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]