The majority of questions we receive from this site seem to have a common theme. Most of our readers are looking for instructions on how to properly care for their ceramic knives. Most manufacturers will include a set of instructions with their knives, but in all honestly, the care instructions are the same across all knives. Here is our officially, unofficial guide on how to care for your ceramic knives.

PROPER USE:

• Use your ceramic knife for slicing or cutting soft foods only (fruits, vegetables, boneless meats, etc).
• Use a softer cutting board only, plastic, wood and bamboo work well. Avoid glass and marble cutting boards.
• Never use the knife as a tool other than a knife. Never use it to pry anything open, or to cut plastic packaging.
• Do not use the side of the blade to smash anything such as garlic, herbs, etc.

CARE:

A quick rinse with a mild detergent is all that is needed to keep your knife clean. After cutting non greasy food such as fruits or veggies, I sometimes just give it a rinse in warm water, no detergent. Since the surface is non-porous, cleaning is a breeze. Never put your ceramic knives in the dishwasher. The high pressure water can cause the knife to rattle against other items in the machine, causing it to chip.

STORAGE:

Store your ceramic knives in a knife block or knife tray. When storing or removing the knife, be careful not to damage the edge or tip.

WHY DO I HAVE TO BE SO CAREFUL WITH CERAMIC KNIVES?

After reading this, I know what you’re thinking, “This knife needs to be treated like a princess!”. Think about it a bit and you’ll realize that ALL nice knives (metal or ceramic) should be treated with these same instructions.

I decided to dig up some care instructions for some popular steel knives on the market.You will see some similarities.

[legend title=”SHUN KNIVES” style=”1″]Please do not use Shun knives other than the Ken Onion meat cleaver on bones or joints. These knives are designed for precision slicing rather than chopping through bones. One key to keeping a Shun (or any other knife) sharp is to use an appropriate cutting surface. These include wood, bamboo, and polypropylene, all of which are softer materials and will “give” under the blade. Technically, yes. Both the blades and the PakkaWood® handles can stand up to the rigors of the dishwasher. However, we generally recommend against it. Here’s why: The dishwasher can be hard on all your dishes, but it can be especially hard on knives because they tend to get knocked around during the cycle.[/legend]

As you can see, you were right, TREAT YOUR KNIVES LIKE A PRINCESS!

How are ceramic knives made? It’s no easy task, but with today’s technology, it seems easy. The process is a mixture of old school techniques combined with a bit of modern technology.

The raw materials (mostly water and ceramic powder), are mixed in a drum, not the musical instrument but something similar to a sealed cement mixer. This part of the process creates uniform particles. The more uniform in size, the harder the material can be pressed. The liquid mixture is then sprayed onto a flat surface and then dried. Once all the liquid is gone, only a fine powder remains. This is the base for the ceramic knife blade.

The fine powder is then poured into a knife shape mold. The mold is then pressed to over 10,000 psi. The pressure turns the powder into a solid piece which will eventually become the ceramic blade.

The blade is then removed from the mold and fired in a kiln at around 1400 degrees celsius. This is a similar process to used to fire traditional ceramics except a more controlled temperature setting is used here. During this process the knife will shrink about 1/4 its original size. The material becomes very dense and super hard.

The edge is then sharpened using a diamond coated sharpening wheel, a handle is attached to the end and you have yourself a ceramic knife.

The differences you will find in the hardness of a ceramic knife is usually due to changes in 2 variables, the amount of pressure that is used and the amount of heat. More pressure and a more precise temperature will result in a higher quality material.

How sharp the knife is boils down to how much time and effort is put in during the sharpening precess. If the ceramic material is of high quality, the manufacturer can sharpen the edge a lot finer without the risk of chipping. If the material is not hard enough, the manufacturer will usually refrain from sharpening it too much due to the risk of lowering its durability.

Although most ceramic knives look the same, they are not all created the same. There are many high quality ceramic knives on the market, but there are also a lot of low quality ceramic knives too.

UPDATE: This ceramic knife sharpener is now avaiable in the United States.

Japan is know for having all the best gadgets before we get them here in the states. During all my visits to Japan, I am always so excited to bring back something neat. This trip didn’t disappoint at all. Along with the bags full kitchen gadgets, I came back with something I never knew existed, a Kyocera Knife Sharpener that is designed to work with metal AND ceramic knives.

As we all know, a ceramic knife is not supposed to ever get dull. I have yet to have a ceramic knife require sharpening because it was dull. However, I have had the blade chip. Although the knife still works perfectly with a few chips, the accumulation of many chips can deteriorate it’s performance.

Kyocera offers free knife sharpening, just pay $10 and the ship the knives to them (up to two knives). Their service is relatively speedy, but… not as fast as sharpening them at home.

I paid the equivalent of about 60 U.S. dollars for the sharpener. A bit pricey for a knife sharpener but I had to have it! 🙂 The sharpener is powered by 4 AA batteries and contains 2 diamond coated sharpening wheels. There are 2 guides to slide the knife through. Each guide hones 1 side of the knife. The guide keeps the knife at the correct angle so there is no guesswork involved.

I have a very low end ceramic knife that was given to me. The blade was never sharp from the day I received it. It was a very poor design with no brand on it. I pulled the ceramic knife through each guide twice and felt the wheels making contact with the blade. To my surprise, it only took 2 pulls on each side to get a super sharp knife! This diamond coated wheel actually worked quite well. The cheap ceramic knife I have is actually very sharp and usable.

I also tried to sharpen a ceramic knife that had 3 chips on the blade. One of the chips was rather big. I pulled the knife through the sharpener a few tips on each side. 2 of the 3 chips are gone but the larger chip but it was a lot smaller, probably less than 25% it’s original size. The knife now feels as sharp as new!

Although $60 is a lot to spend on a plastic knife sharpener, it is a fun gadget for anyone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen. Since this sharpener works on metal knives as well, it’s existence in your kitchen can be a bit more justified. If you own several ceramic knives, this sharpener is almost a must have. I’m not sure how I lived without it. It literally takes less than 20 seconds to sharpen a knife, and the results are excellent.

We could not find this available in the U.S. yet. Rumor has it that it will be here soon. We’ll keep looking and keep you updated on what we find.

After purchasing a few ceramic knives, I realized I didn’t have anywhere safe to store them. A knife block worried me too much about the possibility of chipping the blade against the hard wood. My knife drawer wasn’t even a consideration. Metal vs ceramic clinging together in a drawer didn’t settle right for me.

Then I came across this beauty. A knife block with universal slots! And the slots were made of plastic. Plastic vs ceramic, I’ll take ceramic as the one that will inflict the most damage to it’s counter part. Since I bought it, I’ve been using it to hold all my ceramic knives and they have all stayed in tip top shape.

The Kapoosh Knife Holder is made of stainless steel and adds a very modern look to the kitchen. What makes this different than any other knife block in the market is the way it hold the knives. Instead of pre cut slots to hold knives of a specific size, this block contains hundreds of soft plastic rods that allow you to put knives in any position in the block.

This YouTube video explains how it works. Let me warn you, the video is cheesy! 🙂

I have heard of people having problems with this block. In particular, it has problems with large knives such as cleavers and butcher’s knives. I can see how this could be an issue. I’d recommend using it to for your more expensive knives and keeping your cleavers elsewhere. I use my Kapoosh knife block for my ceramic knives only. It does a nice job of keeping them safe and it’s almost become a center of attention in my kitchen. It just looks so nice!