How sharp do you like to get?

T

tobiism

Joined
Jun 28, 2013
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One of the reasons I really like these Beckers is the ease with which I can keep a really good working edge on them. This cro-van steel just loves to get sharp.
I dont like to get crazy though and go for super duper crazy sharp. Easily cut paper and shave and I am happy. With the Lansky canoe and ceramic rod that is easy to maintain and only takes a few minutes.
So how many of you just like to keep a working edge and how many of you are obsessed with achieving the supreme level of sharp?
 
I've never been the best sharpener in the world, but I am easily able to get a good working edge. I could care less if it splits an atom or not, working sharp is good enough for me.
 
shaving sharp and clean cuts through paper along the whole edge.
I CAN get some steels to shave curls off a hair, but that's obsessive and usually not worth the time to test. Besides, I have short hair again, so finding material is harder.
 
I like women to faint and men to fart in fear when I produce my edge.
Seriously, I'm not an atom splitter like some of the dudes over in Knife Maintenance. If it'll cut bacon, I'm pretty happy.
My goal is to not buy a lot of stuff this year, but I do have my eye on one of those newfangled KME's.
 
I like a working edge...could care less about a polished edge. But I must be doing something right, since I have three cuts to prove it.
 
working edge for a working knife. That is the way I look at it. I like the mirror edge and the "ooooooh so pretty! So shiny" but it takes so long.
 
Cut free standing hair, push cut newspaper, and cleanly cut heavy fabric.

Seems like my edges last longer these days.....

Moose
 
I'm more or less with the others... if it'll shave hair and cleanly cut typing paper and newsprint, it's ready to go to work around camp. In the kitchen I like 'em sharper/keener/more polished, but it's not absolutely necessary... and even then sometimes a slightly toothy edge is helpful (slicing tomatoes for example).

As a sort of experiment I started just sharpening my EDC on a broken-in 400-grit ceramic belt and stropping it. It would just barely shave and slice typing paper, and wouldn't accomplish some of the more extreme sharpening tests... but guess what? I never noticed the difference when actually using it around the house, garden, shop, campsite, etc... and it stayed at that level of sharpness for a long, long time. (Basically until I did something stupid - put a couple tiny dull spots on the edge by hitting wire fencing and steel posts when clearing some weeds. These things happen.)

In camp or kitchen, I find overall geometry and thickness behind the edge to have much more impact on pure cutting performance than whether or not the edge itself is polished to 20,000 grit. A thin blade with a decent working edge will out-cut a thick one with a highly-polished edge all day long.

Splitting/whittling hairs is basically a gimmick IMO... unless you're a hair sculptor :confused: or involved in some sort of competition for fun, why would a person need to do that?
 
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I'm obsessed...which means I can get mine to cut swirlies in paper, and shave...and my arms are hairless because of it. That seems as far as I can take it..sometimes my 24 will reach scary sharp....
 
Freehand on a Norton Fine India Stone and a quick hit on a leather strop or cardboard gives a great combo of tooth and sharp that lasts awhile..... Cuts paper cleanly which is good enuff for all but eye surgery and they are using sharp rocks for that now.....

E

P.s. What Jim says above about blade and edge geometry are pearls of wisdom.......He's giving you pearls, boys...Pearls..... E
 
NikkiR said:
I'm obsessed...which means I can get mine to cut swirlies in paper, and shave...and my arms are hairless because of it.
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That's not obsessive, that's normal. Heck, I'm smooth as a dolphin from the neck down...

Ethan Becker said:
P.s. What Jim says above about blade and edge geometry are pearls of wisdom.......He's giving you pearls, boys...Pearls..... E
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Very kind of you to say! It's really pretty simple when you think about it. People tend to over-think this stuff. ;)
 
I usually sharpen to fine grit on my Norton Crystolon stone and then swipe on an old belt. Some times I just go to medium grit and leave a very tooth edge.
 
The Warrior said:
I've never been the best sharpener in the world, but I am easily able to get a good working edge. I could care less if it splits an atom or not, working sharp is good enough for me.
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Not to mention that as soon as the edge touches wood tat super fine edge is gone in an instant. I guess there is gratification to achieve such sharp edge but personally for me probably not worth the effort.
 
Hey hate to say but I generally get a great edge just from a smiths two stone medium crystalon and fine Arkansas stone. finish by stropping quickly on the leather sheath for my dc4 with no compound. can get shaving sharp with ease and holds it for quite a while with any high carbon blade I own. only one that doesnt stay shaving sharp long is a mini grip in 154 cm though it keeps the working edge till the end of time almost. dont know if thats just me. cant notice the difference in sharpness in regular use only when trying to shave hair.

edit: I do use a coarse daimond stone to repair edges when necessary and to set edge angles.
 
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