How sharp before they go out?

[butcher_block]

Tai
how many straight razors have you made

it is a world of difference and im still working to get good at it after more the 100 the trick is not how sharp but how smooth

thats why i hate hearing about "razor sharp " i can make many edges sharp to shave hair but they would be no fun shaving as the can be aggressive too the face (this depends on steel used too )

 

[kungfumo]

Tai
how many straight razors have you made

it is a world of difference and im still working to get good at it after more the 100 the trick is not how sharp but how smooth

thats why i hate hearing about "razor sharp " i can make many edges sharp to shave hair but they would be no fun shaving as the can be aggressive too the face (this depends on steel used too )

Tai,
How do you sharpen your razors? Typical? Or do you have something special you do?

 

[koyote]

I trim sheath leather with the knife. If it cuts like a head knife (modulo edge grind angles, chopper versus skinner or something), then it's sharp enough.

 

[Michael Lovett]

For a show Knife, a ultra shaving edge without micro serrations. It shaves well, (like a laser!) but people don't bleed all over my table!

For a Hunting Knife going to the field, I will touch up this edge with a very worn 800 grit or a fairly new 1200 grit diamond stone to put the micro serrations back in. My edges are THIN!

Mike
Maker
The Loveless Connection Knives

 

[sunshadow]

Like Stacy said, I go for thin behind scary sharp. If your heat treat is dead on you can make your blades a lot thinner than you would believe possible and they will hold up without problems. Putting a cutting edge on a crowbar will not make it a usable cutting tool.

-Page

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I think there is a big difference between a "maker's edge" and a using edge. On the kitchen knives I use, most of the time I just slap a burr on it with a few strokes on course stone,… and get to it. On the other hand though,... nothing wrong with a "showy" polished maker's edge... some customers expect that on certain knives.

Very good point, Tai. The edge that a chef keeps on his knife is ugly and scratched by most knife show standards. They would rather see a smooth but matte surface on the edge to show that it has been stoned instead of polished.

As is becoming clear through the posts made, the function of the knife will determine the edge type, angle, and degree of sharpness needed. Meat takes a coarser edge with a wire or micro-serrations. Vegetables need a finer and smoother edge, razors ( From what I have been told, I have only made one) are nearly a polished surface. All of these should be thin.

 

[butcher_block]

As is becoming clear through the posts made, the function of the knife will determine the edge type, angle, and degree of sharpness needed. Meat takes a coarser edge with a wire or micro-serrations. Vegetables need a finer and smoother edge, razors ( From what I have been told, I have only made one) are nearly a polished surface. All of these should be thin.

why you got ot sum things up so well

and yes a razor should be as close to 2 mirror planes intersecting with no wire edge (you can strop a bit to smooth the shave a bit if need be tho )

 

[Tai Goo]

I've never made a straight razor, but for a mirror polished edge (very smooth, not toothy at all) I use a black hard Arkansas and a strop with a fine polishing compound... by hand. I walk down to the black hard, just like walking down in grits with papers. Starting with the soft Arkansas, the next is hard Arkansas, then black hard Arkansas,... then the strop. I know it sounds time consuming but once you get your technique down it doesn't take long at all,... 10-15 minutes.

An edge like that is great for showy cutting demonstrations.

Years and years ago on Fogg’s old forum, someone posted some microscopic images of about a half dozen knife edges stropped with the very finest stropping charges available. As I recall, everything else being equal, the smoothest edge was from Simichrome polishing cream. I’ve used Simichrome, but found that MAAS cream, which is basically the same thing but less expensive, works equally as well.