A sharp knife is safer...

[ron_m80]

I could see where large blade displacement sharp, would be mission opposite of thin keen edge low friction cutting.

Is that kinda what you mean?

 

[Joshua J.]

I agree.
When my 27" machete can shave with the entire length of its edge, a fear of chopping your calf muscle right off is a healthy thing (and ohhh, does it make the branches feel smooooth!).

I've done a lot of volunteer work in kitchens, as with virtually any work environment maintenance is only done when absolutely necessary. I think that if kitchen knives were kept razor sharp all the time, it would not be an issue.
Another consideration is that a razor edge gets smashed off pretty quick. I usually do a nice thinned out back bevel with a steep micro bevel. Hoping to keep some decent cutting performance while not losing sharpness the instant the knife is tossed in the sink rolleyes: another bit of behavior people really need to change).

 

[C.S. Graves]

The OP said something along the lines "of course they were careless". The pressures of time often found in the food industry can prompt employees to cut corners (so to speak) and use less than safe techniques in the interest of haste. A busy environment is not necessarily one where safety can be truly learned and promoted.

Perhaps the OP was suggesting that there's a compromise between the extreme bite of really sharp blades and the forigiving nature of a less sharp blade in the hands of someone who isn't COMPLETELY reckless.... but just enough for the odd slip. A sharper knife might open th skin, whereas at a certain level of force, a more dull one wouldn't. It's an iffy, complicated thing to try and work out, so I'd just reiterate the focus on the mindfulness of the sharp blade user.

 

[Hitthespot]

Hmmm.

A knife's edge should never be sharper than the user...

Never heard that one. As knives go I'd say that's pretty profound.

Bill

 

[sweet_hitch-hiker]

I have been trying to get an edge too sharp for almost 60 years and have never made it. Some of are pretty sharp but never too sharp.

same here. except knock about 59 years off that

 

[knifezoid]

These won't cut someone either:

LOL. I just might EDC that, haha. Or not.

This discussion actual goes on a lot in the balisong
forum/community. General consensus is that a
sharper bali is safer cause it cuts you cleaner.

Well, that's true to a point. I have a Spyderco Szabofly
that is retarded sharp and has a very aggressive edge.
I simply won't do certain tricks with it because it will cause
substantially more damage with small mistakes
On the other hand, I have other sharp
balis like my 42 or Kimura, but they're not as sharp or aggressive
as the Szabo. Small mistakes are more often forgiven or
the damage is much less.

Of course throwing a knife around and trying to catch it is
not really safe to begin with so I'm not really sure if I qualify
to participate in this discussion...

In the end though I think it's better to have a sharp edge and
a sharp mind combined.

 

[uncouth]

my wife and i just had this conversation, i had gotton a new ceramic butcher's steel, and sharpened every knife in the kitchen (and warned her). the first time she used one she said "wow i didn't realize how dull our knives were" i told her its not that they were dull before, but that i actually stepped them up one level in sharpness. now yesterday she was washing dishes and put the 7" chef's knife in the drainer with the other silverware, then when she was putting a fork in she cut herself on the knife. apparently she cut cut herself on the way down with the fork and the way up without the fork and didn't feel it at all. (I must admit i did a happy dance when she told me that, that she didn't even feel it. YAY SHARP!) but in any case she says "maybe we don't need the knives quite that sharp" and I said "really 'cause i was hoping to still go one level higher in sharpness".
I guess this was all a really long way of saying I think most knife people like sharper, and other people like sharp-less.
Also, dry the knife and put it in the rack, don't put it in the drainer!

 

[knarfeng]

my wife and i just had this conversation, i had gotton a new ceramic butcher's steel, and sharpened every knife in the kitchen (and warned her). the first time she used one she said "wow i didn't realize how dull our knives were" i told her its not that they were dull before, but that i actually stepped them up one level in sharpness. now yesterday she was washing dishes and put the 7" chef's knife in the drainer with the other silverware, then when she was putting a fork in she cut herself on the knife. apparently she cut cut herself on the way down with the fork and the way up without the fork and didn't feel it at all. (I must admit i did a happy dance when she told me that, that she didn't even feel it. YAY SHARP!) but in any case she says "maybe we don't need the knives quite that sharp" and I said "really 'cause i was hoping to still go one level higher in sharpness".
I guess this was all a really long way of saying I think most knife people like sharper, and other people like sharp-less.
Also, dry the knife and put it in the rack, don't put it in the drainer!

maybe this is the time to tell her that washing knives in the dishwasher isn't the best idea. (It's fine as long as the edges are protected from other items in the dishwasher. But hand washing is a better idea.)

 

[thejamppa]

I don't know if Sharper blade is safer but I know sharper blade hurts a lot less than dull blade when you cut your self it also heals better when wound edges are smooth and not torn and filled with gunk as it happends with duller blade. This is just my experience.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Familiarity and consistency are the most critical points. If every knife in your kitchen is always razor sharp along its entire length then someone who uses them all the time will learn to use them safely. The knives will train you what not to do. You will learn not to leave them hidden in the dish water. You will learn to use light force. Productivity will go up although speed of motion may go down somewhat. The knives cannot be too sharp.

Dull spots on these knives can quickly become problems. If you don't keep the blades touched up a user will be forced to apply extra force to get a cut started on the usual (now dull) sweet spot on the edge. As the cut progresses from a dull spot the to a normal sharp spot the edge jumps ahead and can cause a cut. Keep those blades uniformly sharp.

Unfamiliar materials can cause problems. If you are used to push cutting through most materials a sticky material or one with an unexpectedly cut-resistant exterior can cause problems. It would be safest to switch over to using a light slicing draw cut on these materials, but someone used to a razor edge may just try and push through. In that case the problem is not strictly that the knife is too sharp, it is that the user is spoiled by sharp knives. You need to see the symptoms of problem materials and admit that you need to adjust over to more of a dull knife sawing technique. Us razor snobs are very reluctant to make that accommodation. In that case your sharp knife and dull mind may get you seriously cut.

 

[Rat 1]

I personally want all my knives to be as sharp as possible. I want a sharpness, to a point where it will pop off the hairs off your arm without the blade touching your skin. I will admit I have gotten really nasty cuts countless of times. But that is completely my fault. I tend to use knives vigorously in cutting chores. My advice would be to just be more careful when cutting.

My father always told me: "A sharp knife is like a snake. It will bite you unexpectedly sometime".

 

[ctbrew]

Original OP, not trying to bump the thread, just wanted to thank everyone for their replies and apologize for not responding sooner 'cause of work and getting ready for Christmas...

I think there are a lot of valid points here, and I'm not going to try to quote any of them. The posters are right, it DOES come down to the individual user, but in this case it's a lot of different users. Bottom line is we get far fewer injuries with duller, not dull, knives. We have 40 different employees using these knives. There is very limited space constraints so cutting away from the body is not possible, and it's a very fast-paced environment. And they are cutting bread, where a really sharp knife isn't even really necessary...

So while an experienced and knowledgeable wielder does prefer a really sharp knife, the reality of this situation makes it impractical. Basically when the newly sharpened knives come in, I'll dull 'em down a bit. The dayside prepper brings in her own knives, which she sharpens herself, kind of proves the point again that its the tool user and not the tool.

Merry Christmas!!

 

[John T Wylie Jr]

I still fail to see why a dull knife is better....you are using a hardware solution to cure a software problem.

Why dumb down the tool , when you should be up smarting the user ?

Dulling a knife is like reducing the capacity of a box magazine on a firearm.

 

[Jason B.]

^ some will never understand.

 

[knarfeng]

Well put, John.

There were a couple of threads from commercial users. To a man, they preferred sharper knives in a commercial environment.

 

[stefan_wolf_ss]

My view point -> why I take some knife with me if it's dull or not so sharp - the purpose of this things are to cut, to cut well, to cut like lightsaber . Yes we cut ourself sometimes but - don't go in the forest if you are scary of bears

 

[ZippoThisKnifeThat]

I actually think a scary sharp edge can sometimes be better for that accident waiting to happen. I too work in a restaurant and while trying to cut open a box of meat one of the chefs blatantly places his hand over the area I was lowering my Spyderco Tenacious. Out of shock and realization he withdrew his hand so quick he sliced the back of his knuckle on my knife trying to move his hand out of the way. The cut was deep, BUT super clean so it was very easy to squeeze together and get bandaged up. On top of that it healed a whole lot faster than if he were to be cut by an edge that would/could have torn skin rather than making such a clean cut. By coincident I had just sharpened and stropped my Tenacious the night before making it so "scary" sharp.

 

[antonio_luiz]

Hmmm.

A knife's edge should never be sharper than the user...

What a great line - may I please have permission to use it?

We have an old saying "The monkey that can't dance says the floor's uneven". Don't blame your injuries on the knife being too sharp when it's your own poor technique and/or lack of skill that's the problem. :jerkit:

I like all my blades ASAP (that's As Sharp As Possible) & I often Granny-cut my veges with a parer straight into the pot - I have never cut myself that way - and I suffer from Chronic SFS (that's Sausage Finger Syndrome). Worse cut injury I ever received was from a blunt piece of steel I was drilling that got away from me due to poor technique (that I have never repeated).

 

[Roger999]

I've often heard the old saw that a sharp knife is safer than a dull one because it takes less effort to cut something. I personally think a moderately sharp knife is safer than a dull one, but IMO a razor sharp knife is a bad cut waiting to happen. You may scoff at this, but whenever the bread knives are newly sharpened in my restaurant, the bandaids get used up quickly. And don't tell me it's because the employee isn't paying enough attention, of course they aren't, it is a busy sandwich place and they are hustling to just get the product out. An incidental "brushing" by the knife shouldn't necessitate a trip to the ER.
I use a Spyderco Moran deer knife http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=42 and I cut the crap out of myself gutting a deer this year in WI, that knife takes a scary sharp edge. I'm almost afraid to go near it.
My point being, at what point is a knife TOO sharp? The difference where a knife has a good sharp edge suitable for everyday use, and then a point where you cut yourself testing the edge, so that it's almost too dangerous to work with. Opinions?

(Sorry if this has been discussed before)

I don't know if you're using light sabers or what, but I get my knives to be able to whittle hair, a slight "brush" into the edge with my fingers just result in a small nick that heals up in a 2days or so.

 

[fujita yuji]

For those not used to good edge, a sharp blade can be hazardous.
They do not deserve it. Like driving F1 without license.

Besides that, no knife is too sharp, like no computer/network/whatever is too fast.