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How do I know when my serrated blade is sharp enough?

Kimberholic

Kimberholic

Joined
Sep 19, 2002
Messages
591
I bought a used all steel(handle too)Spyderco Rescue knife yesterday. I paid $30 for it. Aside from being dull the knife is in great shape. I worked it on my spyderco sharpmaker last night for about 30 minutes. I think it might be sharp but I can't test it the same way as I test my straight edge knives. I mean, I think dull serrated knives still cut, don't they? What is a good sharp test for a serrated blade?

Thanks.
Jon
 
Cut hemp rope, carrots, oranges, ...
The point is to find something to be cut and when you are satisfied with the result then it's sharp enough :)

Otherwise, keep on sharpening
 
If it is a good steel with good serrations and is sharpened, it should cut through this stuff fairly easily.

When I used to work part time in a do it yourself home warehouse type of store, I always carried an all serrated blade and kept it sharp. I cut much rope for customers and the knives that were given to us there as employee's just didn't cut it well enough.
 
If it will sever the tip of your little finger at the first joint, and do so in one pass, then I would say it is sharp enough!:eek: :eek: :eek: ;) :D
 
No, no, Art! If it will sever the tip of your little finger at the first joint, and do so in one pass, and you didn't even feel it come off, then I would say it is sharp enough! :cool: :p

Kimberholic, don't be drinking any of those Kimbers when you're testing for sharpness now.

You're spending a lot of time sharpening that knife. Try this: instead of grinding away any more metal by sharpening the serrated edge, go to the back of the blade, the flat side, and steel it. A small pocket steel will straighten up the bent over cutting edge of the serrations and bring them back to working condition.

This is not a substitute for a basically sharp edge, but it is a good way to maintain it day to day. (It's also about the only way I'm happy with to restore the edge to Cold Steel's tiny serrations!)
 
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