Do you get angry when a knive isn't sharp out of the box?

mongomondo

mongomondo

SUPPRESSING FIRE
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Sep 17, 2006
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The first pocket knife I ever bought was a Benchmade Griptilian and it was razor sharp. This really impressed me and I assumed all quality knives would be like this out of the box. Well a couple years later I decided to buy some more knives and got a CRK Sebenza and a Benchmade Morpho. Both of these knives are dull and can't cut paper in a clean line. When I tried to open a bag of candy for fun with the Sebenza it demolished the bag and ripped it open in like 3 directions. Am I just unlucky or are knife companies not delivering razor sharp knives out of the box anymore?
 
I usually resharpen the goshed darned blade before using it anyways, so it's not a priority for me, but for that kind of money, you expect it to at least be a little razor-like.
 
I dont mind it not being sharpened as much as realizing after buying it that I'm gonna have to re-profile the edge! That's what makes me mad!!!,,,VWB.
 
Nope. I always sharpen new knives to suit me, so OOB sharpness is never an issue.

Of all the factors in a knife, initial blade sharpness is pretty much the only one I can change myself, so it gets little emphasis in my evaluation of a knife.
 
I always put my own edge on my users. However, I'd be kinda bummed if a brand new Sebenza didn't come with a sharp edge. I'd send it back and request they sharpen it properly if you don't want to sharpen it yourself.
 
It used to bother me, but I got used to it long ago. Now, whenever I get a new blade, if it doesn't shave my arm out of the box, it will very soon afterwards. I look at it like it's a chance to get to know my new knife.
 
jbombelli said:
It used to bother me, but I got used to it long ago. Now, whenever I get a new blade, if it doesn't shave my arm out of the box, it will very soon afterwards. I look at it like it's a chance to get to know my new knife.
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Well said:thumbup:
 
WadeF said:
I always put my own edge on my users. However, I'd be kinda bummed if a brand new Sebenza didn't come with a sharp edge. I'd send it back and request they sharpen it properly if you don't want to sharpen it yourself.
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I am bummed but it did push me to buy a Spyderco sharpmaker. I already waited 2 months for the Sebenza there is no way I'm shipping it out and waiting a couple weeks.
 
I think there's absolutely no excuse whatsoever for a knife that isn't quite sharp out of the box. To me, it's just shoddy quality control and/or laziness on the part of the manufacturer which I would be quite concerned would be reflected in other attributes of the product as well.
 
No, I'm going to sharpen it myself anyways. Even the best factory edges are better after a minute with a strop.

What I don't like is how nearly every knife I purchase needs reprofiling right away to reach full cutting ability potential.
 
I'm not really happy when anything I buy isn't capable of doing its job out of the box.

If it's just "could be sharper", no big deal. If it can't cut at all, that's a problem.
 
vivi said:
what I Don't Like Is How Nearly Every Knife I Purchase Needs Reprofiling Right Away To Reach Full Cutting Ability Potential.
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Amen! It really bothers me that so many knives out of the box have profiles that are not only less than optimal, but doomed to be crappy cutters. Cost seems to be little indication of this problem.
 
vwb563 said:
I dont mind it not being sharpened as much as realizing after buying it that I'm gonna have to re-profile the edge! That's what makes me mad!!!,,,VWB.
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My sentiments exactly.
 
Getting upset that a knife didn't come out of the box razor sharp is like being upset when a toy doesn't come with batteries.

You don't really expect it to, but it's a nice surprise when it does.

The way I look at it is most of the time I don't really like how the factory edge is ground. They're gound for the "mainstream" user. It's a good, fairly sturdy grind that will take a good workable edge and is easy to sharpen for 95% of the knife using population.

I buy knives with different ideas in mind. For heavy use knives I put an edge on that'll stand up to heavy use. It may not cleanly slice newspaper every time, but it'll cut through what I need it to cut through.

For smaller knives I tend to go with a thinner edge to make it a slicer. One of the meanest slicers I have is an old Buck 503 with a 440c blade. When I got it, it was slightly used, but still had the factory edge. I thinned it considerably.

Multi-bladed slipjoints are my favorite out of the box because you have so many options on what kind of work you intend each blade to do.

If they're not sharp, you're going to have to sharpen it eventually anyway. So no, I don't care if the knife isn't sharp. But I do care, and get pretty annoyed, when edge grinds aren't even... even if I am going to change them.
 
Getting upset that a knife didn't come out of the box razor sharp is like being upset when a toy doesn't come with batteries.
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bad analogy , the box will tell you if it comes with batteries.;)
I doubt many knives would be sold if the package said " Edge not included , sharpening required "

A knife is supposed to be sharp , otherwise , its a spoon .
 
chuckschilling said:
I think there's absolutely no excuse whatsoever for a knife that isn't quite sharp out of the box. To me, it's just shoddy quality control and/or laziness on the part of the manufacturer which I would be quite concerned would be reflected in other attributes of the product as well.
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part of me agrees with you!, after all we are buying KNIVES, and knives are primarily made for cutting!. However i also agree with other posters, that sharpening a ne knife is part of getting to know its characteristics.

i hppe that made sense :foot:
 
John T Wylie Jr said:
bad analogy , the box will tell you if it comes with batteries.;)
I doubt many knives would be sold if the package said " Edge not included , sharpening required "

A knife is supposed to be sharp , otherwise , its a spoon .
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That's why Sal invented the Sharpmaker.
 
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