Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us? (raiseshand)
 

I have seen these during the last few visits I've made to a HF store.
Today I went to buy a couple other things and decided to get a knife too
(the medium-size, $11 one).

I've been aware of ceramic kitchen knives for years, but when they first
came out they cost a fortune and I didn't care enough about kitchen
knives to want one. The idea of a ceramic being tough enough to make
into a thin knife blade is fascinating though, and the HF knives are so
cheap that they're only ~2X what a decent steel one would have cost--so
I decided why not. It is odd how you can see the shadows of your fingers
on it when you hold it up to a light.

I have already heard that one requirement of these knives is that they
cannot be stored where they will rattle around with anything else (that
is, in the drawer with most of the other knives) since the edge will
chip easily. Also you can't pry with them or strike anything hard.

After getting home and getting it out of the package, I noticed it
doesn't seem very sharp. I haven't tried cutting actual food with it
yet, my assessment of "not very sharp" is just scraping my finger on the
edge, and slicing a couple pieces of paper. The plain steel knives I
normally use can be honed sharper in 15 seconds, and a new razor blade
is WAY sharper. Is this normal for ceramic knives, or just for a Harbor
Freight knife?

Second, do you sharpen these things? I have a couple diamond knife
sharpeners around but I would assume even the finest of them to be too
coarse. ...Since you're not raising a burr, the grinding would have to
be a very fine texture. I would guess the best way would be some
mirror-finish/optical diamond polishing compound and a sheet of paper or
similar. I don't have any diamond compound around and a tube would cost
$16 from Enco, so I would be spending $16 to sharpen a $11 knife. :P

Lastly, is there any kind of food that ceramic knives are especially
good for cutting?

Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us?(raiseshand)
 

DougC wrote:

I have seen these during the last few visits I've made to a HF store.
Today I went to buy a couple other things and decided to get a knife too
(the medium-size, $11 one).

I've been aware of ceramic kitchen knives for years, but when they first
came out they cost a fortune and I didn't care enough about kitchen
knives to want one. The idea of a ceramic being tough enough to make
into a thin knife blade is fascinating though, and the HF knives are so
cheap that they're only ~2X what a decent steel one would have cost--so
I decided why not. It is odd how you can see the shadows of your fingers
on it when you hold it up to a light.

I have already heard that one requirement of these knives is that they
cannot be stored where they will rattle around with anything else (that
is, in the drawer with most of the other knives) since the edge will
chip easily. Also you can't pry with them or strike anything hard.

After getting home and getting it out of the package, I noticed it
doesn't seem very sharp. I haven't tried cutting actual food with it
yet, my assessment of "not very sharp" is just scraping my finger on the
edge, and slicing a couple pieces of paper. The plain steel knives I
normally use can be honed sharper in 15 seconds, and a new razor blade
is WAY sharper. Is this normal for ceramic knives, or just for a Harbor
Freight knife?

Second, do you sharpen these things? I have a couple diamond knife
sharpeners around but I would assume even the finest of them to be too
coarse. ...Since you're not raising a burr, the grinding would have to
be a very fine texture. I would guess the best way would be some
mirror-finish/optical diamond polishing compound and a sheet of paper or
similar. I don't have any diamond compound around and a tube would cost
$16 from Enco, so I would be spending $16 to sharpen a $11 knife. :P

Lastly, is there any kind of food that ceramic knives are especially
good for cutting?

I've had them a couple years and they work great. The apparent sharpness
to the touch is deceiving, they cut foods very well (remember to slice
and move the blade in two directions, not just try to press it through
the food). Their non-reactivity is nice for onions and tomatoes and
citrus.

As for sharpening, yes, diamond is required, don't discount the extra
fine purple DMT sharpeners, do the sharpening in the correct direction
and you should effectively get micro-serrations, but you really
shouldn't need to sharpen them at all, just use them.

Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us? (raises hand)
 

"DougC" wrote in message
...
I have seen these during the last few visits I've made to a HF store. Today
I went to buy a couple other things and decided to get a knife too (the
medium-size, $11 one).

I've been aware of ceramic kitchen knives for years, but when they first
came out they cost a fortune and I didn't care enough about kitchen knives
to want one. The idea of a ceramic being tough enough to make into a thin
knife blade is fascinating though, and the HF knives are so cheap that
they're only ~2X what a decent steel one would have cost--so I decided why
not. It is odd how you can see the shadows of your fingers on it when you
hold it up to a light.

I have already heard that one requirement of these knives is that they
cannot be stored where they will rattle around with anything else (that
is, in the drawer with most of the other knives) since the edge will chip
easily. Also you can't pry with them or strike anything hard.

After getting home and getting it out of the package, I noticed it doesn't
seem very sharp. I haven't tried cutting actual food with it yet, my
assessment of "not very sharp" is just scraping my finger on the edge, and
slicing a couple pieces of paper. The plain steel knives I normally use
can be honed sharper in 15 seconds, and a new razor blade is WAY sharper.
Is this normal for ceramic knives, or just for a Harbor Freight knife?

Second, do you sharpen these things? I have a couple diamond knife
sharpeners around but I would assume even the finest of them to be too
coarse. ...Since you're not raising a burr, the grinding would have to be
a very fine texture. I would guess the best way would be some
mirror-finish/optical diamond polishing compound and a sheet of paper or
similar. I don't have any diamond compound around and a tube would cost
$16 from Enco, so I would be spending $16 to sharpen a $11 knife. :P

Lastly, is there any kind of food that ceramic knives are especially good
for cutting?


I bought a Kyocera many years ago and it was very sharp at first, but you
are right that they are nearly impossible to sharpen. I had no luck with
fine diamond polishing film.

Kyocera will re-sharpen their own brand for free if you pay shipping.

Here is how they do it. It is not clear to me what they are using for their
final buffing wheel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqn7vcByIgo

Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us?(raises hand)
 

I picked up a Wasabi 8" chef's knife at a garage sale - for $1.

It was pretty sharp already, but scary sharp now.

Cuts bond paper without slicing! It just parts the paper.

DON'T drop it!

Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us?(raiseshand)
 

I have one and it works fine so far.

i

On 2012-01-18, Pete C. wrote:

DougC wrote:

I have seen these during the last few visits I've made to a HF store.
Today I went to buy a couple other things and decided to get a knife too
(the medium-size, $11 one).

I've been aware of ceramic kitchen knives for years, but when they first
came out they cost a fortune and I didn't care enough about kitchen
knives to want one. The idea of a ceramic being tough enough to make
into a thin knife blade is fascinating though, and the HF knives are so
cheap that they're only ~2X what a decent steel one would have cost--so
I decided why not. It is odd how you can see the shadows of your fingers
on it when you hold it up to a light.

I have already heard that one requirement of these knives is that they
cannot be stored where they will rattle around with anything else (that
is, in the drawer with most of the other knives) since the edge will
chip easily. Also you can't pry with them or strike anything hard.

After getting home and getting it out of the package, I noticed it
doesn't seem very sharp. I haven't tried cutting actual food with it
yet, my assessment of "not very sharp" is just scraping my finger on the
edge, and slicing a couple pieces of paper. The plain steel knives I
normally use can be honed sharper in 15 seconds, and a new razor blade
is WAY sharper. Is this normal for ceramic knives, or just for a Harbor
Freight knife?

Second, do you sharpen these things? I have a couple diamond knife
sharpeners around but I would assume even the finest of them to be too
coarse. ...Since you're not raising a burr, the grinding would have to
be a very fine texture. I would guess the best way would be some
mirror-finish/optical diamond polishing compound and a sheet of paper or
similar. I don't have any diamond compound around and a tube would cost
$16 from Enco, so I would be spending $16 to sharpen a $11 knife. :P

Lastly, is there any kind of food that ceramic knives are especially
good for cutting?

I've had them a couple years and they work great. The apparent sharpness
to the touch is deceiving, they cut foods very well (remember to slice
and move the blade in two directions, not just try to press it through
the food). Their non-reactivity is nice for onions and tomatoes and
citrus.

As for sharpening, yes, diamond is required, don't discount the extra
fine purple DMT sharpeners, do the sharpening in the correct direction
and you should effectively get micro-serrations, but you really
shouldn't need to sharpen them at all, just use them.

Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us? (raises hand)
 

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:07:47 -0600, DougC
wrote:

I have seen these during the last few visits I've made to a HF store.
Today I went to buy a couple other things and decided to get a knife too
(the medium-size, $11 one).

I've been aware of ceramic kitchen knives for years, but when they first
came out they cost a fortune and I didn't care enough about kitchen
knives to want one. The idea of a ceramic being tough enough to make
into a thin knife blade is fascinating though, and the HF knives are so
cheap that they're only ~2X what a decent steel one would have cost--so
I decided why not. It is odd how you can see the shadows of your fingers
on it when you hold it up to a light.

I have already heard that one requirement of these knives is that they
cannot be stored where they will rattle around with anything else (that
is, in the drawer with most of the other knives) since the edge will
chip easily. Also you can't pry with them or strike anything hard.

Mine broke when I tried to cut a sweet potato one-handed. It cut
halfway through, paused, and then went through quickly, right into the
plastic cutting board at 100mph. My 6" chef's knife was left in two
pieces, the entire blade and the handle with the small tang in the
end. Broke my heart, it did.


After getting home and getting it out of the package, I noticed it
doesn't seem very sharp. I haven't tried cutting actual food with it
yet, my assessment of "not very sharp" is just scraping my finger on the
edge, and slicing a couple pieces of paper. The plain steel knives I
normally use can be honed sharper in 15 seconds, and a new razor blade
is WAY sharper. Is this normal for ceramic knives, or just for a Harbor
Freight knife?

My Japanese (can't remember the name, Eagle something at 1/3 the price
of the big brands) chef's knife was truly ScarySharp(tm).


Second, do you sharpen these things? I have a couple diamond knife
sharpeners around but I would assume even the finest of them to be too
coarse. ...Since you're not raising a burr, the grinding would have to
be a very fine texture. I would guess the best way would be some
mirror-finish/optical diamond polishing compound and a sheet of paper or
similar. I don't have any diamond compound around and a tube would cost
$16 from Enco, so I would be spending $16 to sharpen a $11 knife. :P

I'd try a 1200 grit diamond hone, though they might be nearly the same
hardness.


Lastly, is there any kind of food that ceramic knives are especially
good for cutting?

When sharp, veggies. They leave no metallic residue or taste on them.

--
The human brain is unique in that it is the only container of which
it can be said that the more you put into it, the more it will hold.
-- Glenn Doman

Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us? (raises hand)
 

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:06:21 -0600, Richard
wrote:

I picked up a Wasabi 8" chef's knife at a garage sale - for $1.

It was pretty sharp already, but scary sharp now.

Cuts bond paper without slicing! It just parts the paper.

DON'T drop it!
I'm kinda partial to the Cavendish carving set I paid $0.50 for a
couple years back. The case is a bit ratty looking and the steel has
lots of patina but it holds a good edge.

Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us? (raises hand)
 

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:01:28 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

I have already heard that one requirement of these knives is that they
cannot be stored where they will rattle around with anything else (that
is, in the drawer with most of the other knives) since the edge will
chip easily. Also you can't pry with them or strike anything hard.

Mine broke when I tried to cut a sweet potato one-handed. It cut
halfway through, paused, and then went through quickly, right into the
plastic cutting board at 100mph. My 6" chef's knife was left in two
pieces, the entire blade and the handle with the small tang in the
end. Broke my heart, it did.

You can "fix" that by gluing a grip made from wood to the last inch or
so of the blade.

Its a bit shorter..but works well enough. I did that with a couple
pieces of walnut and super glue. Still holding up fine 5 yrs later

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us?(raises hand)
 

Years ago I called Kyocera about their recomended procedure for
sharpening their alumina zirconiaum knives and they said to return
them as it was proprietary.
I thanked them for their time and told them I would instruct my
customers to find some other brand.
FWIW a 600grit resin bond 100conc diamond wheeel works fairly well,
you do not want to breathe the dust or draw the brittle edge out too
thin.
You might be able to get a wheel no longer suitable for grinding
carbide saws from a sharpener for coffee and donuts.

Harbor Freight ceramic kitchen knives--who is guilty among us?(raises hand)
 

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
And when they engage in anal sex their progeny grow up
to become right wing conservative lackeys of the corporate
world.

Asch-hole