KADAA Ceramic 6″ Knife Review
Star Rating: 3.7 Stars
Overall Rating: Average Quality Professional Knife
Knife: KADAA Ceramic 6 inch Chef Knife
Brand: KADAA Kitchen
Made In: ?
Blade Construction: 6″ Black ceramic blade made out of zirconium oxide (also called Zirconia); 1.88mm thick
Edge: Double-beveled blade
Handle: Red soft touch plastic
Tang: ?
Weight: 3.4 oz (97 g)
Total Length: 10.6″
NSF Approved?: The construction appears to meet NSF standards but I cannot find an official NSF approval seal.
Cleaning: highly recommend hand-washing only. Do not place in dishwasher
Cost: About $14.00 on Amazon.com
Availability: Currently available (Sept 2016)
Warranty: They guarantee to refund your money if you are not delighted with your knife purchase.
KaDaa Knife Review Summary
Star Rating: 3.7 Stars
Overall Rating: Average Quality Professional Knife
We rate the KaDaa 6″ Black Blade Ceramic Knife as a good overall average knife for the professional kitchen. It is very sharp, but it’s stiffness and lightness make it hard to use on dense vegetables such as carrots, or thick vegetables like large onions. And its usefulness is further diminished by the fact that the blade can be chipped by cutting something too hard such as fish bones (which really aren’t very hard!) or maybe fresh herb stems such as thyme or rosemary. It’s brittleness and limited functionality make it not so useful in a professional kitchen (unless you are a Garde Manger Chef). But the home cook could find this to be a very useful, not to mention affordable, knife.
Despite it’s weaknesses, for $14 it’s hard to go wrong with this knife. In some regards it performs like a knife which is significantly more expensive. It is extremely light and very comfortable in the hand.
Note: This knife was donated for review by a representative of the manufacturer.
Advantages of a Ceramic Knife
- Extremely sharp edge
- Long life on the edge meaning it doesn’t need sharpening often
- It does not oxidize food like a steel knife can, meaning that fruits & vegetables will not turn brown while cutting
- It is corrosion resistant
Things NOT to do with a Ceramic Knife
- Do Not use on cutting boards or surfaces made of marble, stone, glass, ceramic tile, or metal
- Do Not cut bones (including fish bones), frozen food, or other hard objects as this may damage the blade
- Do Not expose the blade to fire
- Do Not use a traditional steel to hone the edge
- Do Not use a traditional grinding stone or sharpener
- Do Not clean in the dishwasher
- Do Not use the blade to twist, pry, crow, or in some way use as a screw driver
- Do Not use tip to pierce metal cans or lids
- Do Not use flat of blade to pound garlic or other ingredients
Although this blade is marketed as a chef’s knife (and as a “kitchen knife”, a “black blade chef’s knife” and a “professional chefs 6″ knife”) we would define it as a Petty Knife or a Utility Knife due to it’s size, shape and short blade.
This ceramic knife is made from Zirconia which is extremely hard, wear resistant , and is chemically inert. But it’s hardness is also a “double edged sword” in terms of usability in a professional kitchen. On the one hand, they are made from a very hard material (zirconium oxide) which gives ceramic knives their keen, long lived edge. But the material is so hard that it is brittle and has no flex. Zirconia is second in hardness only to diamond and it was originally developed for applications where metal materials failed. Zirconium oxide has a hardness of 8.2mohs (Vs steel is at 5-6mohs and diamond is at 10 mohs).
The representative who sent me the knife to demo was very honest and told me that if you drop the knife so that the flat of the blade hits the floor it could result in breaking the blade. And if the tip hit the floor, well, it’s almost certain that it would break (which could also happen with a steel knife). This brittleness in the blade material construction is why a ceramic knife cannot be used to cut bones (not even fish bones) or other hard products.
Ceramic blades come in white and black. The black (HIP) blade is made from black zirconium oxide which provides extra durability. It goes through an extra firing process called a “hot isostatic press” which creates a tighter bond between the ceramic molecules, resulting in a more durable blade.
Sharpening a Ceramic Knife
Contrary to some common believes, a ceramic knife will eventually need sharpening. Although they do hold their edge longer than steel knives, they will not remain sharp forever. And when it time to attend to the edge, DO NOT use a regular honing steel, sharpening stone, whet stones, or sharpening device on a ceramic knife!
Ceramic blades can only be properly sharpened with something that is harder than it is. I would recommend sending it back to the manufacturer for sharpening if needed. Alternately I found these links to other people’s suggestions for sharpening a ceramic knife. I don’t necessarily endorse any of these…just providing the info:
KaDaa Ceramic 6″ Knife Video Review
| KaDaa 6″ Utility Knife Review | |||
| Possible | Actual Rating | Test | Notes |
| Sharpness | |||
| 5 | 2 | Carrot-Lengthwise Test | Major struggle cutting lengthwise; also difficult keeping a straight cut…the knife wanted to take it’s own path rather than the cut I wanted. |
| 5 | 3 | Shallot Test | Some small struggle but it cut almost as cleanly as the Shun Ken Onion. |
| 5 | 3 | Onion Test | Had some trouble getting through the thick, dense part of the onion. |
| 3 | 3 | Tomato Test | Very smooth with minor effort. Nice thin slices. |
| 3 | 3 | Basil Test | Clean, sharp cuts with no bruising, tears, or shredding. |
| 3 | 2 | Paper Test | Did a good job on the paper but not quite as good as some other knives. |
| Comfort | |||
| 5 | 5 | Comfortable Handle & Bolster | Very comfortable in the hand with a comfortable bolster which is not obtrusive |
| Quality Materials | |||
| 5 | 3 | Steel Quality | Although Zirconia is a quality material we gave it a “3” because there are better materials (steels) which are more durable. |
| 3 | 1 | Durability | Due to it’s brittleness this is not a durable knife for the professional kitchen. The edge is easy to chip, and a flat fall could shatter the blade. |
| 3 | 2 | Handle Quality | The handle is appropriate quality and durability for this knife. |
| Quality Construction/Design | |||
| 5 | 3 | Overall Construction Quality | The knife seems to be constructed well and with proper care should last a long time. |
| 3 | 1 | Design, Engraving, End-cap, etc | In this price point there is no need for fancy designs or end-caps. It is a simple, practical design. |
| General Ratings | |||
| 5 | 1 | Blade Cost per Inch | $2.33 |
| 5 | 2 | Utility | This knife has limited application in the professional kitchen. Could be very useful to a garde manger chef. It is very good with soft fruits and vegetables, but begins to have trouble with thick vegetables like onions, or hard vegetables like carrots. |
| 7 | 4 | Overall Impression | KaDaa is very upfront about the do’s and don’ts of this knife and it’s specific culinary uses. And for $13 it’s certainly worth trying. |
| 5 | 3 | Our Star Rating | 3.7 Stars |
| Total | |||
| 69 | 42 | 3.7 Stars = Average Quality Professional Knife – See Overall Ranking Below formula: (actual score/total possible*6) |
|
Buy This Knife
Full disclosure: this is an affiliate link and I will receive a commission for each knife purchased. With that said, I stand by the review presented here.
KADAA Ceramic Kitchen Knife
4.5 stars on Amazon
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