"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:06:51 -0800 (PST), the infamous
" scrawled the following:

On Nov 18, 7:49 am, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:22:21 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus6517
scrawled the following:

I would like to try buying a ceramic kitchen knife like this

ebay 310099844249

just mostly out of curiosity. Has anyone tried them. Thanks

I bought a 6" chef's knife about 4 years ago and used it happily for
about a year, when I broke it. I was cutting down through a head of
cabbage when it got through the dense core and started speeding down
at the cutting board. As it hit, it shattered at the junction of the
handle, breaking into two pieces. Up until then, I had adored the
thing. While it was just as sharp at the end of the year as it was
new, it is said that they can be honed on diamond plates.

I remain a strong proponent of ceramic knives.

Ig, I have two caveats for you:

1) Shock is your enemy. Don't allow it to hit the cutting board very
hard or fast.

2) The cutting edge is brittle. Don't try to cut bone or attempt to
cut frozen items. And resist rotating the knife in the cut, but
rocking is OK. (I learned anti-rotation with a tiny 1/16" chip, but
the chipped edge is just as sharp, so it didn't diminish the cutting
capacity. (google "flintknapping")

Other than that, they're really great knives. Go for it! The top
brands cost about triple that price.

--
Latin: It's not just for geniuses any more.

Are these similar to the glass knives that were peddled in the 1940's
and 1950's? They had the same keen cutting edge and shattering
problem. Mom wouldn't buy one because they just didn't seem safe.

No, I strongly doubt it. These are metallic ceramic called
"zirconia", aka "man-made diamond", which I believe hadn't been
invented back then.

Oh, wait, I remember where you got the diamond thing. You're talking about
cubic zirconia, which is a form that's clear crystal, used as artificial gem
diamonds.

It still isn't diamond, man-made or otherwise. But you probably know that.
The ceramic zirconia usually is white.

--
Ed Huntress