How sharp..is sharp?

K

Kniv1

Joined
Feb 15, 2009
Messages
82
Just wondering what everyones take is on what is considered
a sharp knife? razor blade sharp? or more?

What does it take to get a store bought knife scary sharp?
 
For me a sharp knife is one that bites into the finger nail and does not slide when resting at a 30° angle on the nail. Good enough for what I need.
 
Don't press so hard. just rest it.

Need Pics of the blood.
 
For me it's shaving hair sharp with a mirror finish. I can achieve that with my gatco diamonds and strop w/ compound.
 
Kniv1 said:
Just wondering what everyones take is on what is considered a sharp knife? razor blade sharp? or more?
Click to expand...

This was PRECISELY my mindset when I selected my username for my account here. :D

For me, sharp is considered to be whatever 'best' level of sharpness I can possibly get from a particular blade. It varies, but at a minimum, I expect at least some shaving sharpness and also some clean, smooth slicing ability thru light paper (like phone book paper or grocery receipts). That'll at least verify that there aren't any burr issues on the edge.

Other edges can get absolutely amazing when properly sharpened and polished. That's where, if you're lucky, you might see:

1. Hair poppin' (like shaving, but hairs 'jump' off at the first touch of the edge).
2. Tree toppin' (will clip hairs without actually touching the skin)
3. Hair whittlin' (makes neat little curls on hair, as if whittling wood).

I haven't quite reached #3 above, but hope to get there someday... :p
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
This was PRECISELY my mindset when I selected my username for my account here. :D

For me, sharp is considered to be whatever 'best' level of sharpness I can possibly get from a particular blade. It varies, but at a minimum, I expect at least some shaving sharpness and also some clean, smooth slicing ability thru light paper (like phone book paper or grocery receipts). That'll at least verify that there aren't any burr issues on the edge.

Other edges can get absolutely amazing when properly sharpened and polished. That's where, if you're lucky, you might see:

1. Hair poppin' (like shaving, but hairs 'jump' off at the first touch of the edge).
2. Tree toppin' (will clip hairs without actually touching the skin)
3. Hair whittlin' (makes neat little curls on hair, as if whittling wood).

I haven't quite reached #3 above, but hope to get there someday... :p
Click to expand...


I thought hair whittling comes before tree topping. The sharpest knife I have is my FFG endura in ZDP. running a hair along the edge will cut the hair. I almost cried when this happened, you see, I'm sharpening challenged.
 
how long's a piece of string.......as long as you want it to be.....as sharp and you want it to be!!!!
 
Something like this. :)

[youtube]<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LXVbLcVQ24A&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LXVbLcVQ24A&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube]
 
if it will cleanly shave hair off my arm, its good enough for me...depending on the knife i like some to be sharper than others:D
 
When you touch the blade to your arm hair and it just pops off like glass shards breaking. :eek::D
 
I just got an Edge Pro. Its awesome. Prior to that, I could not sharpen worth a squat, even with a Sharpmaker. The Edge Pro lets me slap on a perfect edge - a mirror edge if I want - and it is incredible. So now I can get a knife sharp enough to slice paper. Thats pretty much my standard. I've been sharpening a knife or two each day since I got the Edge Pro.
 
powernoodle said:
I just got an Edge Pro. Its awesome. Prior to that, I could not sharpen worth a squat, even with a Sharpmaker. The Edge Pro lets me slap on a perfect edge - a mirror edge if I want - and it is incredible. So now I can get a knife sharp enough to slice paper. Thats pretty much my standard. I've been sharpening a knife or two each day since I got the Edge Pro.
Click to expand...


So I guess it's working out good for you then? :D :thumbup:
 
singularity35 said:
I thought hair whittling comes before tree topping. The sharpest knife I have is my FFG endura in ZDP. running a hair along the edge will cut the hair. I almost cried when this happened, you see, I'm sharpening challenged.
Click to expand...

Me too.
 
[youtube]wqx_D-vxObg[/youtube]

I think this is the sharpest I've personally seen...

I find that a good strop with compound is the easiest way to get a hair popping sharp edge, but I personally can't whittle hair or tree top with my edges yet.
 
i try to get my knives sharp enough to shave the print from a piece of newspaper without cutting through. seems like an edge that is too polished will not bite into the paper and a finely serrated microbevel is what i try to achieve. polished seems to push cut better, and finely serrated seems to slice better.
everyones arm hair is of a different thickness and what will shave one may not shave another.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top