CES 2026: This knife secretly vibrates when you cut with it

I spent part of my Sunday evening at CES 2026 cutting vegetables in the exhibit hall at the Unveiled media event. But this was no ordinary cooking demonstration: my knife vibrated every time I cut a tomato.

This may seem kind of twisted Cutthroat kitchen challenge, but believe me, it’s more practical than it seems. Launched this month by cutlery startup Seattle Ultrasonics, the C-200 UltraSonic chef’s knife features an orange button on its handle that vibrates its eight-inch Japanese steel blade about 30,000 times per second. This allows it to slice food more easily than a regular knife and prevents crumbs from clinging to the blade. It also shouldn’t be necessary to sharpen it as frequently.

Slice and dice.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Impressively, the C-200 only moves a distance of 10 to 20 microns when it vibrates – a quarter of the width of a grain of salt, according to a PR representative – so you don’t see or feel it move at all. It looks and handles like a standard chef’s knife, although it is heavier. The only reason I’m sure Seattle Ultrasonics didn’t hit me with a regular knife is because it sometimes made a high-pitched noise if used when wet. It’s the same high-pitched sound a wine glass makes if you run a wet finger along its rim.

I wouldn’t say the C-200 performed considerably better than the nice new chef’s knife I just got for Christmas, but it certainly sliced ​​like a dream. I had no trouble getting it to cut paper-thin pieces of tomato with a light touch. The Seattle Ultrasons representative compared it to riding a bicycle rather than pedaling an electric bike in that it makes your experience easier.

Vibration aside, it’s just a decent looking knife.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The C-200 has been in the making for six years and the company claims it is the first ultrasonic knife on the market intended for home use. Commercial options are expensive and bulky; the smallest alternative is the size of a shoebox. To keep the C-200 small, its circuit board had to be folded on itself inside the handle.

The C-200 can be paired with a mahogany wireless charging pad (not shown).
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The C-200 is IP65 rated for water resistance, which means you can hand wash it like any other chef’s knife. Its removable battery is rechargeable via USB-C.

The sold-out first production run of the C-200 begins shipping later this month, and its second batch of reservations is now live on the Seattle Ultrasonics website ahead of a March release. It costs $399 on its own and $499 with its mahogany wireless charging pad, so it’s definitely a splurge for serious home chefs. In its defense, other high-end Japanese chef’s knives cost as much and don’t do it vibrate.

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