Showing posts with label kyocera knives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kyocera knives. Show all posts

Saturday, September 17, 2011

The Kyocera Kyotop

Kyocera Kyotop Damascus

Many Americans got their first introduction to the ceramic knife from celebrity fusion chef, Ming Tsai. Both his Simply Ming and East Meets West programs promoted his use of Kyocera cutlery and the ceramic knife trend was born. These incredibly hard, dense knives offered an interesting alternative to the chef’s traditional steel. The Kyotop is one of the premiere knives in Kyocera’s lineup.

Ceramic knives are produced by pressing zirconia powder and firing them in what is known as a sintering furnace. This process makes for an extremely sharp, hard knife that will never rust and hold its edge for years. Kyocera’s process utilizes a second firing under high pressure and temperature forming what is called Hot Isostatic Pressed, or “HIP” blades. This increases the density of the ceramic material and also gives the blade its distinctive, black Damascus-steel look.

Kyocera’s Kyotop Damascus line features a moisture-resistant, 3 riveted Pakka wood handle and comes with a lifetime of re-sharpening. This is an important point when considering any ceramic knife. While they remain sharp for years, ultimately “microchips” and abrasions will eventually dull the blade. This is not a knife you sharpen yourself. Kyocera will re-sharpen your blade free of charge and ship it back to you (a $10 charge for shipping, you also pay the one-way shipping to them), usually within 2 weeks.

This knife has many favorable reviews from satisfied ceramic knife users. That is an important point we will address in a moment. Reviewers note the Kyotop being scary-sharp right out of the box and were very happy with the overall balance and weight. Several comments addressed the knife being quite a bit lighter in weight than they were accustomed to for that size blade, but that should be expected in a non-steel knife.

The reviewers generally loved the look of the knife and the Pakka wood handles, however one found the handle shape to be a bit straight and square. They felt this made the knife a little uncomfortable for their hand but that it was just a personal choice. Pakka wood handles are being found in a variety of knives these days, including the Shun Classic.

As for the blade, the majority felt that this was about as sharp as a knife can get for cutting and slicing tasks.They cautioned that you should do no prying or twisting as with any ceramic, but for vegetables and boneless meats the edge was the best.  A reviewer did remark that over time his has received a few detectible nicks in the blade, which were too small to see but could be felt by running your nail along the edge. To that end, no reviewer rated the sharpening process by Kyocera as anything but exemplary. They stated the service is outstanding and just “adds to the great experience with any of their kitchen knives.”

My name is Allan Stewart and I have several websites dedicated to health and well being for people and pets as well as product information. Want to learn more about Kyocera products, go to: Ceramic Knives Or visit my website at Kyocera Ceramics for more information about Kyocera products. Also see my other article on ceramic knives: Pros and cons of ceramic knives

Kyocera Revolution Series

Professional Chef’s Knife

The revolution series is Kyocera’s most popular line of ceramic knives. This series  has the black oxide blade which creates a tougher ceramic material than the white  ceramic blades. These knives are perfect for performing a wide variety of cutting  tasks, such as fine chopping and slicing to dicing. The blade has a deeper profile for much greater knuckle clearance for easier use. It has an ergonomic resin handle  that is comfortable and provides precise control which makes it so easy to use.

Kyocera has pioneered advanced ceramic kitchen knives. These knives are impervious  to juices, acids, oils and salts, leave no metallic tastes on your food which help  maintains freshness of your fruits and vegetables. These knives are made in Japan  and should only be hand washed and used on a wooden or plastic cutting board.

Kyocera has a 12 step quality control process. One knife will pass through the hands  of over a dozen people on its journey through the manufacturing process. Kyocera has  spent over 5 decades in perfecting the art of the best and most durable ceramic  available today. This is why some other knife manufacturers want Kyocera to produce  their ceramic blades for them.

Kyocera has also added a service for their customers to sharpen their knives when it  is needed. You just pay shipping and handling and Kyocera will sharpen as many of  your Kyocera knives that you have. Everything is sent to a Southern California  address where each knife goes through a 5 step sharpening process. Customers  typically get their knives back in 7-10 days usually as sharp or sharper than when  they were new. The only other recommended way to sharpen these blades is with a Kyocera electric ceramic knife sharpener. This sharpener has a guide the keep the  blade straight and uses a high grade diamond wheel.

According to The Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association (CATRA), an  independent testing organization "Recent tests show that the life of a Kyocera  ceramic blade without re-sharpening is approximately 15 times that of a typical  steel blade." Advanced Ceramic, or Zirconium Oxide, is extremely dense, achieving a  much tighter weave than any metal material, resulting in the finest and sharpest  edge possible.

About the only thing you have to be careful about when using a ceramic blade is to  not use it as a pry bar or try to cut something very hard. It also goes without  saying about dropping it on a hard surface. If used correctly, these ceramic blades  can last you a lifetime. All Kyocera ceramic products are warranted to be free from  defects in material or workmanship for five years.

About Kyocera

Kyocera Corporation, the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was  founded in 1959 as a producer of advanced ceramics. Kyocera has become a leading supplier of advanced ceramic to several industries including: house wares, medical, aerospace, solar power generating systems, telecommunications equipment, electronic ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2010, the company's net sales totaled 1.07 trillion yen (approximately USD11.5 billion). The company is ranked #554 on Forbes magazine's 2010 "Global 2000" listing of the world's largest publicly traded companies.

My name is Allan Stewart and I have several websites dedicated to health and well being for people and pets as well as product information. Want to learn more about Kyocera products, go to: Ceramic Knives Or visit my website at Kyocera Ceramics for more information about Kyocera products.
Also see my other article on Victorinox Products: Victorinox Products