Knives are useful kitchen tools. The sharpest knives we use daily is either made from steel or ceramic. Now scientists have made a knives using hardened wood which is 3 times sharper then steel knives. There is a new method presented in journal Matter which makes wood 23 times harder. The hardened knife can be washes and reused which can be alternative to steel, ceramic and plastic knives.
Wooden knives are resistant to rusting. The researchers show that wooden nails could be hammer together three boards without any damage to the nail .Li and his team demonstrated material can be used to produce wooden nails as sharp as conventional steel nails. Wood processing in general has been around for centuries. “Cellulose, the main component of wood had higher ratio of strength to density than material like ceramics, metals and polymers.” Wood is made up of 40 % to 50% cellulose with the rest consisting of hemicellulose and liging which acts as a binder. As per Li and his team’s method wood is processed in such a way the weaker components do not destroy skeleton. It is a two way process. At first step woods and delignified and in second step pressure and heat is applied. After the material is processed it is carved into desired shapes and coated with mineral oil to extend its lifetime.
This wood hardening process has potential to be more energy efficient and has a lower environmental impact. In our kitchen we have wood pieces that we use for a very long time like cutting boards, chopsticks or a rolling pin. This knives too can be useful tool and substitute to other knives.