There’s much debate in the cooking world around which knife material is best. Ceramic knives have recently become popular, but they are not appropriate for all situations. We’ll help you decide whether they are right for you.
In a hurry? Our top-rated best ceramic knives are:
- Kyocera – 3-Piece Ceramic Knife Set — Best Ceramic Knife Overall
- Kyocera – 2-Piece Ceramic Knife Set — Best Intro Set
- Cuisinart – 12-Piece Ceramic Knife Set , Multicolored — Best in Design
- Kyocera – 6″ Santoku Knife – Ceramic, Black — Best Ceramic Santoku
What Is the Best Ceramic Knife?
It’s hard to boil it down to just one knife here. We like to have a variety to choose from when we’re working at home.
This is why we keep coming back to the Kyocera lines. Like the Kyocera Advanced Ceramic collection. These ceramic knives are sharp, providing a sufficient cut in most circumstances.
They’re also easy to clean. This makes a huge difference when time is short. As a mom or dad, there’s little that brings more relief than a no-fuss wash and dry.
How Good Are Ceramic Knives?
Ceramic knives offer multiple benefits, but also some drawbacks.
Let’s start with the upside:
- Require little sharpening: Ceramic knives keep their edge longer than other materials. You won’t have to sharpen them as often.
- Stainless: These ceramic knives can hold up against acidic substances, for example, your child’s orange slices, or the lemon for your G and T.
- Lightweight: Lighter knives are easier to handle. For newbies or when you’re after a simple home meal, ceramic knives make the process simpler.
- All styles available: Whether you want a paring knife or an all-purpose utility knife, you’ll find a ceramic one to fit the bill.
On the downside:
- Fragile: Given the material, I can guarantee you that your ceramic knife will be more susceptible to damage than metal. These knives chip easily, which means taking extra caution from A to Z.
- Soft foods only: Frozen items and bone-in meats are just two of the “no-no’s” with ceramic knives.
That said, ceramic knives are as good as can be if you use them properly. They’re not like a steel chef knife or utility knife, but they do well with fruits and veggies. We love them for snack time.
What Should You Not Cut With a Ceramic Knife?
You should avoid the hardest foods at all costs. If you don’t, you risk chipping your ceramic knives, making them useless on the spot — or worse, the knife slipping and giving you a nasty cut.
Which Is Better: Ceramic or Stainless Steel Knives?
It depends on what you want to cut and how much effort you’re willing to put in.
Ceramic knives require less maintenance and don’t corrode or rust easily. Stainless steel knives, on the other hand, can slice and carve hard foods and are less fragile.
If you’re a vegetarian or vegan household, ceramic blades may be the ideal choice. If you’re a weekend roast and midweek steaks kind of family, they’re great for chopping and dicing accompanying veg.
Here is a little tongue-in-cheek video that explains the difference:
What Factors Drove Our Ratings?
As you can see from above, these knives have some definite advantages to offer. But not all ceramic knives are created equal. This is how we went about choosing our top options:
- Easy to clean: We’re always looking for a simple wash-and-go moment, and ceramic knives couldn’t be easier to clean.
- Super sharp: Good ceramic knives are known for lasting a long time in between sharpenings. Knives ready to go out of the box, are a big plus.
- Ergonomic handle: Comfort and a secure grip make cutting even better (and safer). The best ones offer this advantage..
Our Top-Rated Best Ceramic Knives — Overall
Kyocera - 3-Piece Ceramic Knife Se
Includes
- 6-inch chef’s knife
- 5-inch serrated knife.
- 3-inch paring knife.
Features
- Three knives included.
- Comfortable handles.
- Dishwasher-safe.
- Quality Japanese materials.
This brand is no stranger in the world of ceramic knives. As you can see, we’ve got a few of its options to choose from on our list.
The Kyocera – 3-Piece Ceramic Knife Set includes a 6-inch chef’s knife, a 5-inch serrated one and a 3-inch paring knife. This company uses a proprietary zirconia material from Japan for the blades. They’re extremely sharp, up to 10 times that of stainless steel, according to the brand.
They’re resistant to acids and are rust proof, meaning they’ll hold up over time and stay looking good.
The handles on these knives are lightweight, yet ergonomic, offering a comfortable, steady grip as you chop your little one’s fresh fruits.
Dishwasher safe is as convenient as it gets, and these knives fall under that category. Quick cleanup for the win!
In April 2016, JP said: “This is the second time I have bought Kyocera ceramic knives and I highly recommend them. After the success I have had my parents bought a set and my brother bought himself a set.”
Negatives? Some home chefs noticed that the knife chipped more easily than expected. Be sure to not use the knife for cutting hard objects like frozen food.
Our Top-Rated Best Ceramic Knives — Intro Set
Kyocera - 2-Piece Ceramic Knife Set (FK-2PC WH3)
Includes
- 5.5-inch all-purpose Santoku knife.
- 3-inch paring knife.
Features
- Great gift set for a novice cook.
- Japanese-style Santoku included.
- Won’t brown foods.
This Kyocera 2-Piece Ceramic Knife Set makes for a great introductory package to the world of ceramic knives. It’s a set containing a 5.5-inch all-purpose Santoku and a 3-inch paring knife.
The former is a wonderful option for everyday dicing and slicing. The smaller knife is perfect for details, such as peeling or mincing.
Whether they’re for you or you’re gifting them to someone special, they’ll arrive in a neat, black box as an additional upgrade.
These knives offer the same features as the Kyocera 3-piece set above, including super-sharp blades, ergonomic handles and resistance to wear and tear.
In January 2019, Karen said: “They have made cooking much nicer for me. I used to avoid buying things like pineapple because it was hard to cut them up. This makes it almost effortless.”
Negatives? Some people noted that the paring knife’s handle was too small for larger hands.
Our Top-Rated Ceramic Knives — Best in Design
Cuisinart - 12-Piece Ceramic Knife Set (C55-12PCER1)
Includes
- 8-inch serrated bread knife.
- 8-inch slicing knife.
- 8-inch chef knife.
- 7-inch Santoku knife.
- 6.5-inch utility knife
- 3.5-inch paring knife
Features
- Beautiful colors.
- Guards included for safety.
- Dishwasher-safe.
- Great variety of blades.
This Cuisinart 12-Piece Ceramic Knife Set is rather beautiful. Just look at all the colors, including purple, green, and yellow. If your kiddos like to help in the kitchen, they’ll enjoy the visuals as much as ours do. From a distance, of course.
Another plus to all the colors is that you can designate a different one for each type of food. Using one color for fish, another for meat and a third for veg means you can worry less about cross contamination.
You’ll receive six different knives with matching jackets that keep them safe when stored away. There’s an 8-inch serrated bread knife, 8-inch slicing knife, 8-inch chef knife, 7-inch Santoku knife, 6.5-inch utility knife and a 3.5-inch paring knife.
The blades are stainless steel with a ceramic non-stick coating. Foods shouldn’t get stuck as your chopping or dicing, which can be annoying.
Cleanup should be a breeze since they’re all dishwasher safe.
B. Raborn, in June 2016, said: “These are the best!! I have a set and they are my favorite knives. I buy a set whenever they are on special buy and keep them to give as gifts. They make wonderful wedding, housewarming, birthday or Christmas gifts.”
Negatives? Some people said that the sharpness on this knife wore off earlier than expected.
Our Top-Rated Best Ceramic Knives — Santoku
Kyocera - 6" Santoku Knife - Ceramic, Black
Includes
- 6-inch knife.
Features
- Dishwasher-safe — top rack and away from metal.
- Lightweight rust-resistant ceramic blade.
- Smaller size makes it ideal for people with small hands.
We like this Kyocera 6″ Santoku Ceramic Knife. Some home chefs dig the Santoku style. They’re a good middle-line knife. Not too big or small, these are typically lightweight and with a downward-curving blade at the tip.
This kind of Japanese knife typically features dimples along the blade that stop food from sticking as you cut, speeding things up. However, Kyocera dismisses this feature here. There are some beveled markings, though, which might serve the same function.
It’s a wonderful blade for cutting straight pieces of vegetables and fruits or boneless fish or meats.
Like the other Kyocera models on our list, it’s easy to clean and lightweight. The knife is also resistant to rust, corrosion or browning. It’ll stay looking in tiptop shape, so long as you take care of it.
In September 2016, Morgan said: “This is the knife I’ve used for 90 percent of all my cutting work in the kitchen since I bought it and I think it is brilliant. After all these years, it’s still almost as sharp as when I bought it…”
Negatives? A few cooks warned that water found its way into the space between the blade and handle fairly easily.
Additional Item
Of course, once you have all these beautiful knives you might want to show them off! We like the look of this bamboo universal knife block. It comes with 2 built-in knife sharpeners and hods up to 16 large and small knives and is easy to clean.
Chop Away
The best ceramic blades do have some advantages that steel knives don’t. They’re lightweight, very sharp and easy to keep clean. Did we mention they don’t rust? We believe this makes them a good addition to any home chef’s kitchen for cutting up fruits and vegetables.
Our top choice goes to the Kyocera – 3-Piece Ceramic Knife Set, for these reasons and more. They’re also resistant to acid, which is perfect for those afternoon snack sessions, again and again.
