# Anyone try the Henckels Cermax 66?



## chefofthefuture (Aug 11, 2008)

I was curious if anyone has bought this or tried it and can give me some decent feedback. I heard the whole sales pitch about they use a powdered steel core to achieve a hardness of Rockwell 66 (for those of you who don't know, the scale goes up to 66). I find it to be a bit much to believe, however after researching it, I found it could quite possibly be the sharpest knife out of the box on the market.

The obvious downside to such a hard steel would be sharpening the thing, and trying to keep the factory edge in tact. As well, the price is a bit extreme ($189.95 for an 8" chef's knife).

With all that said, it still manages to catch my attention. Henckels, and Wusthof for that matter, are aggressively trying to win back their market share that Japanese manufacturers have taken by introducing new and radical lines. This is a knife that combines the best of German tradition and Japanese technology, in fact the knives are actually made in Japan. However, being a professional chef I want to know if it is going to perform day in and day out, theres nothing as frustrating as a dull knife in a kitchen.


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## dillbert (Jul 2, 2008)

there was a note about that a short time ago.

per the manufacturer Ceramax is the best in the world because it has a sintered core clad with

no, that's not an incomplete sentence. it is complete marketing hype. clad in what? not specified, as you may note.

note also that Rockwell C hardness is typically measured by the depth a diamond point penetrates the surface. there is no defined measurement technique or unit to reflect the "hardness" of "the / a core"

do you see the problem here?
1. core - hype,hype,hype - 'primary' benefit
2. clad - clad with....? no information
3. surface measurement touted to be galactic supreme

if you hold the opinion that "hardness" is the one and only thing important to "knife" - get a ceramic bladed knife. them's really really hard.....

I have absolutely no clue as to whether Ceramax is good/better/best/unknown. I can only tell you the marketing hype is a bunch of fastcirculartalk.

<sharpening> sharpening stones are harder than any steel. they'll do the job.

.........sharpest knife out of the box on the market.......
and, ah,, errr, who cares?
that statement is only relevant if you never take it out of the box. if you actually (gasp!) _use_ the knife, it will eventually need sharpening and thenceforth whereforth arth thou Dullmeo?


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## adamm (Jul 16, 2005)

that not too bad for an 8 in knife, considering the cheapest iv seen the ken onion chef is around 200. i actualy dont think thats bad priced at all. As being the sharpest out of the box, oh well, every japanse knife i have i took to the water stones and put a hair poping edge on it.


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## adamm (Jul 16, 2005)

btw im not 100 percent sure on this but im pretty sure the hrc scale goes up furter than 66. iv heard knives refered to as 68 pluse on the hrc


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## chefofthefuture (Aug 11, 2008)

So all in all I put it like this: 

The Twin Cermax is like the big summer blockbuster movie. It has all the hype and expectation, but when you go see it... you feel a little let down. There are good points and all in all it's not a bad thing, however it just doesn't deliver as expected.

In hindsight, I find that your average Henckels would perform just as good as a Cermax, and for $80 less. However, if I have some extra cash and a nagging sense of curiosity I might just buy one.


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