Kyocera 5" Tomato Knife

I am at the cutting board for at least an hour or two every day, often longer. I have used this one knife to prepare a lot of vegetables, fruits, pasta, bread and meats over the last five years. It has done everything from paper thin slices of soft fruits to the improper use of it to smash garlic broadside and power through very hard things that you would think would snap it in two. I have another ceramic knife by Faberware which quickly became pitted on the cutting edge and didn't last a full year. I have researched a lot about metal knives, their manufacture and maintenance, specifically chefs' knives and woodcarvers' knives. I have a very expensive fancy metal chef's knife kept in reserve for times when I thought I would need it, but I almost never use it. When I have used it, I didn't find an advantage over this ceramic knife. I read a lot about knives, about how they are made, about competing brands, about sharpening and honing, about knife use and chefs' techniques. I got this ceramic knife as an accompaniment to my steel knives, never dreaming it would make me leave them idle. I have a good setup for knife sharpening and honing, but with a ceramic knife, all of that is stored away unused. I have used this knife during these five years more than anything else in my kitchen except my sink. It is always at hand. I give it a quick rinse or sudsy swipe after use. It has never become discolored, not even from tomato sauce, nor retained odors, not even from onion and garlic. Judging from its delicate appearance and light weight, I never expected such broad and constant use. Ceramic knives are of varying quality. Luckily, I got this one and not an inferior brand, so I can appreciate the performance. I keep waiting for it to wear out, but likely it has years more use ahead. I depend on it and never have to think about which knife to reach for. This one does it all, from de-boning meat to splitting root vegetables so hard that the knife gets stuck, to cutting through very dense fiber like hard-neck garlic stalks and pineapple hulls, to mincing delicate herbs like cilantro. Every week after I come back from the market with a car trunk full of vegetables and fruits, I spend half a day cutting everything into salads which are stored in the refrigerator for the coming week. It is a marathon session with this knife. Today, after using it, I thought it is high time to recommend it to others. I was puzzled by the bad reviews. Did I just get lucky? Perhaps my experience will not be yours, but it well might be.