Even with our rigorous testing, we’ve never attempted anything like the stunts that Kim Breed pulled. Kim is a retired Special Forces veteran who happens to review knives for one of the leading publications, Blade Magazine. I sent him our Spartan model for an article and could not believe my eyes once it was published in the April 2010 issue. The thought of putting a ceramic blade through such arduous tasks never even crossed my mind! I have no idea how these tests came to fruition, but I’m glad they did.
Below is a text version of the article. Full color scan available to download in PDF and JPG versions at the end of this post. Read on!
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Blade Magazine
April 2010 issue
Tough-Stuff Ceramic by MSG Kim Breed (5th Special Forces, retired)
Not only is it tough, but the Spartan’s ceramic blade “cuts like the dickens,” too
I have been waiting to test one of the newer ceramic-bladed knives for a couple of years now, so the timing was right for the Spartan from Zayka. My first experience with a ceramic blade had not been very good. Such blades always seemed to chip out and I had to be very careful not to exert any side pressure on them.
Ceramics have come a long way since then. As long as there is not a sharp blow against anything hard, the Spartan blade holds up very well. One thing that has not changed is the sharpness of such blades. I will start off slow cutting with the Spartan and then step it up a few notches.
First Things First
Melissa asked if we could have some sushi rolls for dinner. No problem. I gave her the Spartan to prepare the innards of the rolls. She sliced up celery, avocados and cream cheese. I pulled the crab meat from the fridge and started rolling. Melissa took the rolls and cut them into the standard-size chunks. It was time to chow down!
While eating, we discussed the Spartan. Melissa said she really likes how comfortable the handle is and how easily it cuts. All she had to do was touch the blade and push down, she observed, with no need for sawing back and forth. Yeah, I know, a knifemaker’s kitchen knives are always dull. Hey, who am I to change the status quo? That’s just the way it is.
It was time for me and my full belly to go out in the garage and cut harder things. I grabbed some 8-to-9-ounce leather and started slicing. The Spartan produced that great crunching sound as it easily sliced up the leather. Next: cardboard. Using just my thumb and forefinger, I started cutting. I was fairly surprised at how controllable the knife is. Zip, zip, zip! – the cardboard presented no challenges. Next on the cut parade: rubber matting. I figured that the rubber would stick to the blade and slow the Spartan down. Wrong again. The knife just kept cutting with only a push of the handle, and it did not bind.
Time to get out the half-inch sisal rope – that should slow the Spartan down. Crunch, crunch and crunch! In fact, 160 crunches later and the Spartan was still going strong – and I was getting short on rope. I followed that with another 100 cuts just like the first 160. This ceramic blade cuts like the dickens!
Sitting in the corner of the workbench was a 1-inch-thick pine board. Why not try the ceramic blade on wood? I started off whittling and the Spartan produced nice curly-cues, but the blade kept cutting off the end and smacking into my bench top. After a while I adjusted my cutting technique and was able to get the curly-cues to stay on the board. I inspected the edge to see if it had chipped out any after all that smacking on the bench top. The Spartan was still like new. I decided to get rid of the curly-cues by twisting the blade at the end of the cut. I started off slow and easy because I did not want to break the blade. By the end I was twisting it as hard as I twist a steel blade. The Spartan is tough stuff without a doubt.
I thought about stopping at this point as I had pushed the blade further than I have ever gone with a ceramic knife. But there was one more thing I thought I would never do with a ceramic blade – chop wood. Oh yeah! Keeping the 1-inch pine locked in a vise, I started hacking into it. The knife sent chunks of wood flying around my bench and floor. I do not recommend chopping with the Spartan as such abuse no doubt voids the warranty, but it sure is fun. Besides, it’s nice to know the knife can do it.
Changes?
I cannot think of anything to change on this knife.
Overall
I love the knife’s feel and performance. The ceramic blade was a lot stronger than I thought it would be.
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