Kitchen Gear: Kyocera Revolution Series 5.5" Santoku Knife, Black Blade Review

My mother-in-law gave this to me as a gift from her trip to Japan in 2006.  I was really happy because I was curious about these ceramic knives, but it was not readily available then.  This sits with my Wusthof Classic knives in my knife drawer.

Characteristics

1. Blade length is 5.5" from pointy blade tip to handle tip.  I am used to the blade length of my 8" chef's knife, but the shorter 5.5" blade length is no problem at all.   One down-and-away push cuts right through. 
2. Blade material is zirconium oxide, which is softer than diamonds but harder than high carbon steel that my Wusthof Classic knives are made from.
3. Blade color is metallic black not like pottery black.  Two blade colors are available for these knives: white and black.  I read online somewhere that the black blade is tougher than the white blade so the black blade will not shatter when dropped.  When I looked online, black bladed knives were more expensive than the white bladed ones, and not many other manufacturers made black ceramic blades.
4. Handle is black molded plastic that is rounded all over.

Analysis

     Weaknesses

1. The blade is ceramic, so it can chip or shatter.  When I got this knife, I was warned that dropping it will chip or shatter the blade.  Well, I dropped it twice, once from the countertop to the hardwood floor and once from shoulder height to the Caesarstone countertop, and the blade was fine.  Maybe I was lucky.  Maybe it did not chip because it's the black blade and not the white blade.  I do not know if it would have chipped when dropped from counter to a tile floor.
2. This knife is not meant to carve, pry, bone, cut cheese, or cut frozen foods.
3. Cutting harder thicker foods like carrots, onions, potatoes, and thick meat need some work. I slice-chop, or saw downward.   
4. Minor:  Only use a plastic or wood cutting board and only hand wash it because the edge will chip easily on hard surfaces and in the dishwasher.  However, this is not much different from the requirements of metal knives.
5. Minor:  I need a diamond whetstone to sharpen it.  A regular whetstone does not work because the ceramic blade is harder than it.   I can buy a sharpener that Kyocera makes or these knives, or send it to Kyocera to have the blade's chips ground away.  (I will try an electric knife sharpener with 15 degree Asian knife angle and diamond grinders.  I will review this later.)

     Strengths

1. The blade is light, not as heavy as my Wusthof Classic Santoku.
2. The handle is ergonomically shaped so it's more comfortable in my small hand.  I do not notice the handle like I notice the Wusthof handle.  Greasy hands making the handle slippery is not a problem for me because I do the chef's grip, and I keep the knife in my hand until I'm done cutting so my knife hand does not touch what I am cutting.
3. I love the spoon-like curve of the blade's tip to scoop out seeds from cantaloups and honeydew melons.  The tip is perfectly shaped for scooping.
4. Minor:  Ceramics are not affected by acids.  I rinse my Wusthof blades right after cutting acidic foods, but not the Kyocera.  Even if I did not rinse my Wusthof, I would not be too concerned about staining.  I do not think high carbon steel rusts.
5. Minor:  Foods do not react to ceramics.  It will not leave a metallic off taste in foods.   It  will not turn some vegetable's cut edge reddish brown, but that is a minor improvement for me.  Maybe my palate is less discerning, but my food does not seem to taste or smell more metallic when I use my Wusthof metal knives.
6. Major:  Even when "dull" the blade cuts well.  Ceramic is harder than metal, so it chips because it cannot bend.  According to the Kyocera website, chipping is the ceramic blade's way of "dulling."  After years of use and putting it in the sink with other stuff, my ceramic blade's edge had numerous small chips.  It looked bad, but it still cut just as well, so I kept on using it.  With metal blades, you have to steel frequestly to straighten the bent edge, and then you have to sharpen it about once a year depending on use.  I did not do this, so my Wusthof knives became uselessly dull.  With the Kyocera, I kept using it for 4 years without doing anything, and it still cut well.

Conclusion:

This is a really nice addition into my knife collection.  I really like that a "dull" ceramic blade still cuts well.  It is so low maintenance.  I love that.  I also like the curved spoon-like tip to scoop out stuff.  My Wusthof Santoku has the same curved tip, but that blade is longer so it is a bit unwieldy.

I'm not throwing out my Wusthof Classics.  I think that a ceramic blade is no sharper than a properly ground metal blade.  Sometimes I need a metal blade that can cut frozen meat or small fish bones.