Knivperson
Senior Member
What are your thoughts on this? Pretty impressive, I think:
76.6 HCR knife
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I guess we will have to see, it is not a steel, so hard to predict how it will behave with thin edges.
GBT-Splint
Well-Known Member
Perfect if you need to sharpen your stones 
Wonder if that's the "steel" made of tungsten and cobalt?
DavidPF
Likes Boring Knives
He states that it's a flexible ceramic. (He does make steel knives too.)
DavidPF
Likes Boring Knives
He uses vitrified-diamond stones to sharpen this stuff, according to his conversations.Perfect if you need to sharpen your stones
Guys, we are taking about Roman of KKnives_Switzerland here. He got a piece this material from an undisclosed company to test / play with. He knows very well what he is doing. He has a very scientific approach and does some crazy high end HT - just look at the edge retention tests of some of his blades made by outpost 76 on YouTube.
My understanding is that it is a major PITA 
as only some specific diamond based abrasives work. I did not follow up with Roman on this as I did not get the impression that this was more than an experiment. I don’t know whether he will have access to this material in the future.
as only some specific diamond based abrasives work. I did not follow up with Roman on this as I did not get the impression that this was more than an experiment. I don’t know whether he will have access to this material in the future.
DrEriksson
Senior Member
You don’t. It sharpens you.
DavidPF
Likes Boring Knives
See a couple of posts above yours.
Yeah, what Matus said, Roman knows what he is doing and then some. Diamonds are your friend. Will be interesting to see what the final result will be.
There were a few ideas of making knives out of liquid metal and flexible ceramics before, but so far steel ended up being better for many reasons.
Most here would not like these knives anyway, no patina, need diamonds, thinning will probably be impossible by hand, no heat treat magic to argue over, etc it is no White 2
There were a few ideas of making knives out of liquid metal and flexible ceramics before, but so far steel ended up being better for many reasons.
Most here would not like these knives anyway, no patina, need diamonds, thinning will probably be impossible by hand, no heat treat magic to argue over, etc it is no White 2
Chicagohawkie
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I’d take that test result with a grain of salt
DavidPF
Likes Boring Knives
One of those reasons certainly still applies in this case: steel is something anybody can get.
DavidPF
Likes Boring Knives
I wouldn't. But it's only one type of test, and to find a good knife material requires many different tests.
Would be less of an issue if it holds it's edge for a really long time. Even if home sharpening was impossible, it wouldn't be too much of a problem, if it only needed sharpening annually or something.
DavidPF
Likes Boring Knives
I'm guessing anybody with the budget for a knife made of this stuff won't mind getting the $200 diamond stones to sharpen it with.
It may not be expensive. Obviously it would be at first, but it may be able to be produced and manufactured at reasonable costs, in which case, if enough people start producing knives using this material, it could be cost efficient and there be enough supply to create competition. Let's hope not, because that wouldn't be good for the current bladesmiths.
DavidPF
Likes Boring Knives
I feel that, but at the same time, real innovation is good. (By "real" I just mean honest and not all hype.)
Everyone needs to make a living, but a good bladesmith will certainly recognize the benefit if a genuinely superior product is created. It's not the same as being cheated by impostors.
To be fair, even if that happened, I think there are plenty of people who would continue to supports the Artisans. It may even help to balance supply and demand a little.
Simpler carbon steels are more accessible compared to stainless and most PM steel.
I was basing the possibility of it potentially harming existing makers on it being produced easily and cheaply. Either way, it was hypothetical.
DavidPF
Likes Boring Knives
All of them are recognized as "better in some ways but not in others". Some day, there may come a new material that turns out to be "better in every way, no question". But probably not for a LONG time.
Kippington
A small green parrot
Hasn't anyone here tested a ceramic knife before? They're quite cheap and hit about 75 HRC. I bought one for testing and didn't like it myself, but it was mostly messing around to see what I thought of it rather than setting out to make any definitive conclusions.
It felt like something you should knap rather than sharpen on an abrasive stone...
It felt like something you should knap rather than sharpen on an abrasive stone...
DavidPF
Likes Boring Knives
I've used a poor quality (or good but old and wearing out?) ceramic knife. Not a great experience. Like I said, it might have been good when it was new. But clearly, nobody here has tried a flexible ceramic knife, and clearly it's not just the same thing.
