I mainly test to see if it will cleanly cut T. P. If not, I sharpen until it does.
T. P. = toilet paper. Since we use single-ply, I test it cross ways, lenght ways and diagonally. If it does not cut cleanly in all three, it sees the diamond hone.
I recently received a Cold Steel Espada Large, and it passed all three out-of-the-box.:thumbup:
Not many do that.:grumpy: