Spyderco Ceramic Knife: Your design input welcomed!

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Over the years sal has said that the folks at Spyderco have considered the practical and economic issues involved in producing a ceramic-bladed knife. I believe it is only a matter of time before a practical ceramic field knife is available. Some companies have begun producing them. I would love to see Spyderco get in on this market. And so, what are some design ideas you would all like to see on said Spyderco Ceramic knife?

This raises some interesting questions:

Depending on the ceramic material used and its properties, would it work best in plain edge or serrated edge or both?

Would serrated edges on a ceramic blade be difficult to form (I am assuming that we are not discussing Nanotech Assembler based ceramics because at that point, we have gone off beyond what we can currently make)? Would serrated edges on a ceramic knife be prone to chipping and shattering due to brittleness?

I guess in order to have a practical ceramic knife we would need something that will have fracture toughness as well as hardness.

Would you want to see it in a leaf shape blade or in something more along the lines of a Delica and Endura or something different?

Cliff Stamp said that some of the more exotic steel begins to approach ceramic in hardness.

[zhyla]

Sharpening serrated ceramic blades would be a very specialized endeavor.

Unless there have been advances in flexibility I don’t see much point. Ceramic is just too fragile. I had a tiny ceramic folder once that had around a 1” long blade but it was amazingly thick, at least 1/8” thick. The bevel was amazingly obtuse. Just kind of silly.

Maybe if laminated between some steel... but all the reasons we don’t run 66 Rc on steels that get that hard apply. Blades that hard are a liability.

[Tdog]

I think Sal said in another thread some years ago, they didn't think the ceramic was the way to go. There were problems with toughness and breakage. Maybe composition and characteristics have changed?

[Stuart Ackerman]

No...

The cons outweigh the pros...

And someone will break one and tell the world that the knife is junk... and badmouth any association with it as the same...

[Ruudr]

What Ackerman said!

[Surfingringo]

I’ve had a couple. They dull through fracture and then are impossible for most people to sharpen. I would think ceramic would perform especially poorly in a serrated edge. Sorry to be another spoil sport, but I’ll pass.

[SharpieB]

I’ve had a couple. They dull through fracture and then are impossible for most people to sharpen. I would think ceramic would perform especially poorly in a serrated edge. Sorry to be another spoil sport, but I’ll pass.

Same here.

I have had a few high quality ceramic kitchen knives and they were great initially. But they quickly dull and all of the tips eventually broke off. Total PITA to sharpen as others have said.

I have zero interest in a folding ceramic knife of any kind.

[koenigsegg]

Maxamet is getting close lol I think I read it was like a ceramic
Was measured Spyderco MT-24 - 67-68 RC

[Bloke]

The only experience I have with any ceramic cutting implement is a pair of ceramic braid fishing line scissors.

They work better than I expected but I don't think they'd fare too well if dropped. I think the manufacturer had some concerns too because they come with a tether.

I don't think I'd be interested in a ceramic knife.

[MCM]

chippy/breaky..............

[Wanimator]

Interesting enough there aren't any videos of a ceramic knife getting tested for edge retention against rope/cardboard or anything of that variety that I have seen.

[TriggerThumb]

Marketing it to compete with steel knives... idk. But what I would like to see is a lightweight (aka liner less) design built with ease of disassembly in mind, and replacement blades available for a fair price. Maybe even a pack of 5 or so. That way I can cut all day, chip the blade, drop it, sharpen it, and when it's beyond saving, I could pop in a new one. I'm not sure of the abilities of ceramic for things like cutting drywall and such, but if it worked it'd be pretty cool.

Also, wouldn't the blade break from it falling shut? Maybe it would have to have more of a sebenza-like "hydraulic" shut rather than the "fall-shutty" style.

Edit- wow, did some quick research on folding ceramic knives. I'm definitely into the idea now. I'm all about slicing, and in many years of knife use I've never dropped one, so I don't think I would have trouble with ceramic.

[Bill1170]

Fracture is the big problem with ceramic blades. I’ve had several and they chip even with careful kitchen use. If they could be tougher, they might be decent utility knife blades.

[Wanimator]

There are tougher ceramics and even ones with flex. But they come at a price and still will fracture at the edge.

[Doc Dan]

I would be open to the idea if they can solve some of the problems associated with it.

[awa54]

Kyocera has been a ceramic materials specialist for many years, their kitchen knives are OK, but as stated by others, they retain sharpness only a bit longer than a good steel knife and then need to be returned to the maker for sharpening...

I'll gladly stick with modern stainless as the standard for durable, utilitarian cutlery.

[Wanimator]

There really should be a rope and cardboard cut test with ceramic knives. They can be sharpened to a high sharpeness at home with diamond stones and compounds.

[The Deacon]

IMHO, the one thing ceramic blades bring to the table is lightness. So the only type of folding knives where I think ceramic blades might make an interesting alternative to steel would be small "keychain knives" and "gent's knives". A Ladybug or Manbug with a FFG ceramic blade and unlined Micarta handle would make and excellent, featherweight, high-end keychain knife. A ceramic bladed, titanium handled, version of the SS Kiwi or upcoming SS Kopa would make an interesting gent's knife.

EDITED TO ADD: and under the "everything old is new again" heading, Spyderco marketed this little Tak Fukata ceramic knife 20+ years ago in their 1994 Golden Edge Cutlery Catalog:

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[BrianMcCord]

IMHO, the one thing ceramic blades bring to the table is lightness. So the only type of folding knives where I think ceramic blades might make an interesting alternative to steel would be small "keychain knives" and "gent's knives". A Ladybug or Manbug with a FFG ceramic blade and unlined Micarta handle would make and excellent, featherweight, high-end keychain knife. A ceramic bladed, titanium handled, version of the SS Kiwi or upcoming SS Kopa would make an interesting gent's knife.

EDITED TO ADD: and under the "everything old is new again" heading, Spyderco marketed this little Tak Fukata ceramic knife 20+ years ago in their 1994 Golden Edge Cutlery Catalog:

Tak Fakuta Folder.jpg

Here is one for sale...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-TAK-FUKAT ... SwYDZaV9do

[ThePeacent]

but, on the other hand, a keychain Ceramic knife would be quite prone to being banged around, thrown, be sat on top of, dropped or clashed against other things being on your keys, maybe enough to break the blade even if folded