We set out today to answer a few different questions. Are ceramic knives any good? Do you want to add ceramic knives to your collection, or even push them to the top of the heap? Do they really shatter into a million little sharp shards like people say? Do ceramic knives stay sharp? We bought a giant stack of knives and set out to answer those questions in this test kitchen. Read on to find out what we learned.
| PRODUCT | RATING | PRICE |
|---|---|---|
| SINGLE KNIVES | ||
| 1. Kyocera Advanced | ★★★★★ | $$$$$ |
| 2. Sendaist | ★★★★ | $ |
| 3. Kitchen Emperor | ★★★★ | $$$ |
| 4. T-Fal Ingenio | ★★★ | $$ |
| 5. Farberware | ★★ | $$ |
| KNIVES SETS | ||
| 1. Shenzhen | ★★★★★ | $$$ |
| 2. Takiup | ★★★ | $$$ |
| 3. Wolf War | ★★★ | $$$ |
| 4. Imori | ★★ | $$$ |
| 5. Coiwin | ★☆ | $$$ |
| 6. Homesport | ★☆ | $$$ |
| 7. Raku | ★ | $$$ |
| 8. Wacool | ★ | $$$ |
BUYER’S GUIDE
What Are Ceramic Knives?
Ceramics are an ancient form of technology where earthen materials like clay and sand are formed into useful shapes, then heated to harden them into useful and beautiful things. Ceramics have been used for food storage and cooking for all of human history. High-strength ceramics, though, are a relatively new thing. Modern materials engineering has produced new types of ceramic materials built around extremely pure raw materials and tightly controlled manufacturing techniques. Depending on the raw materials and process used, engineers can produce advanced ceramics with all kinds of mechanical, electrical, thermal, and optical qualities.
Ceramic knives are made from Zirconium Dioxide, also known as Zirconia or Zirconium Oxide. The carefully purified raw material is ground into a powder, with particles measuring about one micrometer in diameter. The powder is placed in a knife-shaped mold, then solidified under massive pressure and fired at high heat. The knife-shaped blank that comes out of this process is sharpened on a diamond wheel and fitted with a handle. The end product is lightweight, strong, and harder than any steel.
Throughout our testing we compared the Kyocera’s ceramic chef’s knife performance to the steel Victorinox santoku style knife. Ceramic knives offer a nonstick advantage over stainless steel knives.
TESTING
The Lineup – Ceramic VS. Steel Knives
A look over the world of ceramic knives showed us two main groups of products out there. On the low end, we’ve got inexpensive knife sets suitable for an AirBNB or summer rental. If you had to cook with these every day, you’d rapidly want a better knife, but the price is good enough that you wouldn’t care too much if someone breaks or loses one. We’re comparing these to comparable steel sets from Amazon Basics and Cuisinart.
We’ve seen steel knives like these around in a lot of places, and they tend to get nicked and dull real quick. The goal of this test is to see if an inexpensive ceramic set can do better.
On the high end, we have knives that purport to be your number one knife. These tend to be sold individually, and cost as much as a cheap set. We’re comparing these to a Victorinox santoku knife on the higher end and some checkout line special Everyday Living knives on the low end. Here, we want to see if these knives could have a place in your kitchen and see regular use.
BEST CERAMIC KNIVES
1. Kyocera Advanced — ★★★★★
| SHAPE | BLADE LENGTH | WEIGHT (g) | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chef | 7 | 86.58 | $$$$$ |
The Kyocera Advanced is a 7-inch chef’s ceramic knife that wants to be your primary kitchen knife. Our testing shows that it makes a really good case for the job. At $61, it’s also the most expensive thing in this test, so the bar is pretty high.
The Kyocera went through the carrots as if they were butter. It is incredibly sharp out of the box. The balance is perfect, and the grip is comfortable. Unlike some of our lesser knives, the ceramic blade is large enough that there’s room under the grip for the knuckles to clear the cutting board. There’s also a little unsharpened section right at the heel of the knife so your fingers don’t get nicked. My only complaint is that the curve of the blade is a little too gentle to get a nice rocking action when chopping. The Kyocera had no trouble with the acorn squash. It took some work, but it went through pretty easily with good control. It slid right through the pineapple without any problems from the dulling session. The tomato sliced neatly and easily, even after another round of dulling.
Overall, the Kyocera is clearly the best ceramic knife out there. It held up to all of our abuse without any trouble, so it could work well for years and years in an ordinary kitchen environment. Should it be your number one kitchen knife? I’m too used to the weight and feel of my steel knife, but it absolutely could be someone’s first choice.
2. Sendaist — ★★★★
| SHAPE | BLADE LENGTH | WEIGHT (g) | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chef | 6 | 83.44 | $ |
$13 doesn’t buy you anything incredible in the knife section, but the Sendaist is as good as you’re going to get. This is a super-basic 6-inch chef’s knife with a blade cover and storage case. The handle feels cheap, but it also doesn’t try to do anything outlandish. I like the grip and balance on this ceramic knife except for one thing – the blade’s edge goes all the way back to the heel, including a sharp corner. Keep your closest finger tight, or else you’re going to get cut.
The Sendaist did a pretty average job on the carrots. The ceramic blade is acceptably sharp, but not amazing. Control is reasonably good, with a pretty aggressive curve that affords a pronounced rocking motion. I didn’t feel great about the cut on the squash, but it got through with some difficulty. The blade performed well on the pineapple. I especially liked how well I was able to keep good control with an easy pinch grip. It took a couple of passes to get a slice going on the tomato, but it ultimately sliced clean. After dulling, I was impressed to see it cutting exactly the same as before.
All in all, the Sendaist is a pretty average knife, but an absolute steal at $13. I’m putting this one in the camping box: it’s sharp, long-lasting, versatile, and it’s cheap enough that I don’t care if it gets wrecked.
3. Kitchen Emperor — ★★★★
| SHAPE | BLADE LENGTH | WEIGHT (g) | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chef | 8 | 139.67 | $$$ |
Are ceramic knives their own thing, or are they just a different version of the classic steel chef’s knife? The Kitchen Emperor is the knife in our roundup that tries the hardest to be a traditional 8-inch professional chef’s knife. The profile is extremely traditional with a great shape for an easy rocking motion, the grip is traditional and sure with helpful rubber grip nubs. The blade has a short ricasso at the base to give your closest finger a safe place to rest. The weight (140 g) is the heaviest in our test, comparable to a stamped steel knife, but still a third less than a comparably-sized forged knife. At $20, including a blade cover and a storage case, I really wanted to like this knife.
The Kitchen Emperor ruled over the carrot population with a conspicuously sharp edge and easy cutting action. That excellent performance fell off a bit when we tried it on the acorn squash. It got a good bite into the skin, but struggled a bit with the tough vegetable flesh. The extra length did help since I could assist the cut with a hand on top of the tip. The pineapple cut well, but without any particular élan. I did very much appreciate the good grip on this cut. The tomato test was where things fell down. The Kitchen Emperor needed help from the tip to start the cut on the first slice, but after the second round of dulling, it couldn’t make the slice at all.
On the whole, I give the Kitchen Emperor a pretty good grade. The shape, weight, and grip are great. The ceramic blade started great too, but took a real hit after being dulled. Obviously you’ll treat this knife better than we did, but I think you’ll be unhappy with it in a year and unable to sharpen it. Still, for $20, this is pretty good, and a great starter knife if you want to try a ceramic.
4. T-Fal Ingenio — ★★★
| SHAPE | BLADE LENGTH | WEIGHT (g) | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chef | 6 | 98.38 | $$ |
The T-Fal Ingenio offers a unique feature among our ceramic knives: a bolster. Unlike the real thing on a forged knife, this is just a ring of plastic that transitions into the blade itself. This does help with the balance on this 6-inch chef’s knife, but I feel like the rest of the handle misses the point. Where a normal handle stays roughly straight going into the bolster, the T-Fal’s jags outward substantially. The result is a bad grip, either a handle grip all the way behind the jag or a pinch grip that splays my third finger as far back is it can go to get into the notch. Either way, I’d be happier without this fake bolster.
Digging into the carrots, the T-Fal did a reasonable job. It is nicely sharp, and while the grip is awkward, the blade has a good shape for easy rocking. It did a credible but not amazing job on the squash. It was easy to get a good bite into the outside, but forcing through the tough squash was difficult. The T-Fal stood out on the pineapple with a smooth and sure cut through the difficult fruit. Things really fell down on the tomato, though. It started out bad and only got worse after dulling the blade. A riper tomato would have just been crushed; our average tomato had to settle for just being mauled.
At $18, including a cover, the T-Fal is a pretty average knife. The grip is uncomfortable, and it can’t hold up to long-term wear and tear. There are better knives out there for a similar price.
5. Farberware — ★★
| SHAPE | BLADE LENGTH | WEIGHT (g) | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santoku | 5 | 80.22 | $$ |
We tried the Farberware 5-inch santoku knife ($19) plus the 3-inch paring knife ($7) that is sometimes sold together with it. Each one comes with a plastic cover for travel.
My first impression was not too good. The blade is small, and the handle is huge. The balance is good, but I can’t find a comfortable grip anywhere, and I’ve got medium-to-big hands. The middle section of the handle is just too big for my fingers, no matter what grip I try. Worse, with the blade fully on the cutting board, there is just ⅜” between the fattest part of the handle and the cutting board, leaving no room for your fingers. I don’t know how they expect you to use this thing. The paring knife’s handle is also overly large, but I find that less concerning.
Moving to the carrots, this was a real disappointment after trying some of the better knives. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t have the conspicuous sharpness of our winners. The grip was as awkward in practice as I feared, and I never found a good way to use it. The short blade had real trouble with the squash, but the cut was reasonably good, even if it couldn’t get through the whole squash in one cut. The pineapple showed a middle-of-the-pack knife. I could control it around the curve relatively well, but it wasn’t all that sharp. The first slices from the tomato were reasonably good, but the second round of dulling on the tile took it down a solid notch. After dulling, I couldn’t get a cut going without starting it with the tip of the knife to get purchase.
Overall, the Farberware features average performance and poor design. You could do a lot worse for $19, but this is not a pleasant knife to use.
Ceramic Knife Sets
1. Shenzhen — ★★★★★
- 6-inch Chef’s knife
- 5-inch Santoku
- 4-inch Paring knife
The low point of any knife set is usually the utility knife. Stranded in between the chef’s knife and the paring knife, these are usually just filler that you only grab when the better knives are dirty. Shenzhen’s set ($30) takes the brilliant step of replacing it with an actual useful santoku knife. These are three knives that are all worth using — I think I might faint.
The handles on these knives are genuinely good, featuring a taper into the blade for a really good pinch grip. I feel as much in control with these knives than I do anything else in the test. If only the blade had a little ricasso instead of the sharp heel, they’d start with a perfect score. Starting in on the carrots, I was even more impressed. The blade is nice and sharp, and the curve of the blade lent itself to a fluid rocking motion. The blade sank right into the acorn squash, but it was tough to complete the cut just because there wasn’t enough knife to work with. Dulling had little effect the first time, and the cut on the pineapple was clean and in control. The Shenzhen had trouble with the tomato and needed a little help from the point to get going. The second round of dulling made it worse, but I could still get a slice (barely).
Overall, this is a really good set of knives. They have a good design that makes them really usable for pretty much anything. They won’t last forever, but what does?
2. Takiup — ★★★
- 6-inch serrated Bread knife with cover
- 6-inch Chef’s knife with cover
- 5-inch Utility knife with cover
- 4-Inch Paring knife with cover
- 3-Inch Paring knife with cover
- Peeler
- Storage Case
The Takiup ceramic knife set gives you something extra for your $26 that no other set tries with the serrated knife. Everything else is pretty standard, including the unfortunate choice to make all the knives have about the same profile. I can’t see myself ever using the mid-sized knives from this set.
The handles on these knives are very nice. They’re willing to take a more adventurous curve than the other brands in this roundup, and the result works. I can get a good grip, either handle or pinch, and still have enough room under the handle for my knuckles. There’s a little clip taken off the heel to keep your fingers safe too.
On the carrots, the good grip showed its value. The shape of the blade is good, and allows a good rocking motion. The blade feels a bit small, despite the measurements. I think it’s because the curve is a little bit steep, leaving a smidge less blade when starting the cut. The Takiup was not up to the acorn squash challenge, but made it through with difficulty. The pineapple was also challenging, but I felt like I was in control. The Takiup excelled at the tomato test, making clean slices before and after the dulling session.
I ran a special test on the unique serrated knife, and the results were not good. Even the relatively soft Irish soda bread needed a lot of work to force through. Worse than that, the number one thing a bread knife needs to be is long, and this isn’t even close. One small oddity on this ceramic knife set is that the covers fit very tight. For something that adds safety, I don’t feel safe putting them on or off.
Overall, this is a pretty average knife set. They’re pleasant enough to use and hold up well, but I don’t love the design, and there are some less-than-useful bits in there.
3. Wolf War — ★★★
- 6-inch Chef’s knife with cover
- 5-inch Utility knife with cover
- 4-Inch Paring knife with cover
- 3-Inch Paring knife with cover
- Peeler
- Storage Case
Wolf War Knives are definitely the finest ceramic knife set that sounds like an early nineties arcade game. Compared to the larger population, they’re pretty average. This is another knife set that suffers from having all the knives be the same profile in different sizes. Even the handles are almost the same size from top to bottom. The price, $24, is pretty average too.
The handle on the chef’s knife is simple enough, and affords a good grip. There’s a little tiny clip taken off the heel to protect your lead finger, which is a nice feature. The balance is odd. The balance point is well-placed, but the ends are heavy compared to the middle, so a small change in grip really changes how the knife handles.
The Wolf War started out alright on the carrots. The blade is reasonably sharp, and while the tricky balance was a factor, control was adequate. The curve of the blade is a little too aggressive, but I still got a good chop going. The squash was a bit too tough for this knife, but I ultimately got through it after a fight. It did not want to go through the pineapple and took a lot of force to complete the cut, but I did feel in control of the process. The tomato sliced adequately well with a little sawing, both before and after dulling the knife.
These aren’t bad knives, but there’s nothing to particularly recommend about them. Wolf War finds itself in the middle of the pack.
4. Imori — ★★
- 6-inch Chef’s knife with cover
- 5-inch Utility knife with cover
- 4-inch Paring knife with cover
- Storage case
The Imori ceramic knife set looks great in a well-designed storage case at $35, but doesn’t really deliver the value. The balance of the chef’s knife is off with a too-heavy handle. I like the shape of the handle, and while it affords a nice pinch grip, the balance forces me into a handle grip way back away from the blade. No matter how I grab it, I don’t like the control.
Starting in on the carrots, I wasn’t impressed. The blade is of average sharpness, and the awkward grip hampers my movements. The shape of the blade is good, though, and allows a nice rocking motion. Cutting the acorn squash was almost a disaster. It took everything I had to get the blade in without it slipping and cutting me. I got through, but this ceramic knife is completely inadequate for the job. The pineapple was a huge step up, though. The Imori glided through it with ease and control. It also produced a great tomato slice before dulling, then an adequate slice after getting walloped on the tile.
In the end, the Imori chef’s knife is average in quality but unpleasant to work with. I like how the edges hold up over time, but the handle is a real problem.
5. Coiwin — ★☆
- 6-inch Chef’s knife with cover
- 5-inch Utility knife with cover
- 4-Inch Paring knife with cover
- 3-Inch Paring knife with cover
- Peeler
The whole point of a knife set is that you get a variety of knives that do different jobs in different ways. I’m not convinced anyone at Coiwin has heard this one. This is the same knife four times in different sizes. Can anyone explain why you’d want a 3-inch and 4-inch paring knife with the exact same profile? I’m already down on this $26 set. The handles are OK, with helpful grip-nubs. The blades have the problematic heel I’ve seen on some of the other knives where there’s a sharp point right at the base of the knife where a finger rests.
The Coiwin did a good enough job on the carrots once I learned how it wanted to cut. The chef’s knife is oddly shaped — all of the curve is in the last inch or so. It’s hard to get a good rocking motion going with it, so it cuts a little more like a short santoku knife. The acorn squash was a scary proposition. I had to really saw at it to get through. It wasn’t pretty, or especially safe. The badness continued on the pineapple where I needed a lot of sawing to get through. The grip was good, so I was able to keep control. The tomato was even worse. I couldn’t get a good cut before dulling the blade, then just a mushy mess after a session on the tile.
Overall, the Coiwin set is not good. This piece ceramic knife set is poorly thought out, poorly designed, and doesn’t last. The best thing in it is the peeler.
6. Homesport — ★☆
- 6-inch Chef’s knife
- 5-inch Utility knife
- 4-inch Utility knife
- 3-inch Paring knife
- Peeler
- Display stand
Display stand? Hey, not every product gives you the opportunity to broadcast to the world that you have bad taste. This stand holds the knives in a vertical fan so you can select the perfect lousy knife for whatever job you face. As a fat bearded nerd, I feel personally insulted by this stand. A Klingon bat’leth lovingly mounted on the wall makes a better impression.
Setting the stand aside (and you should), this $26 set’s four knives all have the same profile, with enough curve for an acceptable rocking motion. The grip is good, but the balance is handle-heavy, so there’s no good way to hold the Homesport. The blades are sharpened all the way to the heel, so there’s a sharp point ready to jab your lead finger.
Starting in on the carrots, the sharpness is reasonably good, but the difficult grip leaves the experience at average. The Homesport can get through the acorn squash with some work, but suffers by not having enough length to let me get my other hand onto the tip for better leverage. The first dulling session on the tile really did a number on this ceramic knife. I had to really saw through the pineapple to get through, and never felt in control of the cut. I couldn’t get a good cut on the tomato either, and the second dulling session didn’t change that much for better or worse.
These knives are not that good individually, but the set gets extra demerits for poor choices (you’ll probably never intentionally use the two utility knives), poor balance, and an ugly stand.
7. Raku — ★
- 5-inch Santoku with cover
- 3-inch Paring knife with cover
- Storage case
The best thing I can say about the Raku knives ($27) is that they understand that different knives have different shapes for a reason. Too many sets act like a paring knife is a professional chef’s knife in a shrink ray. The Raku features a santoku knife and paring knives with the correct shapes, for once. The grips are good too, with a simple shape that works, with good balance.
Now, onto the bad stuff. As someone used to an 8-inch chef’s knife, a 5-inch santoku seems like a joke. Despite the shape being great, the size is just inadequate. The sharpness on the blade is pretty average, and the small size means a lot of motion to make it work on the carrots. The squash was a minor disaster that felt like I was more likely to cut myself than the squash. It was all I could do to get the Raku through the pineapple. I had very little control, and never got a good slice. The tomato test was a failure too. It started out barely able to make the cut, then could only mush the tomato after dulling.
The Raku knives are not good. I do not recommend them.
8. Wacool — ★
- 6-inch Chef’s knife with cover
- 5-inch Utility knife with cover
- 4-inch Paring knife with cover
Wacool? Not cool. $20 buys you pretty much all the flaws of every knife in this roundup and more. All the blades have the same profile, and it’s not a good one. The handles are huge and the blades are small, with no room for the knuckles anywhere. There’s all of a quarter inch of clearance under the fattest part of the handle. The grip is OK, past the clearance problem. There is a little notch taken out of the heel, but the bottom of that notch is still sharp. Why did they bother?
The carrot test reveals all the grip problems previously noted, plus a new problem unique to the Wacool: the blade wants to roll a little to the right on every cut. The Wacool performed the worst of all the knives against the acorn squash. We had to wedge the top open to finish the cut. The pineapple wasn’t easy to cut either, and needed a lot of sawing, plus extra work to control against the blade-roll problem. The first cut on the tomato needed a lot of sawing to make the cut, but after dulling it needed help from the tip to make the cut work.
The Wacool has no redeeming qualities.
Our Personal Thoughts
The big question at the start was a broad one: are ceramic knives worthwhile? After a long day of cutting, I’d say that they’re a reasonable alternative to stainless steel knives. At the high end, the Kyocera Advanced is a very good knife, but the inability to use it on bone-in meat or to crush garlic make me shy away. It’s great on vegetables, but is $61 worth it for a part-time knife? I lean towards no. I’m also used to the weight and length of a forged steel 8-inch knife, and I don’t really want to be switching back and forth. Those are me-problems, though. It’s a great ceramic knife, and you might love it, especially if you’re a vegetarian or don’t like a heavy knife.
The real place where ceramics shine is on the low end of the market. The Sendaist is an amazing value pick at $13. You’re not going to match this with a steel knife at twice the price, and it’s going to hold up much better. I’m also a big fan of the Shenzhen set. It comes with three good knives that you’ll actually use for $30. They’re good and sharp, and they’ll stay that way for a long time. They blow comparably-priced steel sets out of the water. I’m hanging onto my good steel knives for everyday use, but I’m never even looking at cheap stainless steel knives again.
