The safety difference between the 10496 and standard knives lies in the blade. To start with, Slice safety blades are made from 100 percent zirconium oxide, an extremely hard advanced ceramic. This mitigates some safety risks like conductivity and rust. Other companies have also made ceramic knives—you’ll probably be familiar with ceramic kitchen knives, for example. Not all ceramics are created equal, though, and this is where the magic happens with Slice.Our special blade grind creates an angle that may feel dull if you’re used to traditional blades, but it’s just as effective at cutting. We call this grind ‘finger friendly’ because it reduces the chances of an accidental laceration and is safe to the touch. Most manufacturers sharpen their blades far too much because metal dulls quickly. This workaround helps increase the longevity of the blade, but sacrifices user safety to do it. Because our blades are much harder than metal, they won’t dull quickly, so there’s no need to choose between blade longevity and safety. In fact, our blades last up to 11x longer than standard metal blades.