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