In near future, the world's top chefs may be using knives made from wood. This may seem somewhat counter-intuitive, but materials scientists have created wooden knife that is three times sharper than stainless steel knives we use for dinner. scientists are from University of Maryland in USA. Researcher Teng Li said wooden knives would complement the assortment of wooden utensils currently found in kitchens across the world. He said: "In our kitchen, we have many wooden things that we use for very long time, like cutting board, chopsticks, or rolling pin. These new knives can also be used many times if you resurface them, sharpen them and perform same regular upkeep."
Traditionally, knives have been made of steel or ceramics. The scientists improved strength of the wood in their knives by enhancing cellulose it contains. Cellulose is main constituent of wood. It has higher ratio of strength to density than most engineered materials, like steel and ceramics. Teng Li said new cutting material is hardened to extent that it can effortlessly slice through the toughest steak. There is added advantage of wooden knives – they are environmentally friendly. They could end our dependence on plastic cutlery. The scientists have also developed wooden nails, which could be boon to the building industry as they will not rust and weaken like conventional nails.
