to me that there WERE ceramic potato peelers. I'll look for one once my steel one gets too old. I think I'll at least try sharpening it. Hmm. How to sharpen the concave aspect which is burred?

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

potato peeler*

[@mikafoxx2717]

Benefit of ceramic is also that cheap steel is soft as hell, like 50 HRC, but ceramic is super hard and also much more resistant to wear in addition to that.

[@th3b0yg]

Regarding ingesting ceramic / metal dust, I think no one ought to be worried about this. Normal dust that's in the air and on every surface is composed of lots of things, but in large part it is silica - quartz. Very hard and potentially sharp. And we breathe it and eat it all day long. It's pretty near unavoidable. Is it great to breathe in dust all day? No, but we produce mucus for a reason. How much ceramic dust is getting in your food from using ceramic knives? I'm guessing it's not significant. Thanks for this follow up video, BTW. Really interesting and useful!

[@krazmokramer]

True EXCEPT...we produce MUCUS for this reason. Mucosa is the tissue that produces the mucus. And yes...I am with the Truth in Commenting Police😉😂

[@th3b0yg]

@@krazmokramer you got me.

[@Hydrazine1000]

Ceramic knives (and ceramic scissors too) are usually made from zirconia (zircon oxide). While silicosis (sickness from silica build-up in the lungs) is a real thing, it's not an issue for particles coming off these knives. (Zirconia has the weird property that it is, unlike most ceramics, slightly bendy. Zirconia is even used to make ceramic _springs!_ )

[@michalsvihla1403]

Well, we do naturally have iron in our blood, so some microscopic metal dust shouldn't theoretically be harmful at all?

[@DackelDelay]

@@Hydrazine1000 IDK but the amount of ground up scissors you'd have to snort to suffer silicosis seems a bit excessive, doesn't it?

[@infiniteinfantfinite]

As a sailor I keep several knives for varying uses including splicing and ropework. I bought the Kyocera ceramic knives to use with Dyneema and Spectra rope. Those fibers are tough AF and quickly dull the bejeezus out of my steel knives. The ceramic knives work really well and at time of this comment I have had them for 5 years. Granted I do not use them every day. Still very pleased with their performance. I also have never failed to sharpen a blade once my mind was set ;~)

[@tookitogo]

I think someone makes ceramic scissors for cutting Kevlar and other super tough fibers.

[@fuzzynuttz5092]

"Nothing beats ceramic in edge retention" *tungsten carbide staring menacingly in the corner*

[@MrMartinSchou]

Are these things you can buy?

[@fuzzynuttz5092]

@MrMartinSchou a company called Sandrin, makes tungsten carbide knives (but they are way overpriced for what they offer)

[@Hydrazine1000]

As a Materials Scientist & Engineer, I would kindly submit to the record that, chemically speaking, a "ceramic" is a metallic oxide, nitride or carbide, or put in a more technically accurate way, a compound with a metallic element and a non-metallic element with either ionic or covalent bonding. You get one guess as to what tungsten carbide _technically_ is...

[@fuzzynuttz5092]

@Hydrazine1000 well I can't argue with an expert so you got me there

[@MrMartinSchou]

@@Hydrazine1000 Well, to astrophysicists, anything above Helium in the periodic table is a metal ...

[@thesodomeister2938]

I took the Spyderco MT40 ceramic mule to hair-whittling sharp by freehanding on KME diamond lapping films. It's really not that hard if you have the right equipment. It's still at the factory edge angle, by the way. Using lapping films rather than resin-bonded stones almost eliminates apex damage. I had the same result on my Sandrin in tungsten carbide. Interestingly, my 3k vitrified diamond stone from Kyoto Natural Stones produced an excellent working edge on ceramic, but never quite made it to shaving at the factory edge angle.

[@cameronsaint116]

I just finished sharpening a bunch of kitchen knives while watching your videos. Now that I’m done I get a nice new video to watch!

[@Joe-ef2nr]

I use ceramic for very delicate cutting of soft food such as fish or tomato or boiled eggs, and keep it in their own sheath those came in, and use steel for Everything Else.

[@lanep4322]

Thanks. I've always viewed ceramic knives as a sort of gimmick. The one ceramic kitchen knife I've seen in regular use by my inlaws was both dull and heavily chipped along the length of the edge. Definitely have to wonder where all those chips wound up.

[@stanimir4197]

the chips - likely in the toilet

[@magicshon]

Worst part is that if you look for ceramic knives in the stores 90% of especially the cheaper ones never even start with a sharp edge but rather with an "OK" one that barely cuts paper. Still sharper than what most people have at home i guess but virtually useless. I had this fun idea to take a small ceramic kitchen knife and make it a ceramic straight razor, that wouldnt rust. It was a 100% failure, just like in the video i originally didnt manage to sharpen it even once and even seeing the new results, it probably wouldnt work.

[@darylfortney8081]

Worse is the steel chips

[@blairhoughton7918]

​@@darylfortney8081Because of the heavy metals in the formula. The iron is good for you and the carbon is organic. Ceramic (zirconium oxide here) is almost guaranteed to be inert AF.

[@philsturgill3435]

I have to say, I have several ceramic knives that are nearly as good as German steel. Of course I have several others that are pure junk (these are the ones I let my wife use). Kyocera tends to be top shelf quality along with kissing crane. I have a black zirconium ceramic that I paid $200 dollars for over 30 years ago and it’s still my go-to blade for fish and other seafood. Cuisinart, on the other hand, is pure junk. You know, the ones I let the wife use, because it just doesn’t matter if she breaks or chips one. They’re fine for veggies and soft food. They aren’t for carrots or cabbage mind you, but most other stuff. I have German and Japanese blades in varying steel types and I use shapton stones for them. I love my steel blades but I don’t think I’ll ever be without some ceramic.

[@tastx3142]

I bought a retractable ceramic blade knife years ago for cutting vinyl shelf paper. I had installed new vinyl as some of them I had put in had begun to tear. It worked great but I was always worried about dropping it and breaking it. A friend moved and I offered to do all her cabinets as she shelf paper in her current house. She bought the rolls of vinyl and it took many hours because she had a LOT of cabinets including built in desks with drawers in the bedrooms and study. Literally every room in the large house has cabinets and/or drawers. The knife never dulled. I still keep it in my kitchen drawer and use it to open boxes, packages or bags and often wondered if I should sharpen it. I do sharpen my steel knives as I have arthritis and don’t have much hand strength. I have gone to friends homes and can’t believe how many dull knives and warped pans people use when I have helped them and struggled to cut or cook anything. The only serrated knife I have is a bread knife which has retained it’s edge since most purchased items are pre sliced or can be sliced by the bakery if asked. Why struggle with something that doesn’t take much time to keep or put an edge on a knife. I sew and used to have an older gentleman drive through the neighborhood and sharpen knives and scissors. He was wonderful at getting my scissors sharpened and properly tightened. I don’t think anyone goes door to door with this anymore and probably why so many people just use dull knives.

[@000cjr]

As someone who flintknapps I'm not surprised you hade to alter the sharpening angle. Ceramic is a lot like stone. Extremely fine stone edges chip like crazy

[@alanedwards8600]

Exactly the comment I came here to make. I don’t flintknapp but do understand the process and when he said that it chipped this is exactly what I thought of.

[@mikafoxx2717]

Now I want to see him sharpen an obsidian or custom glass knife on a diamond stone.. what's the usable angle for such a thing?

[@robomatt1600]

I use this exact same red handled cheap ceramic knife to cut roots in the dirt in my garden. It has lots of chips now, and I have never sharpened it. The chips act like serrations. It's wonderful.

[@brandonwilson896]

the flavor transfer is a thing. the problem is most people dont have a good enough palate to taste it. but if you ask a high end chef, especially a chef who uses carbon steel knives, there is a slight taste of sulfur transferred from that. also carbon steel will stain food like onions if you take long pauses between cutting. but i suppose its just the oxidation coming off the surface of the steel, and typically this only happens between the new knife and building a patina stages of carbon steel knives

[@OUTDOORS55]

I know some high end chefs and they use carbon steel knives.😉

[@ThaitopYT]

Even if it is true. Aren't we prepped food for thousands of years with steel tools? How aren't we get used to the taste by now?

[@stefthorman8548]

@@ThaitopYT "thousands of years" and people ate with bronze for thousands of years as well

[@peterc4082]

Kyocera claim they won over some top Kyoto sushi chefs to their knives. One has to remember sushi chefs are conservative but Kyocera being Kyoto based I'm sure they have their clout.

[@barlow2976]

I guarantee you that the 'top end chefs' would not taste the sulphur you claim comes from steel knives. In other words, unfounded BS.

[@andrewradford3953]

Hair whittling - something I could do in my spare time, after I master knife sharpening. I'm impressed you figured out that ceramic required a more obtuse sharoening angle to avoid chipping, after four years!

[@sweetdrahthaar7951]

I don’t drop a knife very often, but I never bought ceramic because we have a tile floor in the kitchen.

[@XJWill1]

That just means you have to be sure to catch the knife in your foot if you drop it.

[@robonator2945]

​@@XJWill1 brand new steel-toed chef boots!

[@willguggn2]

@@XJWill1 I had a hard time training myself to _not_ catch falling knives. _(With my hands, though. ^^)_ Future me will thank me.

[@littlejack59]

@@robonator2945 I can see the temu ad already, *points at the knife* *Points at cheep steel bend over croc* *tries to stab croc* *knife breaks* *uses chipped knife on food*

[@philgray1023]

We have a whole set of 3 left out of 4. One had a handle fail, two others lost their tips when dropped. They are so cheap, sharpening is not a cost effective activity.

[@nikhilrnje]

I've been sharpening my ceramic blades with a diamond belt on a Worksharp. I could get that initial sharpness, but within a few weeks of kitchen use the knives were noticeably dull. I also concluded that I needed to sharpen them at a broader angle, but I didn't get around to sharpening them - thanks for confirming!

[@chingachgook9718]

o dude , i've been a faithful watcher and "liker" for ever so long. my days of down-the-rabbit-hole with blades and their care are long over, and i simply try to keep my, and the household's knives, sharp and safe. their quality spans a wide spectrum, with the truly trashy and exquisitely expensive both missing. but watching whatever your next youtube post is has kept me interested in the whole enterprise. and then, today, you cut a roll of denim. with a knife. my virtual self fell off the couch laughing, and the irl one guffawed out loud. thank you. half my general entertainment focusses around fabric, and at the time, i was deconstructing an iron-hard pair of bull denim levis, in order to salvage the fabric. there is meaning there, ...or not... but i truly enjoyed you. and you've totally justified me in keeping those ceramic knives in the garage, in their cardbboard box, on the tool shelf.💕

[@TheLeeattwood]

That sharpnal you appraised is amazing, I’m useless at sharpening knives but now I’m fantastic , I don’t bother stroping anymore thank you for the tip🇬🇧

[@larryseibold4287]

I can't believe that it has been 4 years since you first did that video on sharpening ceramic knives. I have ben holding my tongue to ask for an update, since from my perspective, your skills have dramatically improved. especially the inspection area. Nice work.

[@iSharpen]

Thanks. I now understand why I was able to sharpen that ceramic knife on my Tormek SG-250 wheel. I followed the factory bevel angle which must have been quite obtuse. Some punters laughed at me and said "it's full of chips" but I looked at it very close with a jeweller's loupe and couldn't see any chips. It looked like a regular good sharp edge and it sliced through paper far better than it did before I sharpened it (it was visibly chipped) although I didn't test it with delicate cigarette paper (17gsm). After watching this I now want to run further tests but I don't own one and have to wait for a customer to ask again. Still, great knowledge imparted. Thanks. Great work. Mystery solved.

[@MilkieBeargames]

Nice. I have always had apprehension about ceramic knives and food. I do like Sharp kitchen knives, and my sharpen steel kitchen knives every 3 months.

[@tookitogo]

I’ve been using ceramic kitchen knives since the mid-1990s. They’re great, as long as you use them as intended (so not for bones, and never, ever cutting on plates, glass, stone, or metal - always on a wood or plastic cutting board). And you need to avoid dropping them. I’ve never had one shatter, but it’s easy to chip the point or the edge.

[@robertalexander3959]

Having done a little research into the expense and difficulty of sharpening ceramic knives when they were hot several years ago, I decided to pass. Then I ran across a SERRATED ceramic paring knife in a thrift store and took the $2.99 plunge.The inch-or-so non-serrated blade tip feels quite dull, as do the pointy parts of the serrations. BUT the thing cuts food very nicely. Nothing real big, of course, but it easily holds its own with my two other serrated paring knives and now that I think about it, I'm gonna start using it more. Good idea! Thanks!

[@F1083]

Something I remember reading on a forum 15-20 years ago was to not push sharpen. Only use the pull direction as in stropping while using a diamond stone with ceramic knives I have never had a chance to try it out.

[@OUTDOORS55]

I did experiment with that a little but couldn't tell a difference on any of my stones. Not saying that isn't true, just that with what I was using it didn't seem to matter 🙂👍

[@lukearts2954]

@@OUTDOORS55 this makes me think that an avid knapper (flint knapping) perhaps can explain the difference because what they do is basically the same but on a larger scale (and one impact at a time)

[@NathanNostaw]

I've tried both and only make it worse. I've ruined a few ceramic blades trying to sharpen them with a range of abrasives and methods.

[@NathanNostaw]

​@@lukearts2954I think they are very different materials as the good material for knapping is glass-like and these ceramic blades are really just bonded ceramic grains. Technically I guess everything is just bonded grains, but different sizes.

[@bergknivesandsharpening8014]

Have you tried regular silicone carbide sandpaper? I found that it was hard enough to scratch it but it wore quickly. Also the pressure laterally of hand sharpening is argued as an issue. Finding a way to need no pressure helps i hear. But i also was a bit miffed at sharpening ceramic

[@eduardomancia4958]

Just in time, I was looking for ceramic knife sharpening and I remembered your old video. Safe to say: I was not disappointed. Great video.

[@TrustinChrist-truthseeker]

Another interesting one to try would be Rahvens ceramic knife. They are out of Switzerland. Also, Jende had a good video on getting a ceramic knife to ultra shaving sharp. I still think a good steel knife is better though. Rahven uses their own proprietary flexible ceramic. Just some thoughts, keep up the great work! Your stuff is one of my standard reccomendations for helping people learn to sharpen. My other big ones are Currys Custom Cutlery, Sharpen Right LLC, Burrfection, and Alexandria Knife Sharpening and Laser Engraving. I also add Cedric & Ada to the bunch as well. Also forgot Engineers Perspective. Sincerely, JS

[@JedHead3409]

Love this video! great job with the comparison and learning that sharpness stops food from turning brown as quick. I learn something new every time I watch your channel! It makes total sense, as a sharp knife will cut much more cleanly through the food and reduce the amount of surface area exposed to the air. A dull knife that tears at the food will certainly cause pieces to stick out, increasing surface area exposed to air. And your sense of humor is awesome, keep up the great work!

[@the1jamman]

Interesting ,,,My wife loves her ceramic knives ... I never tried to sharpen one since it`s (imo) easier just to buy a new one and be done with it ... I love sharpening , but for a ceramic knife ,it`s not worth it (imo) Still Nice video ...Thanks

[@michalsvihla1403]

Man, consumerism at its best. Dull? Get a new one.

[@simonstucki]

I have a woodworking chisel (japanese style) made from some sort of HSS steel, it keeps it's razor edge very very long. I wonder if cutting cardboard is worse for the edge than chopping wood (with hard knots) if not, this HSS steel would be the answer also for kitchen knives (I already wish all my woodworking handtool blades would be made out of that HSS steel, it's simply miles ahead of everything else I have) and it's not even very hard to sharpen, just doesn't like hard stones, with a softer stone it works fine.

[@conorstewart2214]

You are totally right that the majority of people do not have sharp knives at home and have likely never thought about sharpening. Most don’t know how to use knives well either. I am no chef outside of what I cook for myself but watching other people try and cut food is just painful, something that with minimal technique would take 10-20 seconds I have seen take up to 5 minutes for some people. People just don’t know how to handle knives, they are slow, inefficient and treat them like they are dangerous and then go and do stupid stuff. Just like any other tool the only thing dangerous about a knife is the person. Learn how to actually control what your hands are doing and be careful and you will be fine with even very sharp knives. People that do think about sharpening often aren’t much better, especially if they just buy a cheap sharpening tool (like the ones that you pull the knife through) or one of those sticks they see professional chefs using. Now both of those types of tools if done well are fine for sharpening but in a home kitchen they just aren’t. I have seen pull through sharpeners that didn’t actually sharpen the knife, it just put micro serrations on it and made it harder to properly sharpen. All most knives need is a few minutes on a stone every so often, maybe a little longer if it has been left a while or been abused. The only knives that consistently take me longer are a couple of old dark Sabatier knives, definitely not stainless, rusts very quick (leave it wet at all even just for half an hour and there will be some rust) and the knife other than the edge is dull and dark rather than shiny. The knives take a while to sharpen but they stay sharp for a long time too and I seem to be able to get them sharper, great knives just not stainless. I have no idea what kind of steel it is.

[@umountable]

Being able to put the ceramic knife in the dishwasher is the biggest selling point for me. I dont have a youtube channel about knife sharpening. i neighter get payd for it nor is it my hobby. I have a ceramic knife for 10 years now (exactly that kyocera in the video), never sharpened it, its the sharpest knife in my kitchen even after i sharped my steel knifes because of my skill. Additionally ceramit knifes are much thinner than steel knifes which makes a difference for hard stuff like carrots. Of course you also need a durable, heat resistent steel knife from time to time, but its a very importaint addition to my kitchen, also when not just cutting cartboard.

[@josephkanowitz6875]

ב''ה, it has been decades but Kyocera had a wonderfully amazing edge for a not particularly knife nerd out of the box, while some generics had basically the same material but not as shaving-perfect a hone. That said, after maybe 5 years of rough home kitchen usage the "where did those chips go?" does become concerning. If you respect the tool and keep that in mind / don't use a non-cleaver as a cleaver or with metal forks or skewers you can ding into if incautious, worthy investment, and nice if there's some way to recycle scrapped kitchen blades into utility knives. My experience is out of date, so I imagine there's a lot of good manufacturers now and my generics still wow'd for standard cutlery table knife prices, but would figure name brand hopefully still gets you the best edge possible as you probably won't be messing with if you're just cooking at home.

[@dingo5208]

I put my knives in the dishwasher. Top shelf, and only knives with plastc or metal handles, if it's wood or bone it gets hand washed. I don't heat dry either but none of my knives are any worse for wear.

[@awesomeferret]

Please explain your first sentence, since 99 percent of people reading it (including myself) probably have no idea what you are saying. How is it possible for your first sentence to be accurate when there really is no such thing as kitchen knife that isn't dishwasher safe?

[@umountable]

@@awesomeferret Most knife nerds will not put steel knifes in the dishwasher as the detergent corrodes away the razor edge. Ceramic is more chemically resistant.

[@roberthellebush8775]

Just happened upon your video and I must say, it was surprisingly entertaining and informative. And although I hate little video inserts, yours were well done and quite humorous. Keep up the good work!

[@bigflea11-ig8jr]

I came to your channel for cheap stone reviews and some sharpening info. Ended up watching most videos that related to my needs. Found I enjoy your style and very often get a surprise laugh. Finally decided to start watching your videos that do not apply to my needs or even my interests. I watched your first ceramic sharpening video the day before this upload and loved it. Thank you for your effort. The greatest thing in the world someone can do for me is to make me laugh. I hope you keep it up. Wishing you all the best.

[@taiiat0]

thanks for the update and further information. i still like Ceramic in my Kitchen uses, for the light duty purposes for that zero maintenance angle. anything that's heavier duty i still use Steel since yeah you start to cringe at using it on tougher stuff, afraid that it's going to snap or chip. so Cutting Fruits&Veg, Cheese, softer types of Meats, all that general purpose stuff, the zero maintenance is nice. :) oh and especially for a Bread Knife or anything Serrated? since sharpening those is a PITA and nobody wants to do that at home. so i use Ceramic for that since nobody is going to bother sharpening that stuff.

[@plasticoflamingo2952]

Chef for over 3 decades, here. My 2 cents worth, ceramics are okay for the home. In a production kitchen, a ceramic blade is going to break, or shatter. It's not "if" it will be ruined, it's "when". As far as oxidation of fruits and veggies, a somewhat dull steel blade may cause slightly quicker oxidation than a ceramic, but, a properly sharpened plain-edged (non-serrated) steel knife does the best job. For leafy things, like the various lettuces, greens, cabbages, once again, a properly sharp steel blade is good, but, a cheap, plastic "lettuce knife" will do a better job, than anything, and ceramic does a good job. The plastic "lettuce knives" wear out faster than either steel or ceramic, and you can't really sharpen them, but they are, usually, cheap. After all that, my recommendation is, get a good steel knife and learn to properly sharpen, and maintain, it. I'm sure their are plenty of "pros" out there, who would disagree, but that is the nature of Culinary Arts.

[@michaeltorrisi7289]

Former bartender here: I love ceramics. They're great for cutting fruit for cocktails because of the edge retention and because of how poorly most bartenders treat the knives. I don't have any ceramics at home, but I always had one at the bar so that I could cut decent lime wedges without worrying that someone else was going to wreck my paring knife 2 days after I bought it.

[@NobodiesBusinessimo]

Im one of those pros that disagrees. This, we can agree on.

[@NoSaysJo]

​@@NobodiesBusinessimono one asked kid

[@logic.and.reasoning]

I'd rather ingest a little metal than ceramics.

[@NewMitchell-wh3fj]

Yeah the main drawback for ceramics is that if you drop it on a hard floor or even sufficiently hard on a table/countertop it's just gonna shatter And in a professional kitchen, you *will* drop it eventually.

[@KarynHill]

I've learned to be very careful with my ceramic knives. They cut my glass pan and Corelle dishes like they were made of that cardboard. I do sharpen my steel knives but I can't say I'm very good at it so I doubt I'd be any good at sharpening the ceramic ones. Thanks for the info!

[@ianbaker4295]

If I’m going to be able to sharpen ceramic after this, I’m going to be giddy as hell

[@DackelDelay]

please do post an update when you're there

[@joefish6091]

A diamond grit wheel or whetstone.

[@ianbaker4295]

@@joefish6091 diamond plated stones seem to work well for me. After I increased my angle… I don’t have the fancy resin bonded stones :)

[@kevinhammond3162]

​@@ianbaker4295I am new to sharpening. Could you tell me what angle you sharpened your ceramic knife? Thank you for your time.

[@ianbaker4295]

@@kevinhammond3162I shot for about 20° per side. With my current stones, I wouldn’t try any lower than 18°. On normal knives I tend to go for about 14-16°

[@skynetupbracknielson590]

Thank you for the knowledge, I did not know how to sharpen ceramic knives. I can’t thank you enough.

[@MichelPASTOR]

I would like to see a video in the same spirit about HIC (High Impact Ceramic) knives. Like Rahven knives. I don't know whether there are other manufacturers using the same kind of material to make knives

[@mikeobrien4081]

Spyderco has a Mule model in HIC. There's quite a bit of discussion at the official Spyderco forums about how to sharpen them.

[@beauwilliamson3628]

I think part of the legend of using ceramic to not get oxidization goes back to when it was more common to have non-stainless steel in knives. You usually only run into that in vintage kitchen knives, or some high end knives today. Not only your fruit oxidises more, but a high carbon knife will turn black when you cut through fruit. One of my vintage high-carbon knives is silver plated to prevent that (nickle plating was also common).

[@Cacheola]

Hope you're doing better, cheers

[@ahhhlindsanityyy]

I bought a ceramic knife years ago at the dollar store after seeing the "blixa bargeld makes risotto" video and it's still sharp and works great for me. However, the tip has broken off and the white blade has become quite stained. Great video!

[@handanyldzhan9232]

Would you rather buy a reliable car that's almost impossible to repair, or a less durable car that can easily be fixed?

[@itsROMPERS...]

That's easy: reliable, especially if it could be replaced for under $100

[@stevedriscoll2539]

This was a comprehensive "how to" on the use, care, and maintenance of a ceramic knife. Glad it was you who invested all this time😂 Thanks! Would it be a good idea, in most cases, just to keep buying new ceramic knives instead of sharpening them?

[@BeSatori]

Seems like razors should be ceramic.

[@Jeeper906]

I don't think you watched the video. Ceramic is not good at cutting hair. Even at the sharpest he could get it, ceramic still wouldn't cut hair effectively. 11:15

[@peterc4082]

@@Jeeper906 That's after RESHARPENING after cutting 40+ feet of cardboard. We're talking about new blades in disposable razors. I suspect Gilette wouldn't go with it because 1. They don't have the tech. 2. They'd sell fewer blades, as these would last longer.

[@keithfiredive]

I like how thin the ceramic knives are. This helps for cutting thick vegetables and fruits that pinch the blade as you cut them. Like squash and spaghetti squash and thick potatoes and watermelon

[@ColonelSandersLite]

Your comment on these knives being thin, combined with others about edge retention, really make me want to try one for the particular task of cutting up xps and xpe foams. They dull steel really quick and thicker foams really like to grab the blade.

[@kindervelt2005]

I threw away my ceramic knives when I noticed the edges were chipping. I don't want anyone to be eating chips of ceramic.

[@SolarCookingGermany]

Same here.

[@tookitogo]

Who cares? It’s inert and passes through undigested, and the microscopic chips are too small to matter during chewing. And that’s assuming any of the chipping actually happens while cutting food (remember that ceramic knives must always be used only on wood or plastic cutting boards, and should not be used on bones). I doubt that chipping really happens while cutting. I think it all happens during handling and washing, when it comes into contact with the sink, other dishes, etc.

[@herrbrahms]

@@tookitogo Green beans often contain fine particles of sand that are eaten without incident. That's much more of an issue than a microgram of zirconia dust.

[@tookitogo]

@@herrbrahms Exactly. That’s why I think that worrying about the knife chipping is pointless.

[@jean-philippeferron]

Your videos helped me improve my sharpening. My knives are way sharper than before. What helped me was the technique used to sharpen, and the need for a leather strop. Thanks to you. (I did buy the jewelers loupe but couldn't see much. I saw a little of burr, but I think the majority was good).

[@gloomandglow]

@9:30: Did you actually not wipe the knife after sharpening it? If so, no wonder the apple was more oxidized...

[@peacefulkangaroo2120]

The dull knife would cause oxidation faster due to it tearing the apple apart, rather than cutting. This increases surface area, thus oxidizing faster.

[@kelimike]

Dip the edge of the ceramic blade in resin to support the edge prior to honing 1st side. Then redip, and hone the other side to meet it. Then remove residuals from that super fine edge.

[@MasterArkannor]

0:46 Why does he look like he is in a cold sweat after having lost a wrestling match with the knife

[@CrustaceousB]

Oddly specific but I agree

[@richdurbin6146]

A few years ago I bought a set of cheap ceramic kitchen knives at a big box store. They’ve been awesome, almost magical ever since. I’m sorely tempted buy a really good ceramic knife just to see the difference.

[@abarratt8869]

I think that they're all made by Kyocera, it's just that they put the most care / sharpening into their own-brand blades. I don't know if it's still happening, but Kyocera used to outsource the sharpening to a tiny family firm in Kyoto for sharpening. Kyocera themselves hadn't got the expertise.

[@cowboy6591]

Bought one, but never again. Used it to separate two frozen hamburg patties and only after I ate the burger I noticed microchips in the blade, dozens of small triangular voids. Meaning I swallowed these micro chips and there passing through my digestive system. These damn things should be outlawed. Lucky me they passed through without slicing my intestines open. These blades shatter way to easily and should be avoided for food products. Some of the chips where 1/32 of an inch in size. I thought I was chewing on the infamous bone fragments too often found in hamburg.

[@herrbrahms]

I don't understand why you're complaining when by your own admission you used a ceramic knife to pry. They explicitly tell you not to do that. Ceramic knives are to be used to cut. They should never be bent.

[@Rob_65]

NIce, I'm running to the Dollar store immediately to get one of these cheap ceramic knifes. We now use Stanley (and other brand) utility blades to cut cardboard boxes to size for re-use or to put them in our recycling container but we all know that a dulling blade takes more force and that results in increased chance for accidents. Even the original Stanley blades wear out within one busy day so if I get more use out of a cheap ceramic knife and if that increases safety then that is surely worth it - even if I cannot sharpen the blade and use those knifes as a disposable one.

[@aserta]

I found one of the black ceramic ones inside a tool box i got at an auction. It was chipped, so i cut a strip out of it (about 3mm all the way) and sharpened one sided (akin to a Japanese knife) it with deep grooves. Been using it for almost 10 years now and it hasn't chipped or lost its edge. I used a diamond wheel to do the work - took about 40 minutes to sharpen the thing because i was working under water. Honestly, if it's not a cheapy and it's a thick blade, they're ok knives. The fact that i didn't need to sharpen it all this time, that's a solid 10/10 for me.

[@philipfarnam6013]

FWIW....have bought/owned/used ceramic knives for two decades. Agree that ceramic material cannot withstand narrow apex notwithstanding claims that it will. IMHO, they are interesting kitchen toys...but I do enjoy using them from time-to-time. When mine chip out to the point that I can notice a difference in perfomance, I resharpen using Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition belt sharpener plus their 180 and 1500 grit diamond belts. Takes minutes per blade and delivers a convex edge at the apex that doesn't chip as easily as flat factory edge...lasts much longer. Quick, easy, repeatable. Recommend without hesitation. I also haven't bought any new ceramics for the last decade because I've learned from experience that quality steel blades are superior. (my steel knives are mostly Shuns and Macs)

[@jjohnson893]

Seen plenty of your videos but I have yet to subscribe. This one absolutely deserves a subscription. Great job! Thank you very much.

[@cytherians]

This is really fascinating. I have a relative who bought a few ceramic paring knives. They did get dull after some time... and the honing rod she used with them wasn't really helping any. So she stopped using them and went back to steel. It sounds like if you invest in the right sharpening materials AND employ the correct angle, you can restore the edge. Does the ceramic edge retention capability get restored, or will it dull faster than it did when new?

[@Pablo668]

Great vid as always. The thing that sticks out in my mind is that the first knives man ever used were made out of stone, which I guess is more silica than ceramic. Either way though, the sharpening is kiiiiind of similar? Those old stone and flint knives were sharpened via chipping. The right kind of chipping gave you a very sharp edge, in some cases an edge that still holds up today (Flint). Hmmm, actually it's more like chipping was used for sharpness in the old stone knives, but has the opposite effect here. Ugh, never mind, move along.

[@maradall]

I'm super impressed - this is true dedication to duty! (Especially cutting all that cardboard... 🥺) BTW, one big advantage of a ceramic knife is that it will pass security screening, while you are not going to be able to do anything to a steel blade to manage this. Nice to keep in mind! 😃

[@robertmyers5993]

Ceramic knives are awesome! I've had the same knife (Kyocera 4.5in) as you since it came out, more than 15 years ago. Pretty sure it was $35 dollars then as well, lol. But the fact of the fruit turning dark isn't about stainless steel knives, it's about carbon steel knives! Carbon steel leaves a taste behind on fruit and veggies and will turn an apple dark because of the composition of the blade. My dad used Old Hickory brand knives religiously until they wore slap out. After I cut an apple up with the ceramic knife he asked if I was going to get a bigger one! Which I did later for the tune of about $159. I also have stainless steel knives because I was always afraid of dropping the ceramic and it shattering (which has never happened).

[@shoguevara]

Thanks for the video - it was very informative! A couple of observations (I'm not an expert but these worth looking into): although metals might not play much role in oxidation of the food, amino-acids and other compounds in the food might react to metal in the knives. This is less of a case for stainless steel knives, but nevertheless there's a very slight influence on a taste. Although majority of us will never tell the difference. Second point is about chips in the food: our digestive tract is has a very agressive conditions inside. If microscopic metal chips are introduced, I assume, those chips get dissolved or at least covered in salts, as a result of chemical reactions. Whereas ceramic is almost inert and doesn't react with anything in our body. Although, from what I read, if the chips are not visible (i.e. small enough) they can pass through the digestive system without causing harm.

[@davids1inwestholl45]

Smart and dry-humor...a winning combo in making a good video about a "dull" subject matter. Did anyone notice a sharp pun in this comment???

[@ZoranRapaic-vp1hr]

your food is definitely treated food from Megamarket. Apple stays like that after 2 hours, well definitely something is wrong with an apple. It should become brownish after less than 15 min. I just cut an apple from organic production, and it changed colour after 5 min.

[@dinosauralan.9486]

I have owned a ceramic knife for over twenty years and when the edge gets `duller` in my opinion I touch it up upon my diamond impregnated wheel. A very fine wheel for grinding tungsten carbide. But allow the wheel to cut into the blade and not out of. Position the knife with the spine sitting upon the rest and allow the wheel tp pass over and through the edge. But keep it cool!! I feel the pressure you are applying to the ceramic edge actually breaks the newly honed extreme edge. I employ only stones upon steel blades to start the edge, then `hone` upon diamond impregnated plates.

[@avibhagan]

I use the bottom of a ceramic coffee mug to sharpen my knives. I don't waste money on sharpening stones, anymore. A few quick passes on the bottom of the mug, followed by a rinse in water and a wipe to get rid of the fine powder created, and even the cheapest knife goes through tomatoes like butter. Try IT. There is almost always a circle at the bottom of each mug that is unglazed (for friction). It's a wonderful sharpening block.

[@Suzuki_Hiakura]

I only saw one video covering Ceramic knives before, and they tried the same sharpening stone like method before finding out they needed a very special sharpening wheel (over 200 dollars for about 3 inch diameter disc) which brought back the original sharpness in about 14 seconds or so (was hardly any time at all tbh...). Was rather cool to see, and as it was a super expensive Ceramic kitchen knife, it was great to see they could continue to use it after it dulled.

[@cajampa]

Love my ceramic knife. I used up a bunch before i stopped damaging them. I had to learn to be way more careful. And now I have not changed knife in about 10 years.

[@thatbeme]

I've been trying to figure this out for years. It never occurred to me to change the edge angle. Thanks 😊

[@Delekhan]

"Hogwash" indeed. Ions don't make food brown (oxidize). Exposure to oxygen does in most cases. But you illustrated it perfectly with the dull knife. Thanks for the great vid!

[@jeffwillis2592]

Spectacular finding. I think this understanding will also help me select an appropriate apex angle on steel knives which also chip somewhat during use when the angle is quite acute. Thank you!

[@dionpage7948]

Your vids are the best is it sharp&this is sharp vids on KZbin. Best info out there. Thanks for all you do brother!!

[@nicusantudor]

Great video, but wrong about the diamond stone... I used 400 to 1000 grit diamond sharpener from Lidl at £10... plus wet sandpaper from 1500 to 5000 grit. Granted,it takes a bit of time but not money 😊. I was looking for ceramic knives sharpening for years, so still happy you posted this

[@thetrueyuiop]

the first ceramic vid was my first video i'd ever seen from the channel and i've been here since!

[@OUTDOORS55]

Thanks for sticking around 👍👊

[@thetrueyuiop]

@@OUTDOORS55 you betcha!

[@rightwoke]

Regarding final sharpening and cutting the rope, I think you answered your own question. The ceramic blade has less of an acute angle, therefore overall thicker apex and not as able to cut. I'm currently looking for a set of ceramic knives for the kitchen. The cheap, literally cheap enough to be disposable, I have tries from discount stores did really well and stayed sharp for excellent kitchen use for a long time. Two years later I still have no compulsion to sharpen. And when I have to Ill just buy another. I would have had to sharpen steel knives many times by now. Seven by my estimation. Saving me 3 or 4 hours of time. This and the low price makes them a great bargain. still

[@4hourrampage]

Would you please do a video on how you sharpen a straight razor for shaving? You're the only one I trust anymore to show the correct ways of sharpening.

[@davidcole217]

Really good comparison and presentation of the differences. It looks like the best use is those ceramic box cutter blades. Good job

[@deathroll69]

We are blessed to have such a kind and wise elf to bestow the mysteries of their finest blade craft on KZbin.

[@bakamojojojo]

Hey man, hope you're good. If you feel like it at any point, a video on knife thinning would be amazing. It seems like a subject that could really use your clear no BS way of explaining things. Thanks.

[@rynther]

I've used good knives for cooking in steel for many years, and I have a few ceramics as well. For baseline cutting sharpness, the ceramics have amazing wear. For fine cutting, an ice hardened blade with a 34 degree compound angle works as well as I've seen, but requires regular sharpening.

[@blackoak4978]

I never realized how dull kitchen knives are until I started sharpening knives myself. I've had a buddy shocked at how sharp my camping knife was at a time I didn't even consider it very sharp, lol

[@gordonneverdies]

That ceramic video was epic! Maybe my number 1 favorite of yours.

[@rmp5s]

Heeeeeeeey...I have one of those! Mine is black, though. Used to use it when I worked in restaurants (just because I knew they hold an edge for a LONG time, which even in a restaurant, they absolutely do). The problem I found with it is, yup...sharpening. I sent mine back to Kyocera for them to sharpen once it finally lost its edge a bit and, not only did it take a LONG time for them to get it done, it was never really the same. Good vid! Looks like I have to bust out my diamond sharpener!!

[@rmp5s]

Just saw your links and, whoa...they've gotten REALLY cheap. lol

[@Sb129]

I like how up close the ceramic blade looks like ice. Also, I work at Walmart stocking and with a normal razor blade I'd change it out after like 3 months. The actual razor blade itself though gets dull after a few weeks, slicing through stuff packaged in think plastic or cutting through shrink wrap will show that. I just usually use more force but eventually I need a new one. Then I got a ceramic box cutter and that ceramic blade has lasted me two years before it broke (when I was being careless, it would have lasted longer). It was amazing just how long it stayed sharp when used properly and with a good application.

[@philipocarroll]

I had a Kyocera knife for years. It was wonderful. Sure it had tiny chips on its edge over time, but it was my favorite kitchen knife, it was so light and always sharp. It was the only knife I used for tomatoes. In fact I think the tiny chips even helped slice, like tiny serrations. Eventually, I dropped it and it broke, that was the end.

[@erickuck8067]

After cutting a lot of glass, tile, my friend has found using antifreeze as for cooling and lubricating it reduces the chipping a lot. You may want to give that a try. I could take the credit for it. All goes to my friend Tom.

[@johncmitchell4941]

Lots of comments about tungsten carbide but leaving out that we don't sharpen it to anywhere near the same included angle as a knife. TC/CBD tooling doesn't cut like HSS but tears mat'l vs pierce it. Up sharp is a matter of the grit used to sharpen. btw, for the toughest materials we use ceramic inserts. They rip like TC inserts and similarly aren't resharpened.

[@PaulK390S90V]

I've failed at Rex 121, but not giving up! Also, that ceramic reminds me of Maxamet and how the edge just crumbles when you go too hard and too coarse. Seems like the same fix was found for the ceramic!

[@penzman]

Not sure if cardboard's recipe requires it as well, but a millwright in a paper plant told me the brown paper towel sheets or rolls that have the same texture as cardboard contain clay. Not sure if it's added for absorption but I was warned not to use those to clean eyeglasses regularly. The knives may get damaged by the clay.

[@kennethbezanson4266]

Do you think stropping with various grit compound could get the ceramic edge more refined? Or would that take a month's worth of stropping?

[@victorfranca85]

What’s the friction coefficient between the two? Ceramic should be a lot coarser on the flat, no? (Right at the transition to the cutting bevel, which is why I also convex practically everything ) Unless you do do something about it. A slight polish (not too polished, as I learned, would increase the friction due to greater surface area being in contact with the material) makes my cheapies kitchen knives way smoother in food prep vs a brushed finish.

[@dogphlap6749]

I happen to like ceramic knives. Even when the edge starts to look more like a serrated bread knife when looked at through a low power loupe I find they work great when it comes to cutting medium rare steak or cardboard (or even my finger after the occasional slip when doing the washing up). Each to their own. Next time I feel the need to get out the diamond grit sharpening stone to attack the cutting edge of one of my ceramic knives I will take the advice given here and cut to give a wide included angle final edge, makes sense to me.