Do you sharpen your knife as soon as you get it?

U

ukknifer

Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
424
Hello,

Every knife I get , I must sharpen or I don't feel its mine. BUT.

As I have many knives know, I wish I left some of them alone.


Do you have this as well?
 
I'll usually only sharpen a knife when I first get it if it won't shave. Then it's usually bi-weekly sharpening for my EDC knives.
 
No,
#1 reason is that there are 6 kids to take care of, ok one is 18, but she is almost tougher than the other 5. However, if my knife is sharp to start, I wait to sharpen when it is dulled from use. No need to remove metal unnecessarily.
 
I haven't used a factory edge in probably more than 15 years. Most are uneven and only about as sharp as what I get from a coarse or fine DMT. I figure by the time I'm finished the edge is about 200% sharper than even the best factory edge so I see no point in keeping them.
 
ac1d0v3r1d3 said:
I'll usually only sharpen a knife when I first get it if it won't shave. Then it's usually bi-weekly sharpening for my EDC knives.
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Same here. I used to sharpen right out of the box but now I only do it when the knife's not as sharp as id like.
 
Why wouldn't it be your knife? You paid for it. Consider the edge, do you really need it to be extra sharp? What is the steel; does it have excellent edge retention? If so you may want to relax.

What is the main usage of the knife going to be? An acute or more than factory acute edge is not as strong as a thicker grind, and can edge roll on you in a heavy cutting scenario. Sometimes extra sharpness is un-needed and even counter productive to the ends of what the knife will be utilized for.
 
No offence rat, but your response sounds like the opinion of someone that has never seen a truly sharp knife. Nothing counter productive about a sharper tool.

Most if not all steels can handle very acute angles without ill effects. For example my millie (S30V steel) is around 8-10 per side and can handle the toughest cutting tasks without a problem. In my experience I've found anything over 15 per side in a folder to be a waste of sharpening time and quality steel. Heck even big chopper FB's can easily handle 15 per side without worry of damage.

The problem with a factory edge is you never know what your going to get. I've seen spydercos from 25-60+ inclusive and my BM760 that was 35 per side and only ground not polished, I spent 4 hours putting a edge on that blade and though I always sharpen a new knife I was a little upset to say the least considering the BM was a $160 knife with M4 steel.
 
I give a course factory edge a light going over with an extra fine DMT just to kind of hone it. Eventually I like to try and sharpen my knives past factory sharpness and I sacrifice time in doing so. I like to keep them hair popping sharp. I have not been able to whittle hair as well as some of the knives I have seen around these parts, but I am experimenting with diamond compound now.
 
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knifenut1013 said:
No offence rat, but your response sounds like the opinion of someone that has never seen a truly sharp knife. Nothing counter productive about a sharper tool.

Most if not all steels can handle very acute angles without ill effects. For example my millie (S30V steel) is around 8-10 per side and can handle the toughest cutting tasks without a problem. In my experience I've found anything over 15 per side in a folder to be a waste of sharpening time and quality steel. Heck even big chopper FB's can easily handle 15 per side without worry of damage.

The problem with a factory edge is you never know what your going to get. I've seen spydercos from 25-60+ inclusive and my BM760 that was 35 per side and only ground not polished, I spent 4 hours putting a edge on that blade and though I always sharpen a new knife I was a little upset to say the least considering the BM was a $160 knife with M4 steel.
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I was thinking about putting a 15 degree edge on a millie, but you have yours at 8-10 degrees? How does that hold up? Do you have a microbevel or is it a straight 10 degrees per side?
 
Straight 10 but that's freehand, it probably wouldn't hold up if you did it with a jig. If your cutting a lot of really coarse things like carpet, drywall, or cardboard you might want a 15 degree micro. I've noticed no problems so far though and I have tested it on the for mentioned items.
 
I may not sharpen a knife as soon as I open the box, but I sharpen a new knife before I carry it.
 
I usuallt thin out the edge as much as I want with freehand and put a 20* per side micro bevel with Lansky turn box kit and strop like crazy. Been a great EDC edge and skinning edge for me. If it works for you then do it. Knives are ment to be used.
 
Depends on the knife and if it's going to be a user or not.
 
Depends on what it already has and what I wanna use it for, but yes — I pretty much touch up every single new blade I buy, because they're usually not very well honed from the factory. You never get a polished edge from the factory, you've gotta do it yourself.
 
If it's not sharp I'll sharpen it. Sometimes I'll strop a new knife, but I usually wait until it's seen some use.
 
I usually put it thru a few tests once I get it in hand. If the edge cuts well out of the box I'll leave it alone.

I'd say out of the last 5 knives I bought I only had to sharpen 1 upon receipt.
 
nearly all my knives need to be touched up for trueness of bevels & to assure no drag areas along the entire edge,. some need a definite rebeveling since i know how to use a knife & like a reduced friction on slicing. some are dull as a brick & even cime with an edge that is the result of a quick buffing which has only the lifetime of a germ. anyway i like to put my own edge on & do' nt care if they are sharp or not.
 
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