cheap chinese knives- cutting ability?

[UnknownVT]

Well, the knife is actually a Boker Toplock clone and it is pretty thin as it is. However, it should take much longer (than what I suspect Garageboy used) on the Spyderco Medium Stone to actually sharpen away the original bevel.

Thanks for the additional information -
it does sound like the age old problem of honing away at the shoulder between the blade face and edge bevel,
and not actually sharpening the final cutting edge.

Although what threw me was that GarageBoy said his knife would shave hair........

My $1 Chinese kitchen utility knife is obviously pretty thin stock -
but it is still pretty "dumb", simply because of the thickness behind the edge - it will shave and score paper fine - just cutting through typical food shows that it just does not slice as well as my other kitchen knives -
but those other kitchen knives I compared, are probably some of the sharpest knives available -
so that $1 Chinese utility knife, reprofiled, is certainly on par with other non-kitchen knives - like typical folders........

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net

 

[Bowzer]

I have found that most cheap knives (mostly from China and Taiwan) have two distinct and almost universal flaws. I have detected these in every sub $20 knive I own manufactured in these two countries. All have a very low to low quality steel. This quality is quite variable. Some of this steel seems to just be butter. This will hardly take any edge. It is very gummy steel. Other steel from these sources seems decent but still will not take a razor-sharp edge. I think this is just crappy steel that is just slightly less gummy.

The second flaw on these knives is a very uneven bevel or an overly thick bevel or both. The factory bevel on these cheapies is obviously put on by someone with little training and working at great haste. Again, the degree of this problem is variable from knife to knife.

Obviously, the first problem can not be corrected by the buyer. The second can be, more or less, by reprofiling and knocking off the high bevel shoulder and by generally thining down the edge.

I will say that at a higher price point there are some good Taiwanesse knives out there. The Benchmade Reds seem good. I just purchased a Monochrome and while not as sharp as either of my two Blue Class Benchmades, it still far surpasses many of the other knives I own in sharpness and quality. The bevels are thin and even and the lock up is solid. Overall quality is also good. So the Chinese can build a decent knife. I think it all boils down to quality control and price point.

 

[GarageBoy]

I finally got it. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Ok, a thick sharp shouldered polished edge will still shave hair, but will perform horribly with paper. To fix this problem, I should thin back the shoulder

 

[Sal Glesser]

Performance on an edge is baed on:

1. Steel quality. Some steels will sustain fewer molecules at the ege, but as Fred mentioned, even poor quality steels can be made sharp. They just won't hold it.

2. Geometry, including bevel angle, thickness and bevel shape.

3. Hardness.

If the knife will shave hair, but not cut paper, it is probably the "shoulder" behind the edge that is the problem, (assuming you know how to cut paper ) which is geometry. Hair shaving does not require a "follow through" in the cut, cutting paper does.

sal