Ceramic hunting knives - what has been your experience?

Ceramics can be very sharp and hold a sharp edge for a long time. But they are brittle and not well suited to heavy chores that can chip the edge. You will most likely need to send it back to the manufacturer to be sharpened.

Keep them in the kitchen, if at all.

Mr Carter (above) is spot on.

Note for field use at all.

The ceramic knives are way cool. I have two, one Boker and one Stone River, both are locking folders. The boker has a short blade, 1.5 in,the Stone River a longer blade, 3.0 in. The Stone River has some chips in the blade. I have no idea how the blade got chipped, I am very careful with both of them. That's just the way ceramic blades are, fragile, but they are cool.

Ceramic blades are great for slicing but terrible for chopping or boning. They are extremely sharp but also brittle. As such the chip fairly easily and in my mind at least are suitable for field use.

That was supposed to be NOT suitable for field use.

I'm thinking they might be good for skinning an elk in the field - NO??? Skinning can really dull a knife fast. Regards, AIU

A gimmick....had one once and not at all impressed. With all the top quality carbon and stainless knives available today, why bother.

I just bought a Boker ceramic - awesome looking knife. I plan to use it for skinning big game. The skinning process can be very frustrating, because cutting thru the fascia connecting the skin to body dulls knives very quickly; and, as the knife dulls, the work increases. I think the ceramic will stay sharp much longer and make this skinning process less strenuous. Is this reasonable. Regards, AIU

Sounds like you have already made up your mind so the answer is---if it works for you then it works, if it dont it was a bad idea.

I bought one for the same reasons, figured it would make skinning hogs easier. But after my ceramic pocket snapped a blade falling to the floor, I worried that it would be too brittle. And I also wonder about the ease of resharpening.

So it has not seen any use.

I replaced the pocket knife with another one. They are once and light in the pocket.

I'll give you guys a report once I try it as a skinner, which should be a "soft" application for which it is suitable. Regards, AIU

Knives in my camp get rattled around, dropped on occasion and have to multi-task so ceramics are out. They're also very poor for separating joints. For all the extra care required, it seems easier just to keep a steel within hand's reach.

That said, they sure have a cool factor.