At what level of sharpness do you stop sharpening?

[Tony18]

I used to like newsprint, but I don't get the newspaper so my supply ran out quickly The only thing I consistently have is myself, so I typically test by cutting into the pads of my fingers.

I like to feel the bite with coarser edges, but with refined edges I prefer to see the cut without being able to feel any bite.

I do it a similar way, "Murray carter 3 finger test" except your not supposed to cut yourself. I feel it bite into my skin but then your brain says to stop, I do it daily with no marks to show for it. In the beginning I did end up with those little slits, they can make you think a knife is sharp when it's not tho. Cause instead of a edge biting into your skin it will catch the previous cut & you will get same sensation an actual sharp knife would give.

 

[bflying]

I used to like newsprint, but I don't get the newspaper so my supply ran out quickly The only thing I consistently have is myself, so I typically test by cutting into the pads of my fingers.

I like to feel the bite with coarser edges, but with refined edges I prefer to see the cut without being able to feel any bite.

Woh, you're a cutter. I wouldn't admit that on a public forum or some black ops team may swoop in to take away your guns and knives. [emoji23]

I do cut off callous's often. But not at every sharpening. I don't take the paper either, but have a number of phone books, and a regular stream of magazines, ads, and catalogs. They tend to be my regular knife testers.

 

[bpeezer]

I do it a similar way, "Murray carter 3 finger test" except your not supposed to cut yourself. I feel it bite into my skin but then your brain says to stop, I do it daily with no marks to show for it. In the beginning I did end up with those little slits, they can make you think a knife is sharp when it's not tho. Cause instead of a edge biting into your skin it will catch the previous cut & you will get same sensation an actual sharp knife would give.

I do it a little bit different than Murray, but I think his way works for sensing a good, clean apex. I push a little bit harder and test heel to tip and vice versa. I like letting it bite a little so I can feel the difference of going with the scratch pattern vs. against it.

 

[MichaelMyers]

I too have a bald arm. [emoji16] But don't use it for testing as much as showing off. And for me, it's not just taking off hair because a lot of somewhat dull knives can still do that. It has to leave a complete bald spot in one swipe with little to no pressure applied. That still puts a smile on my face.

Also use phonebook/catalog paper. Testing with both slicing cuts and push cuts all down the blade to make sure I didn't miss a spot. And it's not just the ability to cut, but the cleanness of the paper edge and also the sound. A quiet "swoosh" is good, a tearing sound during cut is bad. The sound is more dramatic on copy paper, so a swoosh is absolutely necessary for that paper.

And the level (assuming grit)? Anywhere from 300 diamond to 1.5 micron cbn strop polish. Depending on the knife.

Yes the quiet swoosh is very satisfying and on top of that you feel little resistance on the blade. But i do not like it too polished to the point it cannot slice into soft tissue.

 

[MichaelMyers]

I do it a little bit different than Murray, but I think his way works for sensing a good, clean apex. I push a little bit harder and test heel to tip and vice versa. I like letting it bite a little so I can feel the difference of going with the scratch pattern vs. against it.

That's hardcore sharpening dedication. Feeling the very essence of your work on bare flesh.

 

[Lee48]

For daily carry knives, usually I feel the edge with my thumb then test on printer paper or arm hair. If it push cuts the paper or shaves a few hairs, it's more than sufficient for anything I need to cut.

I have several beater knives I keep in a shed for trimming bushes and plants or for jobs like scraping or cutting softer material from metal. Those knives get a less aggressive edge due to the beating they take.

 

[pathwinder14]

Slicing Phone book paper and shaving arm hair is my goal and stopping point.

 

[drail]

When I lightly feel the edge with my finger and it scares me - that's good enough for my EDC knives and I like a little "tooth" on it. For a kitchen knife I hone until a tomato will crawl away from it when I bring the blade up close........

 

[MichaelMyers]

Now that funny. I would like one of your kitchen knives.

 

[kelbro]

Same here...

 

[MichaelMyers]

Tested on half filled water bottle. Able to do 2 clean cuts with bottom standing still. Now that's a what i call a sharp knife.

 

[drail]

Actually most of the knives that get used in my kitchen now are all old 1095 blades. That stuff will quickly take an edge that is just amazing. I have an Old Hickory chef's knife from the 70s that I cut down and made into a Nakiri and it has become what I always grab first and it ROCKS on vegetables. My wife loves it too.

 

[WuGod]

I love Old Hickorys. Cheap well made easy to get real sharp.
Would love to see a pic of your mods.

 

[darks]

When I'm checking someone else's blade, I don't typically have any newsprint (or a Natchez Shooter Supply catalogue) on me, so I use the flat of my thumbnail. I put the blade across the width of my thumb and try to slide it towards the tip. The amount of pressure it takes for it to catch gives me a pretty good indication of how dull or sharp it is (a little pressure = sharp). At home, I like to cleanly slice and pushcut newsprint (aforementioned catalogue is great and I get a new one pretty often). Push cutting gives me an indication of what level I'm at and slicing tells me the condition of the whole blade as I listen/feel for dull spots.