How dull/dinged up can you stand your edge to be?

K

KennyB

Joined
Jan 19, 2010
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Lately I've been catching myself sharpening my knives over the littlebest bit of dulling or edge deformation. Basically if I can hold it under a flash light and see even the tiniest little glint of light I feel the urge to sharpen it to get the edge "perfect".

Anyone ever do this? How far from perfect do you let your knife get?
 
If it's not shaving sharp, I sharpen it.
 
I used to be fine as long as I had a working edge. I have a different mindset now. If it's not shaving, I'm hitting the Norton or the dmt's for a couple super light passes, and the strop to put a little polish on the bite.
 
I don't even like the idea of my blades not being able to AT LEAST shred paper with ease.
 
I usually just do a regular touch up without checking how dull it is. If the blade went into the dirt, took a hard impact, or someone else used it without me watching...then I check out the edge. You have to cut a fair amount of abrasive stuff to make anything above 440A actually dull.
 
I used to obsess over my edge, but got over it. Now I've actually dialed back and just use my old Boy Scout carborunum stone and put a decent working edge on my knives. As long as it cuts, I'm happy, even if it has a few ding or dull spots on it. If it gets dull I'll sharpen it, but just to put a corse using edge on it. I don't bother anymore with tree topping shaving edges.
 
If there is a hitch when slicing phone book paper, then it bothers me.

I dropped my gayle bradley and it hit a sidewalk edge down. I took the visible dings out right away but there was a tiny spot you could only see under magnification or feel on phone book paper (even then only going slow). I tried to leave it until the knife needed regular sharpening since it was only a small spot that didnt affect anything but it still annoyed me. I only lasted about a week before I sharpened the whole blade until the ding was removed and the bevel was even.
 
philwar said:
Same here. Pretty anal about my edges. I am addicted to the look on people's faces when something just seems to melt when my blade touches it. :D
Click to expand...

^Best reason ;)

Seeing flat spots & when it doesn't shave my face clean is when I go back to stones/paper. Otherwise usually stropping will do.
 
Chris "Anagarika";11320897 said:
^Best reason ;)

Seeing flat spots & when it doesn't shave my face clean is when I go back to stones/paper. Otherwise usually stropping will do.
Click to expand...

Same here. If I cant shave arm hair without digging my flesh. Or at a minimum slice receipt or phone book paper. It has to hit the stones.
 
I'm not too anal about the sharpness, as long as it's still a good working edge it's good to go, but if there are dings and chips in the edge, that's where it starts to bother me, because it takes a while to get those out...

But there is something really nice about a good toilet paper slicing edge, straight off the edge pro...
 
Heh, oh I forgot to mention the shaving thing...

Even if it shaves hair but I had to press like, AT ALL, I get irritated and feel the need to sharpen it. Then what usually happens is I shave off all my arm hair in the process! lol
 
I usually try to wait until it won't cut typing paper, then sharpen it. I don't try to take out all the dings anymore. Even on my large choppers, that just eats up the blade. I say I try to wait. I usually don't make it.
 
I sharpen my knives razorsharp, so far. Unteil the knife is still cutting pattern in an easy way, it´s still ok. But when it rips through the paper it gets sharpened to the razorsharp edge. This with every knife I own.
 
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