The ceramic knife I tested, and ended up buying was the Kyocera Classic Series 6 inch model #KC-130-WH). The WH stands for ‘wooden handle’. There is a plastic handle version as well, but the wooden handle feels a lot better in build quality. I’ve always heard Kyocera was the leading manufacturer of this product, and after using it, I can see why. Here is my full review of this knife.
DETAILS
Blade material: Zirconium Oxide
Handle Material: Pakka Wood
Size: 6-in.
Weight: 8.8 ounces
Origin: Japan
Cleaning & Care: Hand wash with mild dish soap
PERFORMANCE
This Kyocera ceramic knife was one of the sharpest knives I’ve ever used. It is as sharp an any other metal knife I’ve owned, even right after it’s been professionally sharpened. The sharpness allowed me to slice and dice things very thinly and cleanly, a lot thinner than I could have with a metal knife.
At less than 9 ounces, the knife was very light weight, even with the wooden handle. The weight, along with it’s sharpness allowed me to do a lot of prep work without my arm getting tired. However, I found the weight didn’t give me the leverage I wanted when cutting some items, such as cabbage heads. Keeping in mind that this is a ceramic knife, I couldn’t use for everything.
Any chopping or de-boning I did had to be done with a traditional metal knife. That was sometimes a nuisance, but overall, not too much of a pain. I tested several of the claims that Kyocera puts on this knife. The knife did pass every test with flying colors. See my 30 Day Test for all the details. The one test the still amazes me is the apple test. Kyocera claims that due to its inert properties, and sharpness, fruits and veggies cut with their knives won’t turn brown as fast. I tried it with apples and sure enough, it passed. I hear lettuce is also a good test. I might have to make myself a salad tonight.
DURABILITY
After 30 days of daily use, I have to say, the knife is still razor sharp. It feels like the day I picked it up. Not dull, no rust and no stains. There is however there are a few tiny chips on the blade. Their website says this is normal and will not affect its performance.
THE FINAL VERDICT
The Kyocera Classic Series 6 inch KC130WH is a great knife. I would highly recommend it to anyone who already owns a decent chef’s knife. If you think a ceramic knife is all you need in the kitchen, you’ll soon find out otherwise. If you already have a chef’s knife, this Kyocera ceramic knife makes a great sidekick to your kitchen cutlery set. If you are looking for an all in one knife that will do everything, invest in a good chef’s knife first.
I found it online for $15 less than I bought it for, with free shipping and no sales tax. 🙁 I guess that’s what I get for impulse shopping. I still have no regrets, this is a great knife.
I am glad that You enjoy that knives if You can find for me one of those bad boys i WILL BE THE HAPPIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD :)p
Bill, thanks for your insight. I agree that there are nice ceramic knives that can be bought for cheap.
There definitely are cheaper ceramic knives that are nice, and there are also a lot of cheaper ceramic knives that aren’t worth a penny. We are planning on expanding our range of reviews soon. I just received a sample knife made by Ceramic Life that I will be reviewing soon.
Thanks for the excellent review. Don’t be fooled by cheaper imitations – if you’re going ceramic, go Kyocera. I was given a less expensive starter set and they were a disappointment and waste of money.
I’ve tried several ceramic knives. They generally remain sharp for a long time, BUT all are too delicate for daily use, especially in a commerical kitchen. I’m sure that in the near future, they will improve.
I’m looking at purchasing a set of ceramic knives for my husband for his birthday…..so, what I would like to know is…..which make/brand to recommend the most? He is looking for a chefs knife.
I own Miyako and Kyocera. Both are great. The Miyako is a lot less expensive, I paid $65 for an entire set. The Kyocera is great too! Can’t go wrong with either one imo.
I to bought a ceramic knife from Harbor Freight just to try it out for I am proud of my Ole Hickory cutting knives which I keep a razor edge on them all the time and use daily for all kitchen task.
At first the edge of the ceramic did feel sharp but it wouldn’t shave the hair off my arm so I brought out my diamond hones and proceeded to sharpen the ceramic. I started out with a 600 grit diamond and a hour later I didn’t notice much improvement but I could see a definate improvment in the polished edge. I next used my 1200 grit hone and in about 15 minutes I had a edge that would shave the hair off my arm dry without and lubricant, thats the edge I like on all my knives.
After months of daily use my biggest dislike of the ceramic knife is the blade isn’t long enuf and the rounded tip wont allow you to debone the way I like to,the little guard at the end of the blade I cut off to allow the full blade to come in contact with my cutting board. but for general use especially chopping vegies for the daily salad , cutting chopping and slicing potatoes it works as good as my Ole Hickory but I dont have to hone the cutting edge daily. After two months of daily use I havn’t sharpened the ceramic outside of the first time since I bought it and it still shaves the hair off my arm , and slices a tomato so thin you can read your newspaper thru it, I’m impressed.
For deboning and for slicing meats I still perfer my Ole Hickory for it has a 8 1/2 blade and I love that feature.
All in all for 20 bucks if you can sharpen it it’s not a bad buy and it’s a good way to learn what ceramic knives are about, if you break it you’re not out much.
I’m ready to move on to a much better brand but I’m looking for at least a 7 inch chefs knife.
Impressed by ceramic knives
I don’t understand, you said you tested and brought a wood-handled knife. But the details say the handle is Polypropylene Resin, a plastics. The model number on the cover in the picture shows it is not wood, but the knife in the picture seems to have a wood handle. What gives?
Suk, good catch, was a typo. It’s been fixed. The details should say “Pakka Wood” for the handle. Thank you!
I bought 3 of the Kyoto Series knives. The ones that have the black Damascus look. Totally satisfied. These things are beyond sharp. A bit over-priced, but “what the heck”… (BTW, Kyrocera makes the Kyoto series)
And don’t forget…Kyocera guarantees them for life…they sharpen or replace them in Costa Mesa.
The prices have come way down : $19 for a paring and $49 for a Santoku now….
I have a Kyocera paring knife which I got in November 2011 as a gift. I have been impressed by its sharpness. I have been looking after it carefully. Recently it developed a chip near the end. Within a few hours a couple of other chips appeared very near the original one. I took a picture and sent it to Kyocera sales support. I was very disappointed when all they could say was that the knife must have ‘fallen on a hard surface or had been twisted during use’. They simply directed me to the distributor who ‘may discuss sharpening’. Very disappointing! One expects better durability for such an expensive product and above all better customer support.
Chipping is normal. I just sent two knives in for sharpening after 4 years of ownership. When I sent them of they were still the sharpest knives I owned. I always handle them with kid gloves though. I love these knives
I was given my first Kyocera Ceramic Knife as a gift from my daughter-in-law (after threatening to steal hers!). I have had it for 4 years and it is used daily. I had noticed that it was not as sharp as before so when a friend went to Hong Kong, I asked her to see if she could find me a sharpener. She came back with a Chef’s, paring knife and a potatoe peeler. The entire set (including a special cutting mat) cost me R250.00 (about $40). I will never allow any guest to use any of these knives as I know they will find a place in their handbags. The sharpener works very well, it is not battery operated but consists of two different “emery boards” that sharpen and then smooth. In a word, unbelievable.
I just bought my Kyocera knife about a month ago, used it to cut garlic and chipped it pretty badly. Took it back to see if it could be replaced – NO – they are going to sharpen it down to get the chips out. Lets see how this all pans out. I would think that there would be better warranty on a $100 (CAD) knife! I was just in Hong Kong and wish I had known that it was so cheap to buy there rather than here in Malaysia! I will be sure to keep my eye open for Kyocera next time I am travelling to HK and will buy more at that price!
Here’s what I don’t understand.
Ceramic is supposed to be WAY harder than steel. According to everything I’ve read, they are just below diamonds in hardness… so why are they so fragile?
I mean really… what gives?
Jaime
Ceramic doesn’t flex – at all. The difference between a steel knife and a ceramic knife is the difference between hardness and toughness. The harder a material is the more brittle it is. Ceramic knives have hardness. This means the edge won’t fold over like the edge on a steel knife. If too much pressure is put on a portion of a ceramic edge it will simply chip off and be gone forever. There is no way it can bend. The other side of that coin is that the steel knife edge will fold over at the microscopic level making it dull. The good part about that is that you can quickly hone the steel edge to straighten it out again restoring the sharpness. Once the ceramic edge is too badly chipped it has to be resharpened – which is different from honed. Think of it this way, you will never see a barber with a ceramic straight razor. They use a leather strop to repeatedly restore the edge on their steel straight razor. Both ceramic and steel have their place in your kitchen. It depends on what you are doing to choose the right tool for the job.
I used ceramic knives almost 3 years ago . It was not Kyocera ceramic knives .
Recent I went to Japan and I bought 2 more Kyocera knives from tokyo.
I am really so happy to own them, but I like to know how to sharpen them .
Thanks