Chasing ultimate sharpness

D

drummerdimitri

Joined
Dec 29, 2021
Messages
16
After having purchase a TSPROF Blitz pro and falling in love with it and its capabilities, I am left wondering how sharp I can get my knives to be and it had me going down a path of trying to achieve the sharpest edge possible.

I then came to the realization that none of the knives I currently own will ever get as sharp as what is currently possible for multiple reasons.

Wouldn't a knife made of extremely hard material (tungsten carbide) and a thin blade stock with very small bevel angles be the ultimate recipe for extreme sharpness?

If so, who makes such knives other than Sandrin?

My only goal here is to create the sharpest edge possible without any regards to other factors such as toughness, ease of sharpening and corrosion resistance as this knife will only be used to show off what is possible in terms of sharpness and a great conversation starter.
 
drummerdimitri said:
After having purchase a TSPROF Blitz pro and falling in love with it and its capabilities, I am left wondering how sharp I can get my knives to be and it had me going down a path of trying to achieve the sharpest edge possible.

I then came to the realization that none of the knives I currently own will ever get as sharp as what is currently possible for multiple reasons.

Wouldn't a knife made of extremely hard material (tungsten carbide) and a thin blade stock with very small bevel angles be the ultimate recipe for extreme sharpness?

If so, who makes such knives other than Sandrin?

My only goal here is to create the sharpest edge possible without any regards to other factors such as toughness, ease of sharpening and corrosion resistance as this knife will only be used to show off what is possible in terms of sharpness and a great conversation starter.
Click to expand...
A Chinese company Samior on big book store specializes in folding scalpels.
 
Getting high sharpness with the tungsten carbide knives is very difficult so I wouldn’t necessarily see that as the answer. It’s not just difficulty in removing material; they don’t want to be sharp.
 
Well you may be looking for slicing ability not sharpness. You can get any knife to the same level of sharpness probably. But a thin blade and low bevels would slice better. Thinner knives may seem sharper as there is less resistance through materials but could in theory be just as sharp as a pointy stick.
 
If you want the sharpness to last more than a few cuts I think you might be better off with steel. I think a thin, hard, single bevel (chisel grind), high carbon (white paper steel might take the finest edge), Japanese style knife might be your best bet after scalpels/straight razors.

I have a single bevel Japanese razor (Kamisori) and it’s my sharpest edge by far.
41AF15A4-E366-40FB-850D-D2525E794A29.jpeg
 
Last edited:
What happened to that sharpness contest that was going in a while back? There were some guys getting unreal sharpness numbers.

It seems like you get to a point where the steel dulls due to oxidation just sitting there.

EDIT- I guess it didn't really finish, but there is a lot of good info here.

Any Interest in a BESS Sharpness Competition?

I'm pretty bored of the same old stuff over and over again on the forum, I think it would be fun to spice it up. I've been thinking about how cool it would be to have an online event where sharpeners can test there skills in some friendly competition where we can all see edges being tested and...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
I look at sharpness as a niche part of the hobby. A dragon to chase just because. There is nothing wrong with it, and it is at least a measurable quantification that makes more sense to me than overly abusive tests.

That said, I gave up on it years ago. Convex edge that will pop hairs and keep cutting until I get it back home is all I need. I certainly make a point to maintain sharpness. I rarely find need of a stone lest I make a bad cut and find a staple or concrete or something. Stropping goes a long way.

That said, I have never worried about degrees or grits lower than 2000 nor mirror polishing the edge to a gleam. Very cool when folks can get it to that point, but my sharpening skills topped at a pragmatic "good enough" a couple of decades ago.
 
Good luck on your quest to find the ultimate sharpness.

Steely_Gunz said:
I look at sharpness as a niche part of the hobby. A dragon to chase just because. There is nothing wrong with it, and it is at least a measurable quantification that makes more sense to me than overly abusive tests.

That said, I gave up on it years ago. Convex edge that will pop hairs and keep cutting until I get it back home is all I need. I certainly make a point to maintain sharpness. I rarely find need of a stone lest I make a bad cut and find a staple or concrete or something. Stropping goes a long way.

That said, I have never worried about degrees or grits lower than 2000 nor mirror polishing the edge to a gleam. Very cool when folks can get it to that point, but my sharpening skills topped at a pragmatic "good enough" a couple of decades ago.
Click to expand...
This. I'm in the "my knives are sharp enough" category too.
 
Larrin would know (much) better than me, but I believe that achieving the keenest possible edge depends more on the fineness of the steel's grain structure than on the hardness of the steel. I have a knife in 14c28n that is really soft, but it will take a stupidly keen edge. Won't hold it long, but man does it get sharp!
 
I would probably go with a Japanese kitchen knife in white paper steel. Something with a relatively straight blade so as it would work well with your guided sharpening system. I don't know if no1 or no2 gets sharper or even how the difference could be measured.
Either one will perform any kind of sharpness stunts I know of.
 
DMG said:
Obsidian.
Click to expand...

I believe the answer would be Obsidian aka Volcanic Glass.
I would agree with DMG on this, and add the following reference info:

"Since obsidian will fracture down to a single atom, it is claimed to have a cutting edge five hundred times sharper than the sharpest steel blade, and under a high magnification microscope an obsidian blade still appears smooth, whereas a steel blade has a saw like edge."


Reference source:
Sharpest Blade On Planet
 
A couple of years ago, I read that somebody won a sharpening competition with an Opinel (sp?) knife. It was a cheap knife with a wood handle. I bought a couple and used the Wicked Edge through the stones, ceramics, and strops. I don't have a Bess Tester, but I'll say it was probably the sharpest knife I have ever done. I get really sharp results with Victorinox paring knives, too. I am experimenting with my recent addition, the Hapstone R2. It's similar to the TSProf, and allows me to produce amazing results too.

I think you should continue the search for 'Ultimate Sharpness.' Later, if/when you get bored, you'll decide what is 'sharp enough.' Spoiler: Sharp enough is 1000 grit diamond on these systems!

Good sharpening,
Dave
 
I got HAP40 to a BESS 40 at 10 dps even though it had a wire burr from the diamond strop. I think I can do better with a better suited strop. Whatever is used needs to be a fine grained material for the blade.
 
drummerdimitri said:
Wouldn't a knife made of extremely hard material (tungsten carbide) and a thin blade stock with very small bevel angles be the ultimate recipe for extreme sharpness?

If so, who makes such knives other than Sandrin?
Click to expand...
If you want to try the hi-tech route, you might consider the Swiss company “Rahven”.
They recently introduced a new material called High Impact Ceramic, (aka flexible ceramic).
No idea about composition or grain size, however I purchased a Barracuda model when they first came out several months ago. I touched up the out-of-box edge (hair scraping) to shaving, and it’s still sharper than factory without any further sharpening/stropping and regular kitchen use.

I recon because of the enhanced flexibility (it really is quite flexible, also non magnetic and non corrosive so far with lime juice tests) of this material vs. regular ceramic, it would likely take/hold a finer edge without chipping immediately. If I recall it’s close to 70 rc.
Let us know what you come up with and don’t forget pics!
C2639BFA-BAEA-4EAE-A6C7-0EB7297B3A50.jpeg
 
Diemaker said:
I got HAP40 to a BESS 40 at 10 dps even though it had a wire burr from the diamond strop. I think I can do better with a better suited strop. Whatever is used needs to be a fine grained material for the blade.
Click to expand...
I finish my razor with a .25 micron diamond spray on smooth leather. Is that likely leaving a microscopic wire edge??? Clean leather to finish then or something else?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top