How sharp is sharp enough?

H

hd2k_va

Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
108
I usually sharpen my EDC until it pops hair off my arms. I can get them sharper. In fact, I can get them sharper than at least one, well regarded custom maker who hangs out here occasionally and likes to say how sharp his edges are! But, usually, I stop sharpening when the hair pops off.

Why stop there? Well, the answer is simple. It seems that edges sharper than that are good for tricks but break down or get out of alignment pretty quick when you use them.

(BTW - I couldn't sharpen the point on my head before reading Joe Talmadge's FAQ! Tx Joe)

How sharp do you usually go, and is there anyone out there who really needs an extremely sharp carrying knife? I'm not talking specialty tools here, but EDCs.
 
I agree with you, as to the degree of sharpness attained. I usually sharpen a knife until it will shave hair easily. This is done on a Sharpmaker. I then strop the edge a few times on a strop loaded with Veritas compound. I usually slice a piece of thin paper with the entire edge of the knife to ensure I have no rough spots, then a quick thumb test to ensure the grabbiness I desire.

Edges like these tend to hold up very well in day to day cutting chores, food prep, etc. I have yet to chip, or fold over an edge do to normal cutting chores with a knife sharpened in this manor.
 
I'm with y'all. If it's push cutting paper and shaving arm hairs, it's perfect. I love the way even the toughest packing tape parts like the Red Sea when I brush my knife gently over it.

Hey wire edge, what do you mean thumb test? I used to see how grabby a blade felt along the pad of my thumb, but found that poorly sharpened course edges felt sharp when they weren't. I now use the fingernail test exclusively.
 
I use the "thumb test" once I'm sure the edge is sharp. I gently test the pad of my thumb in a perpendicular fashion in relation to the edge. I do this just to make sure it's not completely polished. I like the edge to have some grab so that it doesn't slide over items that I want cut. Too much stroping gives me too smooth of an edge. I like micro-serrations.
 
At one time, my sharpening procedure used to be: Medium Norton India stone first, then go to a fine India stone, proceed to a hard black Arkansas stone, then finish with a strop.

I dispensed with the strop step after only a couple of weeks; it was just totally unnecessary for any kind of knife that I had.

The hard black Arkansas stone was the next to go. It leaves a scary sharp polished edge that's really cool, but it doesn't seem to last very long. The kind of edge it creates is good for impressing friends, but I would have to resharpen it every couple of days to maintain it.

The fine Norton India stone makes a great edge - it's sharp but still very "toothy". However, I eventually felt that I could leave the edge even rougher on a general utility carry knife, so I dropped even the fine stone step.

Now I just sharpen with the medium stone and leave it at that. You can still get a shaving sharp edge without much difficulty, but the edge is very aggressive; it just rips through stuff like cardboard and rope. Plus, the edge lasts a long time and doesn't require much maintenance.

I think that's one of the big secrets about knife use: Just because you can get a knife really sharp doesn't mean that you should get a knife really sharp! :)
 
I use the DMT diamond hones and go all the way to the finest(green) stone. By the time I am done, you can no longer see the actual edge. When I run the edge over my thumbnail, it really digs in without any downward pressure. I dont see a need for a knife to be any sharper.
 
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