Exceptional set
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| Review Date: August 23, 2008 |
| Reviewer: RiK, |
Summary
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Advantages:
1) The sharpest commercial knife you can purchase
2) Will hold its edge much longer than carbon or stainless steel knives
3) Great ergonomics (nice handle and beautiful appearance)
Disadvantages:
1) Brittle blade
2) Can only be sharpened by the manufacturer
Overall:
Buy this set
Detailed information and advice:
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A bit of background information if you are unfamiliar with ceramic knives. There are basically three types of knives you can purchase:
1) High stainless steel knives - Fairly sharp, hold their edge well, somewhat difficult to sharpen. These are the knives that you are most likely to purchase at a store. Prices range from very cheap to very expensive (I own a Wusthof set, so I know how expensive they can get).
2) High carbon steel knives - Very sharp, dull easily, easy to sharpen. These are the cheapest, easiest to sharpen, and lose their edge the fastest. These also tend to be used by professionals (I managed over 80 "knife hands" early in my career and this is all we used - people would dull on average 6 per day).
3) Ceramic knives - Supremely sharp, hold their edge practically forever, impossible to sharpen. Expensive, and prone to breaking if not used properly.
Most people purchase high stainless steel knife sets, and these are adequate for general utility. But it's not the best strategy for a well prepared chef to follow. The best approach is to have multiple knives and use them for specialized purposes.
Here's what you should do:
1) Buy this ceramic set. Use it for everything except boning. Under no circumstances should you ever use it for boning, as you will likely chip the blade (i.e no knife work that requires any prying or side-to-side motion). Hand wash, and don't drop on your tile floor. They will last you forever and you will wonder why you ever used anything else. (I've owned a 5" ceramic utility for almost 10 years and it still hasn't required sharpening).
2) Go to your local restaurant supply store and buy at several 6" high carbon steel boning knives. They are generally very cheap, and very cheap looking. Use these knives for general cutting and boning. Sharpen them frequently (a quick run over a steel after every use is best).
If you follow this strategy you will be amazed at what you can do with the ceramics, and you will also have the best (and cheapest) boning knives to decrease the chance that you'll ever chip one of your ceramics.
Hope this helps anyone who has stumbled onto this backwater Amazon page in their pursuit of the ultimate knife! |
Sharp stuff!
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| Review Date: August 30, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Lars Ensign, Zephyr Cove, NV USA |
| These knives took a little getting used to at first. They just have a different "feel" than my high-end steel knives. At first I thought I might cut myself but you get used to them quickly. It's almost spooky how easily they glide through food. You can make tomato slices so thin you can almost see through them! They are almost all I use - I'll wash and re-use my ceramic knives before going to the rack for a steel one. My only problem is my wife and squabble over who gets them when we are cooking together... |
Sharp doesn't even begin to describe the edge
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| Review Date: July 3, 2008 |
| Reviewer: hvacigar, Portland, Oregon United States |
| Be very, very careful. These are the sharpest knives I have ever dealt with. I have used it for fish, vegetables, boneless meats, and cheeses. You can make cuts as thin as you want, and the consistency of the cut is amazing. This set is a good introduction, and I am so happy with it that I plan on getting some of the other knives over time. The knives cut well and are very easy to clean...what else could you want? |
Great Knives!
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| Review Date: November 27, 2007 |
| Reviewer: J. Druckenmiller, Phila, PA |
| I am very impressed. These knives are sharper out-of-the box than my German steel knives, and have a lighter feel. Don't hesitate to buy these as a gift! The "gift set" presentation is great and the product is high quality. I will be buying more Kyocera knives in the future. |
A Very Nice Addition To The Kitchen
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| Review Date: November 9, 2008 |
| Reviewer: ThroughTheLookingGlass, |
Wow, these ceramic knives really are different and very useful. I bought this set in July, and to tell the truth I've only used the paring knife, as I learn about where I like to use them. My other Santoku knives are pretty good and I didn't do much prep in the kitchen over the summer.
OK so as they recommend these knives are somewhat restrained to straight cuts, but that is most of the food prep activity anyway. They take special care, and I am worried about what I'm going to do when they need sharpening, I'm so lazy when it come to sending stuff away for service.
While they are sharp though I have found the blade to be PERFECT for tomatoes and other vegetables, tomatoes are a high spot though. Another unexpected use is bread; slicing into a roll with these is nicer and easier than a serrated knife and creates a much nicer cut. Love it!
I have not been so excited about it with raw meat, but I need to experiment here a bit more. The one place I found it really didn't work that well was with cheese, especially the soft cheddar. It has no problem cutting, but the cheese sticks hard to the blade so it's difficult to complete the slice.
I really do like the ceramic knife, and the fact that they work different than the metal blades on some material is a bonus. If you have visitors or people who don't really appreciate kitchen tools, it's best to tell them these are off limits to them.
Happy Slicing! |
Wow! These Really Work!
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| Review Date: December 15, 2007 |
| Reviewer: C Buckley, |
| My assistant at the Inn, trained in culinary school in Paris, told me about these ceramic knives. I have a wonderful namebrand set of steel knives that she ribbed me about not being very sharp and that ceramic knives were better. I was curious, so ordered these to find out if they are as sharp and easy to use as she said. And now I can say first hand, that they are! I love cutting tomato slices that thin! Still need my steel knives for boned meat and bread cutting, but so glad that I ordered these for the fruits and veggies that we use so much of at the Inn. |
sharp!
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| Review Date: August 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Michael J. Kleber, St. Louis, MO |
| I was a sous chef for a couple of years and am always on the lookout for quality knives. I can say with no difficulty that these are the sharpest knives I've ever come across. The only problem was they took about 10 business days to arrive. |
Cuts like hot knife through butter
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| Review Date: December 25, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Tyler Udy, Pflugerville, TX United States |
I got this today for christmas & it is one of the best presents I have ever gotten. It cuts like nothing I have ever had, is lightweight and so easy to clean (it is ceramic & so doesn't absorb food like metal). The only thing I have any problem with & it is a nothing complaint, is that I have the classic series & it is a white blade, it just doesn't look like a knife to me, but man it cuts better than any "real-looking" knife I have ever used. I have used a lot of knives when I used to work as a cook & I have been cooking for over 20 years now.
A definite 5 star item! |
Looks like plastic, cuts like no other!
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| Review Date: November 16, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Katie L. Verstegen, Madison, WI |
| When we got the product and opened the box we were skeptical. The blades looked plastic...then we got out the produce and started cutting. We cut paper thin slices of apple and tomato and we were amazed. We have used them for all kinds of foods now-chicken, mango, peppers, apples, ginger, cilantro, etc. We are very pleased and would purchase again...don't forget to use a plastic or wood cutting board to keep your knives sharp (don't cut on glass boards). |
Beautiful kitchen accessory
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| Review Date: November 22, 2008 |
| Reviewer: R. Mccarthy, Seattle, WA USA |
| These porceline knives work as advertised. They are sharp enough to shave with and they are sharp like you can't believe. Follow the instructions, straight cuts for everything and no bones in meat! I've used them on vegetables and bread, they're very easy to use. I don't yet know how long the edge is going to last, but the instructions say that we need to return them to Kyrcera for sharpening. If the edge lasts 10 times longer than any steel edge as they say, they'll last a good long time. |
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