How sharp can I get it?

[koolstof]

Purely out of curiosity, not practical demands I would like to know wich blade can be honed SUPERDUPERSHARP, how long it holds that exceptional edge does not matter. If the blade doesn't come a sharp as possible right from the box, how should I give it the extreme edge I look for. Wich brands/models/steels are especially suited to discover what SHARPNESSS really is about. When you present one of your much treasured collection pieces to an "outsider", the first thing he will do is feel how sharp it is, they do not seem to realize that just sharp sometimes outdoes razorsharp. But what I'm looking for know is all of the things I should do in order to hold THE ULTIMATE EDGE in my hands, I'm very curious when I hear testimonials of other knife-lovers, I can hardly believe to sharpness this elevated was possible. Please enlighten me, this particular blade doesn't need to be usefull, I just want to create an unprecedented edge on it, this way nobody will have to tell me what sharp is about and as an added bonus it brings out the flaws of excessive sharpness, that should keep me from exagerating on the edges of my other, treasured blades. Also a superedge like that is a good way to earn the fascination of "outsiders", when they see what is hard to believe, possibly the will be tempted to unravel the secrets of highend blades (then you can be the "allknowing" mentor, or at least pretend, the rookie will look up to you in awe and you will feel all high and mighty, in the real world there always is someone who owns a far superior set of knives, no use in pursuing that, creating your own virgin disciples is more realistic

 

[bile]

Given a decent oilstone you ought to be able to get any blade, even an axe sharp enough to shave with. I routinely make my cooking knifes that sharp, it just takes time and if the blade hasn't been well ground, a lot of metal removing,
Bile

 

[Knife Outlet]

Sharpness is a result of the angle to which the edge is ground. How sharp can it be? You can make the angle as acute as you like to the point where the edge becomes so delicate that it won't cut anything and still survive.

The japanese engineer more sharpness into some knives by simply flattening one side of the knife so that the bevel angle is about 1/2 the normal angle. Many refer to this as a chisel ground blade. I suppose you could grind one side of your blade flat and achieve the same thing.

For practical purposes, the amount of sharpness (the acuteness of the bevel angle) is regulated by the required strength of the edge. As an edge gets sharper (more acute angle) it becomes weaker so this trade off limits sharpness in the real world.

Another issue is the smoothness or polish of the edge. If an edge is smoother (sharpened with smaller grit abrasives) or even polished, it will offer less resistance to the material being cut so can behave as though it is sharper than an edge that is rougher. Of course, you can smooth an edge of any angle (sharpness) and change the behavior of the edge. Rougher edges are a better choice for some applications, by the way.

So how sharp can you get it? Not a simple question with a simple answer because if you got your knife as sharp as it could be, it wouldn't be functional any longer. The idea is to find the best compromise between sharpness and edge durability and then maintain that. That won't provide the highest level of sharpness possible, but it will provide the best performing knife blade overall.

Incidentally, the manufacturers have a pretty good idea of how acute the angle should be for the intended purpose of a knife and apply such an edge to the product at the factory. Unless you have some particular application that would warrant a change, I'd recommend staying with what the manufacturer provided in the first place. They've worked out this compromise for you already. You just need to maintain it. Take care.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

koolstof :

wich blade can be honed SUPERDUPERSHARP

Most any steel can be honed to a fine razor edge. This will allow you to shave with a simple push cut, no slicing motion, no excesive pressure, and no skin irritation. Most of the high end knife companies like Spyderco and Cold Steel ship their blades out to meet this standard.

However there is another level above this, one at which the knife will shave hair when the blade isn't touching the skin. You can bring the knife across the hair above your arm and it will catch and cut the hairs off, commonly called cutting freestanding hair. I have never seen a production blade come this sharp.

To get a blade this sharp you will want to finish on a very fine buffing compound like CrO which is 0.5 micron, many times finer than the finest hone. Technique becomes very important as burrs can be a problem. To make life easier on yourself get a plain carbon or low alloy steel and get it as hard as you can, 64+ RC if possible.

-Cliff