Ceramic Blades for the Kitchen

I like steel kitchen knives, they are not unlike my wood carving tools.
OTOH, my GF has amassed a collection of ceramic blades, from veggie peelers to boning knives,
all of them white ceramic.
I don't like them as the ceramic is brittle and ragged chips are the norm.
Planer mills have been using ceramic blades in the forest industry of this region for decades.

I invite suggestions from users (not YouTubes) as to which and what sort(s) of diamond plate(s)
I need to keep her knives tuned up.
I am trolling for opinions. Cost effectiveness, poly- vs. mono- and so on.

You knew I was going to say 'ezelap' RV!

I can really comment though as I have sharpened only 1 ceramic knife on them, but I will let you know what I know.

I'm guessing but ezelap have let their quality control slip a bit to compete with DMT. I still rate them. Amazon is the way to go and get the big plates 200 by 75 (8 by 3 inch I think).

Keep you receipt though. I have found two problems with them. They can get a build up of grit on the edges which looks like rough file marks on an other wise smooth surface. Easily fixed with an old trashed file. Just knock the edges down.
The second problem is a return I'm my book. Sometimes you will get some raised grains in the stone. If it's only a few you can pick them out with the corner of a file. But if it's a lot, send it back.

The break in takes some time. Flatten some chisels and plane blades on them first. I use turpentine as a cutting fluid (standard oil based paint brush cleaner, I think you guys might call it mineral spirits.) you can use water as well as the ceramic grit won't rust.

The quickest way to ruin them is to use a soft gummy steel. It block them up pretty much for good.

Mono or poly..... They both work...both argue one is better than the other. For only ceramic...I can't comment.

I did buy the DMT 8000 hone but I ruined it the first time I used it. The coating scratched up very badly? The diamonds from my 17yr old ezelap hone must have been imbedded in the chisel and scratched up the DMT. I don't know how I could have gone any softer on it?

I don't like the double sided ezelap hones as the lime green plastic sits too high for knives. They tend to catch in places as the bigger knives hang over. But that's more technique and I rush through them.

A side question RV, are the tradies in Canada using metric or imperial? We changed over a long time ago and mostly use metric but the old carpenters still talk in 4x2's.

Up here, we turn them sideways and call them 2x4's.

Australia's shift to decimal currency happened before I got there. . . ..the biggest note was a $20, what a joke.
We don't even use 1 cent coins any more, rounded off to the nearest $0.05. Cost 2 cents each to make. Where are the Chinese when we need them?

I was there when the temp scale changed. I recall radio announcers (3AK?) doing the WX forecast. Then they'd say that the temp was, say, 15C. " You want to know what 15C feels like? Go outside." Worked for me.

Most of the domestic stuff is metric. I still find my self converting backwards to imperial in a grocery store.
My career used metric all day long, I came home to imperial. Two languages. Easy.
Now we have some intermediate kak-up.
Construction has pretty much stayed imperial.
Don't forget that we have a huge trading partner with a black hole of a thirst for resources
just to the south of us. They will stick it out forever.

BTW, thanks for the diamond info. Suspect it will be more trouble than it's worth. I'd hoped it would be a thinly veiled excuse to fool with some different sharpening gear. Now, when she blunts another knife or drops one on the floor (they shatter), I'll just tell her to buy a new one. She's very good at that.

The ceramic knife I bought on special for $17 at Safeways says don't use on bones as it will chip. Also has the sharp point on the tip rounded off cos I guess that it the first thing that snaps off. But I love it for tomatoes. And meat without bones in it. :cool: Dad is a bit dark on me cos he bought on for hundreds and dropped it breaking the handle off. :chuckle:

Thanks TL. The ceramic veggie peeler was the most wicked sharp kitchen tool (new) that I have ever used.
Peeling a big jicima takes just seconds when compared with a $100 steel knife.
You have to stay focussed for every stroke. BUT they chip the most. I'll guess about 10tpi.
The fact that they are cheap enough to toss and buy again has never sat well with me.

Fiddly, but the steel ones do sharpen up OK.

The planer mills use ceramic blades as they last 2X - 4X longer in softwoods than steel.
No idea what the bevel angles might be, but 40 degrees would not be unreasonable.

Stay warm. We are sliding downwards towards -40C at night in a couple of days.
25+ degrees colder than average. Think I might just plug in the engine heater at night.
454/7.6l is a lot of steel to crank even with synthetic jet lube in it.

Is their any risk of getting surprise ceramic chips in your food?

Chips? Yes, I think so. However, they might be so small that they would be detectable as less than grit.

Would they pass for grit? The distal sphincter of your digestive tract would be the last to notice.

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Originally Posted by Robson Valley

Stay warm. We are sliding downwards towards -40C at night in a couple of days.
25+ degrees colder than average. Think I might just plug in the engine heater at night.
454/7.6l is a lot of steel to crank even with synthetic jet lube in it.

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No worries about cold here. Going to be 35 deg celcius tomorrow and 41 on Friday I think. Or Saturday. :think: Hot anyway. :burnt:

I can still recall the days of total fire ban in Melbourne.
Just when I thought it couldn't get much hotter. . . . . .
My parents sent me wool sweaters for Christmas.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robson Valley

I can still recall the days of total fire ban in Melbourne.
Just when I thought it couldn't get much hotter. . . . . .
My parents sent me wool sweaters for Christmas.

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I currently feel like I'll never want a wool "sweater"* ever again. But I'd better wairt till Monday to be sure. Could snow by then. :rolleyes:

* We call them jumpers here. :D

Yeah, I was going to say 'jumper' but I get hung up in the lexicon of translation. In 6 months, end of July, it can be simply too hot and humid to wear a watch. If I have to work with my grapes, I have to be out there at 6A to quit at 11A.

The minute, the minute the sun went behind the western mtns, the temp sank in 30 mins from -12C to -28C.
That will frost your privates. I'm OK. Oil-fired central heating. After supper, I'll clean and light the pellet stove. That costs about 1/2 for the same heat.

But, 10/10 sun all day, some fresh snow and everything around the village is blinding white. Terrible thing to spend 2.5 hrs driving home among the snow covered mtns.

I'm going to give up on the ceramic knife/blade thing. I was hoping that my GF might buy a diamond plate for me to play with but no deal = she would rather buy another knife. So be it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robson Valley

I'm going to give up on the ceramic knife/blade thing. I was hoping that my GF might buy a diamond plate for me to play with but no deal = she would rather buy another knife. So be it.

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I think the thing is take care of them so they don't get chipped? I am a bit carefull to always put it in its holder cos I'm scared of accidently cutting myself. Seems to cut things just by looking at them.

How can you bust up a veggie peeler? I've seen several of them go. Big - R - ragged edges. Potatoes, yams, cucumbers, jicima, carrots, the usual.
If she insists that she gets her jollies in the kitchen with ceramic knives, so be it.

My fav is the Lee Valley Peasant Chef Knife and a simple ceramic rod for tune-ups. I use 3 of the PCKs. I have a couple of Porsche 301 but I keep picking out the LV knives. I have a cleaver which may have come out of the Klondike Gold Rush. That makes the beast 100+ yr old. You could fool me.