this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
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Hey they're not lying, it definitely looks sharp

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I bought a set of "metal drill bits" really cheap. First time I tried to drill metal they just melted

But I couldn't argue with the fact that they were indeed, metal drill bits. Just not drill bits for metal

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I know someone who bought a cheap drill bit, and on first use, the twist got straightened out

It's as if they didn't harden it

[–] idunnololz 2 points 3 months ago

Just keep going and they will twist again /s

[–] [email protected] 48 points 3 months ago (1 children)

"May your blade chip and shatter."

[–] xpinchx 35 points 3 months ago (1 children)

"May thy knife chip and shatter" 👴

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] ChilledPeppers 6 points 3 months ago

"Woman screaming, epic ambiance music"

[–] ZILtoid1991 36 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, ceramic knives are like that. They get duller with time however.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 3 months ago (4 children)

I don’t think there’s a blade that doesn’t get duller with time, is there?

[–] ZILtoid1991 37 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Ceramic is less prone to get dull, but it still not a 100% solution, and once you go dull you never go back. Sometimes it even chips.

[–] TexasDrunk 13 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I had some years ago. They ended up chipped as hell. That's when I bought some halfway decent (not good, just not Target grade) steel ones that aren't stainless. I hone the ones I use most a couple of times a week and the rest of them on an as needed basis. I sharpen them as needed.

If your schedule and executive fiction allow for it then I highly recommend it. Ceramic is sharp as fuck, but not enough sharper to deal with buying a new one every time it chips.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Ceramic knives are kinda stupid yeah. But a ceramic "steel" to hone your metal knives works amazingly. And those don't chip, because they're round. They can shatter though.

[–] TexasDrunk 2 points 3 months ago

Yeah, I bet a ceramic honing rod is pretty great. I've seen them as a part of some of the better knife sharpening sets.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

So could you smash car windows with these bits? Are they like the snake bite things made out of smashed up spark plugs?

Just curious if it’s the same type/grade of ceramic, or if this stuff would just continue to shatter/bounce off.

And no, I’m not planning on smashing up at knives at Target in order to rob the cars in the parking lot.

Go do that at Home Depot after you smash up a few display toilets.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yes, but these can't be resharpened

[–] FenrirIII 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Okay, I stand corrected.

[–] weeeeum 0 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Technically diamond? But cutting bits are only large as like 2mm, and are very expensive. Diamond also can't support a very steep cutting edge, so you will be limited by possible edge geometry. Used for machining highly reflective, perfect, mirror finishes on parts.

TLDR you're right

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

I found this video very informative: https://youtu.be/FFEgg7OWsUk

Please ignore the baity title and some of the editing at the start, I feel like this is one of those very high quality channels that play with "exciting" changes to their videos to attempt to make YouTube work for them. It sets a bad tone but it doesn't ever get too bad. The video gets pretty serious about the edge of the knife, Including microscope photos of it after various treatments.

Long story short: Ceramic knives genuinely do have a "durable" edge, but not in that "toss, tumble, use and abuse me" kinda way.

They may be good for some marathon cutting tasks if you treat it with care. Niche professional settings, for example.

Ceramic knives do not belong in a chaotic family's kitchen drawer. Maybe they don't belong in grocery shelves, either. Wrong market, wrong environment, it's predictable that they'll shatter and otherwise be damaged.

I'm thinking they're in some ways more like the pointy tungsten rod of a TIG welder, if you consider dipping the tungsten in the welding puddle (which messes up the tungsten rod and ruins the delicate welding arc) analogous to chipping a ceramic edge from careless/clumsy usage.
It's not a 1-to-1 comparison, but I think it sets the tone of what I think ceramic knives are; Cheap, fixable if you have the tools for it, but not exactly a tool the general public will be able to use well.

That being said, I'm not confident it's ever really better as a hand knife, even when used right.

I'm personally not using ceramic knives anymore, I don't know who still are.

If you work with knives long enough you likely know how to maintain a steel edge well, and steel might just be better. I've seen ceramic used for cutting tools in machines, maybe that's their main niche.

Still, the vast majority of ceramic knives are some medium-low tier material, and I know the world of ceramics is very diverse. I'd be interested to see more about it.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 months ago

It's true. It's sharp. However, that doesn't mean it isn't brittle.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 months ago

So sharp it cut itself

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago
[–] Aeri 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They said it was sharp, not uh, the opposite of brittle

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

the opposite of brittle

I think that would be "tough", which has a mathematical definition in materials science: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toughness?wprov=sfla1

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

You actually can sharpen ceramic blades but its a pain and their super brittle. But for cutting light tasks their far far superior. I've used many of them.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

I’ve never been able to sharpen them. But I can sharpen my metal knives.

I highly recommend carbon steel Japanese knives. They are absurdly sharp and hold their edge for a long while. They can shatter like this sometimes, though a lot less dramatically, and usually after being dropped. They also need to be treated similar to cast iron, since they can rust if not cared for. Get one with a stainless cladding so you can just sharpen your knife if you accidentally let the blade rust.

Granted, I do a ton of volunteer work that involves a lot of food prep, so I need a knife that is sharp, holds an edge, and chan be sharpened as needed. I hate buying knives that will eventually need to be tossed because I can’t sharpen them. I love my Nakiri and Kiritsuke so much, can’t recommend japanese knives enough.

[–] over_clox 2 points 3 months ago

Gotta love ceramics...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_engine

Yeah, I think I'll pass on an engine that might just as soon crack if dinged with a pebble from the road.