Beatyfull edge

[J-P SAN]

How much do you pay attention to aesthetic side when sharpening? I freehand and most of my edges are like frankensteins monster but they are hair popping & whittling sharp and strong edges. Does it matter to you what edge looks like?

 

[unit]

Short answer is, no, looks don't matter. However, as a sharpening hobbyist, most will want to hone their skills (pun intended), and therefore it should look uniform regardless of your preferred finish grit.

By uniform, I mean even and smooth without facets of various grit finished here and there.

No wrong answer, but most here will likely state a preference toward perfection in appearance and performance.

 

[HeavyHanded]

In general I really don't care what the back bevel looks like. The cutting bevel I try to get as perfectly uniform as possible from stem to stern and side to side right on the stone. I don't let visible changes in bevel face go by unaddressed unless in a hurry.

On wide Scandi and full convex it can be a real bear. It lets me know I'm doing the best I can, challenges me to maintain focus, and also seems to make burr removal a lot easier. Some media are a lot more forgiving than others, getting the grind scratches dead on with a diamond hone seems to be the most demanding, sandpaper is the most forgiving. SiC stones and waterstones fall somewhere between.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

With thousands of years of history to reference, most of our ancestors never discussed or cared about how the edge of their knives looked. These were knife users and in many cases their lives depended on, not how the knife's edge looked, but how it cut. Knives are tools and have been thought of in this manner for eons. Its only modern humans who have become obsessed with presentation and looks over practicality and use. Many of today's knife owners never use their knives at all. They are just pretty objects to ogle. Take a look at some of the original Bowie knives; they are hideous by today's standards; but I can only imagine they would cut the head off a bison in short order.
Now go out there and cut something, Fred

 

[HwangJino]

I used to try to get perfect edges but slowly stopped caring as long as performance was superb.

Them Japanese obsessed over perfect edges.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

For the Japanese the perfect edge was part of the perfect fighting weapon. With the use of soft core steels [shigane] wrapped with the skin steel [hadagane] the Japanese forged, heat treated and polished some of the finest weapons known to man. The makers were recognized by the hamons produced during the heat treatment and polishing process. Not just the edges were polished but the entire blade. Many of the best quality swords are kept as national treasures with many of them residing at the many religious shrines around the country. The samurai who were aloud to carry these weapons, by lawful decree, would take their prized possessions to the local sword polisher to be reconditioned and polished when the need arose. I think you could say they were obsessed as well.