[L_10_shooter]

I am looking for a pocket knife and wondering how ceramic blades are? Do they stay sharp, chip weight reduction, harder to sharpen. Any good models that you have used?

[TimboKhan]

It's my understanding that the home user cannot sharpen them at all, and that they are quite brittle under shearing type stress. On the plus side, edge retention is apparently magnificent.

Honestly, I would simply consider that the technology to build a ceramic knife has been around for a long time, yet hardly anyone has done so, and sort of draw some conclusions from that.

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

That may be so, timbo, but those Boker ceramic folding knives are just so handsome!

[Maia007]

I had a ceramic kitchen chef knife....still do.....it stayed real sharp for about a year. But I was not able to re-sharpen it using waterstones, high grade norizon paper, aluminum oxide paper, ceramic stones, diamond stones...nothing.

I sharpen a lot of woodworking tools and am really pretty good at sharpening carbon tool and high speed steel. Just couldn't figure out what worked on the ceramic.

So there is sits, dull in the drawer.

I would think that ceramic would be too brittle for a working field knife, but perhaps not.

[Gordon]

I bought this one recently, pretty darn Kewl to cut a jack daniels bottle in half after you and friends finish it!:uhoh:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170276555825

[Anteater1717]

I wanna see a video of it!

[TimboKhan]

That may be so, timbo, but those Boker ceramic folding knives are just so handsome!

Oh, no doubt about it, they are cool!

[hso]

You can sharpen them with diamond if you're very patient, but the edge lasts so long I've never had to sharpen one of mine (of course I treat my Bokers like dress knives and they don't get much use).

The edge will chip more easily than steel so you have to be careful about what you use to cut with them.

There's no lateral strength to them, compared to steel, so any prying with result in a broken blade.

They tend to be made with Ti bodies so the overall weight can be pretty low.

They are very cool.

[L_10_shooter]

Thanks for the info I figured most of that stuff but wanted to get a real world testing opinion. $850 to cut whisky bottles in half......huh :uhoh:

[Joe Demko]

$29.95 (http://www.ceramicknife.org/).

[G.A.Pster]

Does anyone, make ceramic folders that have composite handles and beryllium springs?

[CWL]

That Mad Dog Mirage X ceramic blade is supposedly different than standard Kyocera or Boker ceramics in that it is reinforced for chopping and prying. He even makes a ceramic prybar for EOD purposes I recall.

"Supposed" is the key word there. I have seen one used to shave glass and mild steel before, quite impressive. Had one on order prior to 9/11 until he canceled all orders. The non-metallic ones (no metal insert under the grip) are quite rare. Would still like to own one, but no longer willing to pay those prices.