Ever been satisfied with a factory edge?

D

dogstar

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Jan 23, 2011
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I buy inexpensive knives, so I've never met an edge I didn't have to touch up out of the box. I like to end up with an edge that does not reflect light, and whittles my thumbnail with a light touch. A lot of knives seem to come with rough edges (micro-serrations) that cut OK, but aren't really sharp.

I wonder, have you ever purchased a knife (a user, not a safe queen) which had a factory edge up to your standards?


Here are are notes about a few knives I own:

Great:
Mora 511 - The best factory edge I've encountered (on an $8 knife :thumbup:). A little stropping and it is a scalpel.
Buck Vantage 420HC - came very sharp out of the box. Just needed a little touching up.

Good:
Victorinox SAK - Easy to get up to snuff due to softer steel and even edge grind.
Svord Peasant - Uneven edge grind, but not much fuss to get it razor sharp. Great tool steel blade.

So-so:
Buck 309 - Oy vey! LOVE the knife, now, but factory edge was sloppy, especially on the pen blade. A lot of work re-profiling without power tools.
Case 32087 - Uneven angles on edge, coarse grind, adequately sharp, but substantial work to get to my liking.
 
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All the time! Every time I open a new Kershaw or Spyderco I've been quite satisfied with the factory edge. :thumbup:

ESEE also seems to get their knives niiice and sharp from the factory.
 
Nope. Even the best ones hit the stones immediately after opening the box. There's just no way a guy at the factory with a belt sander has the time to be as meticulous about the edge as I can be. Some factory edges are decently sharp, but usually coarse and nowhere near as sharp as they could be.
 
Best: Kershaw JYDII CB and DPX Hest/F 2.0, both came frikking laser sharp
Good: Böker Plus XS,Kershaw KS1080 both could easily shave arm hair

Dullest POS I ever had was the Timberline Lightfoot Mini Pitbull, the "edge" was a milimeter thick !
I only had the Lansky Turnbox Crockstick at the time, took me forever to get that SOB sharp
 
I think Moki makes the only Knife out of the box that I have not needed to resharpen.! (couple of Cases have come close)
 
I have some high-end) Frosts (of Mora) knives, all came with superb edges. Cold Steel edges I've mostly found good, even the cheapies. All my Spydercos have always come with good edges. Worst edge I've ever had was on a CRKT knife, the corners of my coffee-table are sharper.
 
I haven't been sharpening traditionals as soon as I get them like I usually do with modern knives. The thinner blades make the factory edge sufficient for me, and the small blades are also more of a pain to sharpen on an Edgepro :p
 
I am new to sharpening so I find most factory edges adequate I think spyderco is more course than kershaw but the 4 of the 5 kershaws I have owned have had problems out of the box like burnt tips and seriously bad uneven sharpening.

A notable mention to opinel who's knives are so easy to sharpen it doesn't matter
 
Out the box Spyderco are pretty good but the sharpest out the box for me was a Fallkniven A1, the convex grind was perfection to a scary sharp edge.
Yep, it bit me and I didn't realise until I noticed the blood.
 
Only once. With my Mcusta Tactility:

Best edge I've ever seen on a factory knife. Didn't even bother stropping it.

2012-10-08185322_zps59ea1ba9.jpg
 
Out of the box, my Spyderco Para2 cut me within minutes. The best edge I've ever had on an inexpensive knife was my Bradley Kimura 5. That thing chewed up my fingers up for a week until I decided to dull it for my own safety.
 
My A.G. Russell Featherlite had the best factory edge out of my knives, with my Spyderco ZDP Dragonfly close behind. I didn't feel a need to sharpen either.
 
Most of my knives have arrived adequately ground at worst. The list of blades that arrived with poor factory edges is much shorter.
 
My standards are lower. To tell the truth, I prefer an edge that is not scary laser razor light saber sharp, simply because if I do have retention issues, I want it to take some effort for me to cut myself.

Cold Steel does a good job with their factory edges, but my limited experience with AUS8 is that it takes a better edge than some of the other steels at the same price point, so maybe it's the steel, not something different about their sharpening. My old Gunsite was so sharp I didn't carry it, and my Micro Recon came with an edge that would not quite shave hair, which is right about where I like them.

My Cryo came with a good factory edge, and held it longer than other 8cr12 knives I've had experience with. Also easier to touch up on a coarse diamond, which is one of the reasons it goes with me to work right now.
 
Like the Mcusta above, my two Browning Ice Storm knives (made by Mcusta) had amazing edges.

The Spyderco Mule and a few Moras I have had terrific edges out of the box too.

Another one that I expected to need a profile but absolutely didn't need a thing was my Scrapyard ScrapMax. Blazingly sharp, thin and toothy edge on that one.

My Benchmades left a bit to be desired as did a few mid-tech blades that I expected much more from.
 
last 2 spydercos I received had toothy gritty edges that weren't finished properly and wouldn't slice paper cleanly. My benchmade on the other hand was nice and sharp.
 
I've had a few Benchmade, Cold Steel, and Esee that were sharp, and my Survive GSO 5.1 is scalpel sharp.
 
My Al Mar Ultralights had great edges out of the box. My AG Russell knives (folders) were very good too.

I usually figure that most factory edges are hit and miss, so they will get sharpened or touched up within a few days. The advantage to putting my own edge on them is that I know it is properly done. Some factory edges seem sharp out of the box, but quickly loose their "sharpness". I don't like being out and about and having this happen.

Ric
 
I echo the Browning Ice Storm. Sharpest knife I've ever owned. Now if only I could find someone to fix the broken tip... :(
 
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