After forging impressively sharp blades from random materials like saran wrap, chocolate, pasta, and even a dead fish, Japan’s most resourceful knife maker has created what could be the perfect disposable cutlery: a chef’s knife made from ice that simply melts away when dinner’s done.
The immediate question that comes to mind is how do you make a knife from frozen water that will survive in a kitchen that’s already warm from cooking? The answer is: you can’t, but you can make it at least survive meal prep by adding cotton stuffing – the same stuff you’ll find in pillows and cushions – which slows the melting process.
Sharpening the ice-cold blade proved to be an even bigger challenge as the friction of it gliding across the whetstones accelerated the melting. The solution was to build a makeshift plastic tent around a fridge, and then sharpen the knife right inside the freezer section where sub-zero temperatures ensured a razor-sharp edge could be achieved before the knife turned back into a puddle.
[YouTube]