All these practical and technical people trying to quantify and characterize effective sharpness--they just aren't answering the question I heard you ask. You want to know about "bragging sharp". Someone strokes the edge of your blade or tries a little shaving and says, "it could be better". This has nothing to do with practicality, this has to do with pride.
I feel your pain. The child of your hand has been found wanting by your peer. Where did you go wrong? How have you failed as a parent, er, honer? You know it's a good edge, polite and willing to do anything you reasonably ask of it, but if only it was the captain of the football team...
Well you could make it over. I did that for several years. Take every blade you get and regrind it into a thin hollow grind profile. Sharpen it down below 10-degrees with 4000 to 8000 grit. Strop it religiously. You can get most non-stainless blades (and certain stainless alloys) as sharp as a straight razor. They won't be durable, but heck, no one is going to say he, er it, isn't sharp enough anymore.
This is a true bragging edge. Those of us with minimal daily work to do with our knives can afford to carry at least one bragging knife. If you feel you need to maintain a semblance of utility to the knife, don't go down below the 10-degree edge. Get a nice thin gentleman's folder made of a razor blade alloy (Sandvic 12C-27, AUS-8, AUS-10, VG-10, 52100...) and hone it down below 15 degrees with 1000 to 4000 grit and then strop it. The way to be able to brag is to say, "I shaved my face with it this morning". Get a shaving brush and soap, lather with hot soapy water, and shave away. For best results, maintain the edge with a strop, and shave with the knife every morning.
With one bragging edge on you, you can always say that your heavier knife is sharpened with your "utility edge".
