Coarse vs Fine edge question

A

amw308

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Jun 20, 2003
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My typical sharpness test for my knives is the arm hair test. However, I recently started trying a coarser edge on my knives for slicing, and i need a test to do that is more slicing and less push cutting. Does anyone know of a good slicing test that would show the benefits of a coarser edge over a fine edge?

Thanks
 
a subtle pull-cut on paper perhaps? i always find that a coarse finished edge pull-cuts better, and a fine finished edge push-cuts better......but it could just be me seeing things...:rolleyes:
 
A fine razor edge is great but, will not hold up to many knife chores. A coarser sharpened blade will hold up longer on tough stuff in my experience. The solution is to carry a coarse ground fixed blade & a pocket knife razor edge blade for the fine delicate cuts. For example: a fixed blade along with a razor edged pocket knife or a multiblade pocket knife with coarse & fine edged blades.
 
the big thing with doing tests is consistency. it dosen't matter so much what you cut, as it does being able to measure and compare results.
for slicing test the old tried and trued 1" manila rope seems to be the way to go. are you trying to see which type of edge lasts longer during slicing? or are you looking to find which one cuts better as in less force required type of thing?
 
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I still use press cutting photocopy paper (then newsprint) as a final test for burring - no matter how coarse the final grit.

I choose the final grit for the work being done, then use the paper test to insure the burr is removed from the "teeth" of the edge. Going back to the actual cutting task is the real test, since it is easy to pull alot of the coarseness off the blade with poor technique with the strop.

IMO - you are on a real growth path once you start "coarse edges perfectly finished" - because you can suppliment press cutting with a small component of slice cutting (in difficult jobs) and NOT have to increase cutting force. If you can keep the applied force low, you can remove additional supporting material from the edge without durability problems.

MAT
 
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