Why Are Slice Ceramic Blades Initially Less Sharp Than Metal Blades?

Metal blades are most dangerous when they are too sharp or too dull. Because metal blades dull quickly, their manufacturers ship them much sharper than necessary. This level of initial sharpness is an invitation for accidental skin cuts. After very few uses, metal blades dull to a safer sharpness level. However, they continue to dull rapidly and soon are too dull to cut materials easily. That's when they become dangerous again because users must exert more force to cut materials, which increases the risk of a slip and accidental cut.

What Kind of Ceramics?

Image 1. The Mohs hardness scale measures the relative hardness of various materials. As you can see, the zirconium oxide used in Slice ceramics is harder than steel by several factors.

Slice uses 100 percent zirconium oxide in our ceramic safety blades. This advanced ceramic material’s molecular structure makes it extremely hard, giving it superior wear resistance compared with steel. Slice takes advantage of zirconia’s hardness with our patented finger-friendly grind. We sharpen our blades to an effective level and our ceramics’ natural wear resistance holds that edge much longer than steel.

Slice Ceramics vs. Steel

Image 2. Metal blades start much sharper than necessary and dull very quickly. Slice ceramics have a safer initial sharpness and last much longer before they dull. This study was performed independently by the Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association.

Slice ceramics dull very slowly. As such, they don't need to be so sharp out of the box. They start off at a safe sharpness and stay there much longer. In fact, a double-edged Slice ceramic blade lasts, on average, 11.2 times longer than its metal counterpart. In some cases, it lasts up to 30 times longer.