Let’s do a little recap on ceramic blades. They are extremely corrosion resistant, making them ideal for both diving and kitchen use—ceramic is impervious to the acids found in citruses as well as water. Ceramic also has excellent edge retention, so knives with ceramic blades typically don’t need to be sharpened super often. In the event that you do need to sharpen a ceramic blade, however, your life might not be so easy. Sharpening ceramic blades is very difficult, and the material is also very brittle. This makes them even more difficult to sharpen. So, what do you do when you have a ceramic blade that needs to be sharpened?

If Your Ceramic Knife Needs Sharpening

Here’s the thing; I did some talking to the fine customer service representatives at Blade HQ because they are all-knowing when it comes to knives. The head of the customer service department told me that no one warranties ceramic blades. This is sad, but true. Because ceramic blades are brittle, it’s entirely possible that the ceramic blade could break while being sharpened. If the blade does break, then you’re out of luck since ceramic blades typically aren’t covered by warranty. The moral of the story here is don’t sharpen your ceramic blades on your own. It’s not worth breaking the blade and being out a knife and having to replace it on your own.

So, what do you do when you buy a knife and it comes out of the box duller than you’d like? In those instances, we recommend that you ship your knife back to the manufacturer so they can sharpen it for you. That way, there’s no risk of accidentally breaking your knife while attempting to sharpen it on your own.

How do I Know if My Knife Needs Sharpening?

If you’re new to ceramic blades, you might not be able to tell when your knife needs sharpening. The truth is, ceramic blades are largely the same as stainless steel blades when it comes to figuring out when they need sharpening.

Your biggest clue that your ceramic blade knife needs sharpening is that it will have become dull (shocker, right?). If you start to have trouble cutting things, or if it takes a lot of effort to cut, it might be time to send your knife off to be sharpened. Sometimes you can even tell just by looking down the edge of the knife that it’s becoming dull.

Another way to tell if your ceramic blade needs to be sharpened is by examining the edge closely. If there are tiny chips in the edge that mimic mini serrations, then it’s a good idea to send your knife in to be sharpened.

In Summation

So to sum up, if your ceramic knife needs sharpening, be sure to send it in to the manufacturer to sharpen. They will have the skill and equipment necessary to sharpen the ceramic, which is very brittle by nature. Ceramic blades typically are not covered by warranty, so you don’t want to attempt to sharpen your knife and end up with a broken one, especially if it’s your first time sharpening ceramic.

Hopefully you feel more enlightened about sharpening ceramic blades now. What other things would you like to know about ceramic blade knives? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below and we’ll look into it for you!

Thanks for stopping by! If you’re in the market for a new ceramic blade knife, be sure to head on over to Blade HQ where there’s a great selection of knives!

This is a question that I seem to be coming across more and more. Nobody really goes into detail on which really is better. Today, we are going to compare the two. The main focus is going to be ceramic knives; everybody knows about steel knives.

Okay, a few things you need to know about ceramic knives: they are fragile. You will likely hear stories about people dropping and shattering ceramic knives as if they were a Ming vase. Like most legends, this isn’t true. Yes, they are fragile, but they don’t shatter. The blades usually break or chip. I have never had any of my ceramic knives shatter when dropped or banged against anything—this is something that I have personally tested. Usually with a larger ceramic blade it is more likely to chip than with a smaller ceramic blade.

A ceramic knife is extremely sharp and remains sharper longer than your average steel knife. Ceramic knives are much harder to sharpen because the only recommended way is to sharpen them with a diamond dust coated spinning wheel or diamond coated stones. Steel blades dull quicker than ceramic blades, but they are much easier to sharpen. The average ceramic edge will remain sharp for about 3-5 years, compare to a steel blade.

When cooking, chopping or parring, I prefer ceramic to steel blades. Parring is obviously easier to do if the knife is much sharper; the sharper, the better. Ceramic knives are designed to chop vegetables, fruit, filet fish and chop boneless meat. Obviously you will want to be very careful when you are doing this because you don’t want to hit that blade against anything harder than ceramic. If you blade does encounter something hard, you will most likely find your edge chipped.

Another perk to working with a ceramic knife is the fact that they do not rust. Steel blades can rust if not properly taken care of. If you live near a large body of water or somewhere that is very humid, steel is bound to rust. Ceramic doesn’t rust and is extremely easy to clean. If you are a fisherman, a knife that is easy to clean, stays sharp and isn’t susceptible to water is preferred.

You might notice a that there is somewhat of a pattern. It’s not simple to see, but I will be kind enough to point it out. Ceramic knives are designed for a special kind of job! Steel knives are designed to do just about everything else. In reality, comparing the two is like saying truck vs car! A truck is designed to pull things, haul loads and go off-road. Whereas cars are simply for transportation. That being said: let’s take a look at some of the type of jobs a ceramic blade would be good for.

First up, being a professional chef, ceramic edges are perfect for just flying through fruits and vegetables. Being as light as they are, they are really easy to get some speed when chopping things up. Cleaning as you go has never been as easy. All your really have to do is rinse it off. And tada! It’s clean and sanitized. No scrubbing and dish soap isn’t necessary. Ceramic blades are not porous; therefore odors, bacteria and germs, slime, etc cannot adhere to its surface. Chefs don’t always have time to stop and sharpen up a knife.

Another great job a ceramic knife would have is working with a scuba diver. It is important for them to have a knife that isn’t going to rust and fall apart on them. With ceramic, you don’t have to worry about any sort of rust or corrosion. Yes, they make steals that are rust-resistant. The key word is rust-resistant; not rust-proof. Steel knives that are labeled rust-resistance still can rust.

If you are a scuba diver, a ceramic knife is the right knife for you. You can take the knife with you while scuba diving without having to worry about rust or erosion. One downfall to having a ceramic knife when you’re scuba diving is if you need to cut something hard, your ceramic knife will more likely hinder than help. Ceramic knives are more fragile and you will have a higher chance of chipping your edge on something.

Overall ceramic blades stay sharp; are sanitary; and are great for food preparation, fishing and any activities that require soft things to be cut.

Post a comment and let me know what you have experienced with ceramic knives.