Cutting Paper Thin Tomato Slices

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I’m putting my ceramic knife to the ultimate test today. Tomatoes! I’m making sandwiches for lunch today so I thought it’d be a good chance to test out my knife on the notoriously hard-to-slice tomatoes. A sharp blade is always a necessity, otherwise, you’ll end up with a chopping board full of ketchup or thick uneven slices. I imagine ceramic knives would succeed in doing the job but I wanted to check just to be sure.

Ceramic knives are supposed to excelled at slicing tomatoes, this was no exception. Perfectly even slices…they almost look too good to eat! I barely needed to put any pressure on the knife at all. It did all the work. Even the tough skin was not enough to keep the knife from going through. The first incision is always the hardest but there was no resistance whatsoever as the blade sliced through the tough skin.

I usually like my tomatoes pretty thin but I can rarely get them thin enough. With the ceramic knife, I can get them as thin as I want. Just for fun, I tried to make them paper thin (as shown in the picture). Take a look at that! Isn’t that amazing?

OK, I’m convinced…I’m sold! There’s no way I’m ever letting go of this knife. It’s one of the best investments I’ve made to date. Now I’m wondering what took me so long to get this knife. Ahh, I remember…the price. Ceramic knives do come with a hefty price tag but it is certainly well worth every penny.

Ceramic Knives and Odors

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I came back from the market yesterday and was so excited to try out my new ceramic kitchen knife. On the dinner menu was steak with garlic potatoes. Potatoes are always fun to cut so I made sure that was on the menu. It’s also a good test of how sharp and well the knife handles.

I went straight for the potatoes. After a good rinse, I started dicing. Wow…I was impressed! The knife glides so easily through the potatoes with minimal effort. Each slice and dice was so precise. The potatoes also didn’t stick to the blade like they usually do with

 

I came back from the market yesterday and was so excited to try out my new ceramic kitchen knife. On the dinner menu was steak with garlic potatoes. Potatoes are always fun to cut so I made sure that was on the menu. It’s also a good test of how sharp and well the knife handles.

I went straight for the potatoes. After a good rinse, I started dicing. Wow…I was impressed! The knife glides so easily through the potatoes with minimal effort. Each slice and dice was so precise. The potatoes also didn’t stick to the blade like they usually do with metal knives, which used to be such a nuisance. My prep time was decreased simply because I didn’t have to release each slice off the blade after each cut. It was such a pleasure to use… I wish I had bought more potatoes!

Now on to the garlic…my least favorite thing to chop. The cloves are small and they stink up my hands for days. I usually start by smashing the cloves with a metal knife but since I wasn’t sure of the durability of ceramic knives, I skipped this step and peeled the paper off the cloves. Chopping it was actually kinda fun. I was able to make very thin slices, then julienne, then chop. It was great! Just like the potatoes, every cut was so precise. This thing is razor sharp…I could feel it going into the cutting board. I had to remind myself that no pressure was needed.

According to Kyocera’s website, “Kyocera advanced ceramic knives are chemically inert so foods look and taste the way they should. The smooth, polished surface resists germs and is impervious to acids, oils and salts.” I had to put it to the test and what better way than with garlic. I just gave the knife a rinse, didn’t use detergent or anything, dried it off and took a good smell of the blade. They really do live up to their claim. No trace of garlic odor was left behind. But I will put the knife to the ultimate test at a later time.

Kyocera KC-130-WH Knife Review

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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.

Kobe Master 3″ Paring Knife Review

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I was shopping at one of my local home supply stores and came across an interesting product. For $10, there was a Kobe Master (that is the Brand) ceramic paring knife and a ceramic peeler, and it was the last one! I thought it was a typo too so I quickly put the last one in my basket and proceeded to checkout. After the cashier rang up the set, it turned out it was a typo. It wasn’t $10 for the set, it was only $5!!! I thought to myself, what a deal and what a perfect opportunity for a review.

DETAILS

This Kobe Master ceramic knife set didn’t include any details or technical specs to it. As you can see from the picture, the packaging only said the brand name. I’ll fill this section with my own specs, based on what I see with the knife and peeler.

One the outside, the set looks like a very cheap generic brand. The set was packaged in tight heavy plastic, the kind that is very hard to open without slicing your hand apart. After taking out the knife and peeler (and almost a finger), I found the knife and peeler wasn’t as cheaply made as I was expecting.

The rubbery handles on both the ceramic knife and the ceramic peeler had a nice grip to it. Both the ceramic knife and the ceramic peeler were extremely lightweight. I could hardly tell I was holding it. The handles had a nice ergonomic shape to it.

The blade it’s self looked like the Kyocera ceramic blades expect it lacked the iridescent of Kyocera blades. The edges were pretty sharp, although not quite as sharp as the Kyocera knives. The peeler had a very similar blade as the knife, also very sharp but not any sharper than any brand new peeler I’ve ever had.

PERFORMANCE

I used this set to peel and mangoes as fast as I could, just to check if the knife or peeler would hold me back any. If you haven’t had mangoes before, they have a thicker skin that is sometimes difficult to peel with a peeler. To my surprise, the peeler worked very well! The blade isn’t as sharp as my Miyako or Kyocera ceramic knives, but it performed better than any peeler I have in my kitchen drawers. The ceramic knife it came with was also a pleasant surprise. It was sharp enough to rip apart the mangoes with ease.

This ceramic set, to my surprise, performed quite well together. The ceramic peeler and ceramic knife were both sharp enough to do the task I presented it. Only time will tell if this knife set actually keeps it’s sharp edge as long as a higher quality ceramic knife can. I’ll write an update to this post after a few months of heavy use. Stay tuned for the news.

THE FINAL VERDICT

At $10 retail (I actually paid $5), this is a set I can recommend buying. It does have some issues with it and it’s not the highest quality knife you’ll find, but it is an excellent bargain, even if you have to pay the full $10.

Ceramic Life Review

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Ceramic Life knives (say that 10 times fast) are a relatively new player in the industry. These are Korean made knives that are distributed throughout the U.S at retail stores. Upon receiving my sample knives in the mail, I was in a rush to try give them a test (what a loser I am… what can I say, I love to use ceramic knives!).

My initial thought was that the packaging seems quite flimsy, thin cardboard inside a thin plastic box. The packaging makes no difference to me, but it often times will reveal a bit about the product’s quality, we’ll soon find out right?

DETAILS

Blade material: Zirconium Oxide
Handle Material: Polypropylene Resin
Size: 6.7-in.
Weight: 9 ounces
Origin: Korea
Cleaning & Care: Hand wash with mild dish soap

Price:

6.7 inch chef’s knife: $40
4.5 inch paring knife : $25

PERFORMANCE

Upon initial use, this knife seemed to perform very similar to most brands on the market. The balance of the knife was almost spot on. The weight felt well distributed allowing for better control of the knife.

The handle was comfortable to grip. The handle has an ever so slight ergonomic curve to it. Not perfectly straight, but not overly curved. After cutting about a dozen tomatoes and potatoes, fatigue did not set in at all. I guess we are having stew for dinner tonight!

The blade felt very sharp to the touch but not quite as sharp we would like. Its cutting performance rivaled most decent metal knives we’ve used, but not nearly the razor edge found on higher end ceramic knives. The sides of the blade aren’t very smooth. We found that food stuck to the sides a lot more frequently.

DURABILITY

After 4 months of almost daily use of this knife, it has stood up pretty well. The blade is still close to its orginal sharpness. After inspecting the edge very closely, I see no chips on the blade at all. The handle has held up well and it still performs like it just came out of the box.

THE FINAL VERDICT

The Ceramic Life chef’s knife is an admirable first attempt in the ceramic knife industry. The knife is well made and performs well for its price. The blade kept its edge through rigorous use, but out of the box, the edge isn’t honed quite so well. At about $40, this knife is a nice way to get your foot into the door. For any hard core ceramic knife user, I would stay away and get a higher end brand.