Ease of Use, Performance: 25/25
Look & Feel: 23/25
Features 20/25
How much I enjoy 25/25
Total: 93/100
Flint Knives is a relatively small company with some excellent products in the form of ceramic bladed utility knives. They currently have two models on their website, the smaller Ceramic Pocket Knife and the Folding Utility Ceramic Knife.
Both knives have a ceramic blade and stainless steel handle and hardware for durability and rust resistance. The model I received for reviewing, Folding Utility Ceramic Knife, is a 2.88 inch blade with an overall length of 6 and 5/8ths inches. The handle is an open sided design with plenty of large slots to form some nice gripping action while the knife is being used.
The blade has a lock the snaps into place using part of the handle formed with spring pressure to lock the blade in the open position. There is a belt clip on the handle and the blade as well as the handle is held together using stainless steel screws and nuts. There is also a lanyard loop on the handle for better security when doing sports like fishing.
The ceramic blade is the black ceramic which is harder and takes a second process to produce the finish that the blade has. The blade is ground after being made and finished with the second quenching resulting in a pretty hard blade but there are plenty of warnings about using ceramic blades. They do chip and break more easily, much easier than metal blades but they also hold the edge much better than a steel blade and will stay sharp a lot longer.
The blade is not metallic and so will not get magnetized or collect splinters of metal when using. I have found this to be a problem on occasion while working in the military around electronic components and equipment, especially around joking friends with degaussing tools.
The blade was extremely sharp when I received it and have tried sharpening it since I have received it using not a diamond hone sharpener or other knife sharpener but sandpaper. The blade was easy to sharpen after I purposefully put a dull spot on it and had no problem taking the spot off and putting a nice sharp edge back on using fine grit and very fine grit Silicon Carbide sandpaper. The blade seems to be easier to sharpen than other metal blades and does keep the nice fine edge easily after use.
I have used the Ceramic knife for several weeks around the house and doing work for my reviews and am very pleased with its performance as a general utility knife. As a letter opener and generally cutting things like paper and stripping wire while doing electronic work it is very nice and keeps a sharp edge. The blade has held its edge well and I have put it through all kinds of use around my home.
I have tried it out for cutting up meats and found the blade is very sharp for the nice soft meat of fish and pork and the handle does not get slippery at all due to the nice slots and finger indents along the body of the handle. I had no problem holding onto the knife after getting my hands all slippery with both fresh pork and fish slime while cutting up the meat for a meal.
Cutting other things like vegetables and soft things like bread the knife handles well and does a good job so using this knife in the field for camping and cooking would be an easy task. I had no problem using the knife and cleanup worked well without any worries about rust due to the stainless steel and ceramic parts.
One word of caution that I have read on several websites about ceramic knives and their use, do not use them to pry or any kind of hard hitting on the blade. This type of abuse will cause unusual stresses on the blade and probably cause it to chip or the tip to break. That is why you will probably not see indents on the blades of ceramic knives like those that you use to open a folding knife. The indent would cause a stress point and there is no indent on the Flint Knives for this reason.
The blade is made from Zirconium Oxide in a special process that has only recently become available and is a more expensive material for making a knife. The ceramic blade is harder than a steel blade but also more durable and able to hold an edge due to the properties of ceramic.
Overall I really like the Folding Utility Ceramic Knife from Flint Knives and highly recommend this knife or the smaller pocket knife as an all around multipurpose knife for home and field use. The blade is sharp and will stay that way with proper care. It is not hard to sharpen as long as you use the proper tools and the knife is cool as well, I mean to have a ceramic knife in the first place is neat.
