Ceramic knives are often missing from the list of essential kitchen items. Although they aren’t a vital piece of equipment they do have their uses and they do have some very unique benefits which make them fantastic for certain kitchen knives.
But ceramic knives just aren’t as well known and certainly, it can be hard to know a good ceramic knife from a bad one before you buy.
That’s why I’ve put together this article, giving you a list of what I think are some of the best ceramic knives and ceramic knife sets you can buy. I’m going to show a combination of singular, very high-quality ceramic knives, as well as a few useful ceramic knife sets which have varying sizes of knives and include storage solutions.
Hopefully, whatever type of ceramic knife you’re after this article will give you a little guidance towards choosing the one which is right for you.
For a great ceramic knife, I would recommend the Kyocera Revolution Series Paring and Santoku Knife Set. They are made from top quality ceramic and you get two quality knives for a very reasonable price.
In a hurry?
View the Kyocera Revolution Series Paring and Santoku Knife Set on Amazon here.
If they are not quite for you then take a look at my detailed ceramic knife reviews below to find the perfect one for your kitchen.
The benefits of ceramic knives
They are sharper
This is probably the main benefit of ceramic knives. Being able to produce a sharp knife is all down to the material that is used for the blade. Harder materials can be sharpened to a finer cutting edge and this is where ceramic excels. Ceramic is a very hard material, so hard in fact that it can actually be used to sharpen steel blades. The hardness of ceramic means that the cutting edge can be much finer than most steel knives.
They keep the edge longer
The hardness of ceramic brings me to the second benefit of ceramic knives. The blade starts sharper but they also stay sharp for much longer. A general rule of thumb for quality ceramic knives is that they will stay sharper 10x longer than a steel blade. One reason is that it just takes a long time for the blade to wear down and become blunt, but a second vital reason is that ceramic blades don’t need to be honed as steel blades do. The edge of a steel blade will very quickly develop microscopic folds when it’s being used, over a relatively short amount of time these folds will become more distinct and the steel blade will need to be honed using a honing steel to realign the blade. Ceramic blades don’t fold in this way so the sharp edge is retained for longer.
They don’t rust
There’s no steel in a ceramic blade and as a result, there is no risk at all that they will rust. They won’t really deteriorate at all even if they aren’t washed properly or if they are left soaking in water. The blades are non-permeable so they won’t stain and are easy to wipe down clean. The only caveat I’d put on that is that if your ceramic knife comes with a wooden handle then, of course, the wood could deteriorate if it’s left soaking in warm water for days on end, but it will still be very hard-wearing.
Food stays fresher
Anyone who has cooked before will be well aware that fruit and vegetables are prone to turning brown on the edge where you’ve cut. This can make it tricky preparing these types of food in advance as if you make an avocado salad in the morning, it may well be brown by the evening. Steel knives don’t help with this. The iron and copper content of steel knives increases the rate of browning; however, ceramic is a chemically inert material and can greatly reduce the rate of browning. So if you want your fruit and vegetables to stay fresh after you have sliced them, ceramic knives are your best option.
They are lightweight
Ceramic knives are extremely light when compared to steel. A ceramic knife with the same dimensions as a steel one could be up to 4x lighter.
This is great for people who struggle with heavy steel knives, especially for anyone with joint issues or the elderly. It also makes it easier to make more precise and delicate cuts which is great if you’re attempting to create a centerpiece salad with perfectly sliced vegetables or fruit.
My best ceramic knife recommendations
| Name | Price | Check Current Price |
| Kyocera Advanced Ceramic LTD Series Santoku Knife | $90 – $110 | Link to Amazon |
| Kyocera Advanced Ceramic Vegetable Cleaver | $50 – $70 | Link to Amazon |
| Cuisinart Elements Ceramic Chef’s Knife | $25 – $35 | Link to Amazon |
| Kyocera Revolution Series Paring and Santoku Knife Set | $80 – $120 | Link to Amazon |
| Cuisinart Ceramic 6-Piece Knife Block Set | $50 – $70 | Link to Amazon |
| IMORI Kitchen Knife Set | $30 – $40 | Link to Amazon |
I have chosen a range of knives at different price brackets. I’ve also chosen a mix of singular knives and knife sets. The one thing which remains the same throughout is that these are all knives from quality manufacturers with a history in making ceramic knives. I think any of these would be a great addition to a kitchen but which one is right for you is really up to personal preference. First up though I start with my favorite…
Kyocera Advanced Ceramic LTD Series Santoku Knife
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Kyocera is a huge Japanese technology company, they produce everything from mobile phones, to printers to solar panels, oh, and ceramic knives of course. It might seem strange that a huge technology company manufactures kitchen knives, but they are experts in materials, and of course, there is a huge Japanese tradition of knife production. They are actually perfectly placed to make fantastic ceramic knives and theirs are some of the best you will be able to find.
This 5.5-inch ceramic knife has been designed as a Santoku knife. Santoku knives are a Japanese style of knife that is used for slicing soft meat, fruit and vegetables. They are specifically designed to have a very fine and sharp cutting edge to allow the user to make the most precise and delicate cuts of the food. The blade is quite straight with little curve to allow for full long slices when cutting food rather than a rock chop technique often used with western style knives.
The blade is made from the ceramic material zirconia, it is extremely hard and the finish on the blade is particularly attractive with a dark grey style. The blade is hand-finished during manufacture to give it a particularly sharp edge.
The handle is made from pakka wood, a timber that is commonly used for high-quality Japanese knife handles. It’s hard, durable and gives a beautiful natural aesthetic. The handle also has a bolster and single rivet giving it a great classic style and increasing its strength.
It’s a beautiful ceramic knife designed for style, comfort and practicality. I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for a top-quality ceramic knife. You can take a look at it on Amazon here.
Kyocera Advanced Ceramic Vegetable Cleaver
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This is the second entry on my list from Kyocera. This Japanese company has a thorough history of using the best quality materials and they really do make some of the best ceramic knives you can find. I also love the range of knives which they offer, they have been designed to use the most relevant traditional Japanese knife style for ceramic knives and that’s what brings me onto this knife.
The Kyocera 6-inch vegetable cleaver is a little less expensive than the Santoku knife I recommended above but it has still been specifically designed for the main job of ceramic knives, mainly cutting fruit and vegetables. The Japanese name for this style is the Nakiri and it’s designed to cut straight down through the food to the cutting board, without having to push or pull the blade to slice your way through.
This blade is again made from the ceramic material zirconia, meaning that it is incredibly hard and allows for an extremely sharp cutting edge.
The handle is black and plastic. Whilst it doesn’t quite have the same aesthetic quality of the pakka wood Santoku knife it has been molded to be very ergonomic so the knife is particularly comfortable to use when cutting.
Due to the width of the blade, steel Nakiri knives can be quite heavy, so it can be a particular advantage to have a ceramic Nakiri for anyone who may struggle with a heavy knife, additionally, the sharper edge makes the actual work of cutting through food much easier.
This is an attractive and high-quality ceramic knife which is great for fruit and vegetable preparation. You can take a look at it on Amazon here.
Cuisinart Elements Ceramic Chef’s Knife
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The two knives I’ve mentioned are extremely high quality, as a result, they do come with a higher price tag, don’t get me wrong, they are worth every penny, but if you’re looking for a great ceramic knife on a smaller budget then look no further than Cuisinart.
Cuisinart has a range of ceramic knives, mostly designed to a western-style rather than the Japanese styles of Kyocera, although they do offer a Santoku as well.
The particular knife I’ve picked out as my recommendation is Cuisinart’s 8-inch chef’s knife. I wanted to offer a range of knife types in this article and the 8-inch chef’s knife is probably the style of knife that most people are familiar with. It has a curved cutting edge, allowing for a rock chopping technique when cutting. This is especially useful when quickly chopping things like herbs which is the ideal job for a ceramic knife.
The 8-inch length is also a little longer than many ceramic knives and lets the user slice larger fruits and vegetables with ease.
The handle is black plastic and has been molded for comfort. It’s durable and strong and should be able to resist general water damage. The blade and handle can be easily wiped clean.
This is a great knife for a very modest price tag given the quality. Personally, I like to cut most fruit and vegetables with a larger knife than a paring knife so this 8-inch ceramic chef’s knife is ideal for me. You can take a look at it on Amazon here.
Kyocera Revolution Series Paring and Santoku Knife Set
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I want to pay some attention to ceramic knife sets now. Some ceramic knife sets are terrible, they really are. A bad one will be made from low quality ceramic and the knives will chip and snap very easily, even if you’re particularly careful with them.
However, there are still many ceramic knife sets that can give you brilliant value for money offering a range of top-quality knives.
Let’s start by returning to a manufacturer I have already listed twice in this article, Kyocera.
Kyocera is a large Japanese technology company, with a history of using the finest materials in their tech. It might seem a little strange, but they have actually lent this material expertise to the manufacture of fantastically high-quality ceramic knives.
They do come with a bit of a price tag but they are some of the best in the market. Their paring and Santoku knife set lets you own two really useful knives for a lower price than some of their singular knives cost. It also comes in an attractive presentation box so is potentially a great idea for a gift.
The Santoku knife is 5.5-inches and is a traditional Japanese style used for the slicing of soft meat, fruit and vegetables.
The paring knife is 3-inches and is a popular knife in western cooking. It’s ideal for slicing small fruit and vegetables, as well as trimming meat and peeling tasks.
Both have black plastic handles molded to be comfortable to use.
This is a great combination and should cover the majority of your fruit and veg preparation needs, they are top quality knives and would be a perfect addition to any kitchen. You can take a look at them on Amazon here.
Cuisinart Ceramic 6-Piece Knife Block Set
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If you’re looking for a full set of ceramic knives for your kitchen then perhaps a block set of knives would be the right choice. For this one, I’m going back to Cuisinart who I mentioned earlier in this article for their 8-inch chef’s knife. They produce great quality ceramic knives at affordable prices and their 6-piece knife black set gives you all the shapes and sizes of ceramic knives you should need, as well as a handle knife block to store them in.
The knife block set includes a: paring knife, serrated knife, Santoku, chef’s knife and a bread knife.
It’s a great range of knife types which should cover pretty much all needs. Each knife has a color-coded handle which not only helps with the identification of the correct knife when the blade is hidden in the block but it also adds a unique aesthetic to the design.
The handles are molded plastic and have been ergonomically formed to be comfortable with prolonged use.
This is a very cost-effective way to collect a number of different ceramic knives. It’s also ideal that they come in a knife block as it is especially important that you properly take care of ceramic knives as due to their brittle nature they are prone to chipping along the blade edge and even snapping if under too much stress. When you have a number of ceramic knives it can be quite difficult to store them or safely so having one knife block where you can put them and know they can’t get damaged is ideal.
This is a great knife set from a reputable ceramic knife manufacturer if you want a full set of knives for a reasonable price I would definitely recommend it. You can take a look at it on Amazon here.
IMORI Kitchen Knife Set
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IMORI specializes in advanced ceramic knives. That’s all they make, that is their focus. As a result, IMORI knives are of very high quality.
This lovely set of IMORI ceramic knives includes a 6-inch, 5-inch and 4-inch knife. The blades are made from a high-grade ceramic material called zirconia. This is an extremely hard ceramic and makes for a fantastically fine and sharp cutting edge.
The handles are molded plastic, orange in color. The material is non-slip and little protrusions have been added to the blade end of the handle to further enhance the grip. As a result, this ergonomically designed handle is great to use and very comfortable, the non-slip attributes make them easy to use over long periods.
Each knife comes with its own blade sheath, colored the same as the handles. This is great because you can protect each blade using the sheaths when you’re not using them. Ceramic blades are particularly brittle, so having a protective sheath is a fantastic feature and should ensure no surprise damage is made to your knives in storage.
These IMORI knives are high quality and you can tell that their focus is exclusively ceramic blades. They have been designed with real intelligence, taking into consideration what is important for a good ceramic knife, not only during use but also for storage purposes.
This three-piece set is a great choice if you want to have a small selection of ceramic knives and they come at an affordable price. You can take a look at them on Amazon here.
How to care for ceramic knives
Ceramic knives are extremely hard, this is what allows them to have such fine and sharp cutting edges and its want makes the cutting edge stay sharp for up to 10x longer than steel knives.
They do however come with a drawback which is often used to criticize ceramic knives. They are very brittle. I like to compare it with a slab on marble. A slab of marble is of course very hard, but if you drop it then you could easily imagine that it would chip at the edge or break in two. Compare that to a slab of sponge foam, if you dropped that it would be altered at all, but it’s very soft. The solution… don’t drop the marble.
If you take care of your ceramic knife correctly then it won’t chip, and it certainly won’t snap. Knives being easily damaged is not something that we’re often used to in western kitchens. Our standard knives are usually german in style and made from softer stainless steel which is extremely durable. However, harder Japanese knives, which are made from high carbon steel, can also chip easily at the cutting edge. Ultimately there is a trade-off between durability and strength. The benefit of looking after a strong knife is that they will be sharper and better to use, that’s why Japanese knives are held in such high regard.
To take care of your ceramic knife properly you need to be aware of its brittle nature both when you’re using the knife and when you’re storing the knife.
- Do not use a ceramic knife to cut hard food or food with hard parts in it. For example, you cannot use a ceramic knife to cut frozen food. You also should be extremely careful using it to cut through meat containing bones or fruit and vegetables with hard interiors, such as avocados, where the stone could easily chip the blade.
- Do not twist the knife when you’re cutting, slice straight and down and never try to cut a curve.
- Do not store a ceramic knife completely unprotected. If you just throw your ceramic knife into a cutlery drawer then it will inevitably bang against other items and the blade will get chipped. At a minimum, you should use a sheath on the blade of the knife which will protect it from damage. If you don’t have one then you can just make up your own using a cloth and elastic band! Even better than this is to use a knife block for the knife, that way you know they can’t be damaged. I’ve given multiple recommendations above of ceramic knives with protective sheaths and a knife block.
- Never drop a ceramic knife. This is kind of obvious and I’m sure you would never intentionally drop a ceramic knife anyway, but it’s worth being just a bit more careful when using a ceramic knife as dropping it could easily make the blade snap in two, especially if you’re using a knife with a long thin blade like a bread knife.
Best tools to sharpen ceramic knives
Sharpening knives requires you to use an abrasive or harder material than the knife blade itself. Sharpening occurs by removing a thin layer of the blade to unveil a fresh sharp layer underneath, therefore you need to sharpen with a harder mather in order to remove that layer.
Ceramic is so hard that it can actually be used to sharpen steel blades. In fact, except for whetstones, I think ceramic rods are the best tool you can use to sharpen steel blades.
But what then can you use to sharpen ceramic blades. If it’s such a hard material what could possibly be harder? DIAMONDS!
Don’t worry, sharpening your ceramic blades with diamonds won’t cost as much as it might first sound. There are a number of diamond-encrusted tools that can be used to sharpen ceramic blades. The surfaces of these tools are literally covered with super fine diamond dust, providing the perfect abrasive to sharpen ceramic blades. There are two types of diamond sharpeners which I would recommend when sharpening ceramic blades at home.
Diamond stone
This is a diamond whetstone, sometimes known as a sharpening stone or water stone. The surface is diamond-encrusted and all you have to do is glid your ceramic knife along with the stone at the same angle as the cutting edge blade, this will be around 15 – 20 degrees. You will need to sharpen each edge of the blade an equal number of times.
I would recommend the LK-WORLD diamond sharpening stone. It has two sides at a 600 and 1,200 grit. The 600 is great for the initial sharpen and the 1,200 side is great for getting a fine, polished finish. You can take a look at it on Amazon here.
Diamond sharpening rod
This is a sharpening rod that also has a diamond-encrusted surface. Now, I would by far recommend using the diamond stone to sharpen your ceramic knife as it gives you much more control than a sharpening rod. It can be tricky to get the angle correct on a sharpening rod, although this isn’t usually a problem when using less abrasive materials, diamond can be very aggressive and if you start off sharpening your knife at the wrong angle you can do more damage to the blade than good in a very short period of time. Nevertheless, if you have the technique right a diamond sharpening rod can be a very quick way of sharpening a ceramic knife.
If you want to use a diamond sharpening rod then I would highly recommend using a high-quality fine diamond rod to get the best rests. This Wusthof diamond sharpening steel is a great choice. You can take a look at it on Amazon here.
