How sharp should a new knife be?

[steve-in-kville]

So when that new high-dollar knife FINALY shows up in the mail, do you expect it to be razor sharp? Or sharp enough, but could use some touching up?


steve

 

[steve-in-kville]

Here's the situation I had just recently that brought this subject to mind: I had mail ordered a Fallkniven WM-1. This is gonna be this year's hunting/fishing blade (I had hoped).

Anyway, this knife can't even shave hair off my arm! It is brand new! I had always held Fallkniven in high regard as a good value in cutlery. Even less expensive brands, like Cold Steel, put razor sharp edges on their blades. What gives??

Anyway, I'll be spending some time on the sharp maker this afternoon.

steve

 

[Tightwad]

old time cutlery maker knew a basic truth about
knives as do todays knife makers........

Give a new knife a good working edge and let
the customer put his own "edge" on the knife.
This will happen anyway so I never give it a
thought.

 

[dsvirsky]

Doesn't have to be hair-poppin', but I expect a new knife to at least be able to shave.

 

[Will'em]

It depends on the knife, I expect a heavy duty knife to have a thick working blade but a razor to be hair shaving different edges for different uses, most of my knives have angles of 25-30 I don't use my knives to shave I use them to cut

 

[Gollnick]

Depends on the knife. If it's a trainer, then I expect it to be totally dull.

 

[steve-in-kville]

Originally posted by Gollnick
...If it's a trainer, then I expect it to be totally dull.

LOL, I would hope so!!


steve

 

[Jason Cutter]

I'd expect any new knife to be hair popping sharp. I'm a maker and I'd expect all my knives to leave my shop personally hand honed to dive bomb and knock off individual hairs at will. Sure, a camp knife will have a different sort of edge than a sushi knife but without a truly sharp edge, its effectively a pry bar. You've all heard the old one, a blunt knife is more dangerous than a sharp one...

All knives will get dull through use. There's no reasoning for it coming dull to start with. A customer buys a knife because he/she may want to cut, not practise their sharpening technique. A sharp edge shows that the maker has put in the effort to make each knife perform as it should.

I wonder if the WM-1 being dull was a one-off. This is the problem with factories. With the high turnover, not every single knife can be inspected and tested. It may be sharp but I can't imagine some poor (really hairy) guy standing at the end of the manufacturing line whose job it is to ensure that every knife shaves hair !!! I think Fallkniven is a top firm that probably produces really good, sharp knives 99.5% of the time. Sometimes the rejects get through.

In terms of what sort of edge, I no longer believe in a fully polished edge. If the edge is taken to a 320grit belt on a grinder, it will already shave hair. The problem is in making the edge so polished fine that it will bind or slide across fibrous or wet materials. A 320 or 400grit edge that is only lightly stropped will be grabby, yet shave with ease.

My 2 cents and more.

 

[Manji]

i would like it to be razor sharp but a lot of times it's not, im more concerned with the angle.

 

[bile]

Bought a Marksman yesterday for £2, largely so I could dismantle the liner lock to have a look at it. It had the right edge - reasonable working edge but I always take a new knife to the oilstone before I use it.

Bile

 

[OwenM]

Originally posted by Manji
i would like it to be razor sharp but a lot of times it's not, im more concerned with the angle.

Me too. The angle has nothing to do with sharpness, but everything to do with cutting ability. I'd rather remove a tiny bit of metal from a thin, but dull, edge to get it sharp, than have to completely reprofile a thick edge that was scary sharp out of the box (and still wouldn't cut worth a darn). BTDT. With something like a Sharpmaker, we're talking about a few seconds vs. hours of work, sometimes.

 

[Griffon]

And not only sharp, with the angle I want and so on.

I also don't expect a knife to last its (and mine) life without needing sharpening, so I have to know how to fix the edge.

That said, there's obviously a market for ready-sharpened knives out there, many of which will never need to be re-sharpened.

 

[GigOne]

I want my knives to arrive razor sharp !

If I need a different level of sharpness. . ."I'll" dull it to the point that I need it at.

 

[frank k]

Originally posted by Jason Cutter
All knives will get dull through use. There's no reasoning for it coming dull to start with. A customer buys a knife because he/she may want to cut, not practise their sharpening technique. A sharp edge shows that the maker has put in the effort to make each knife perform as it should.

Jason sums up my view. Knives should come sharp, although it is also important that they are properly ground with an appropriate edge bevel angle.



-Frank

 

[Jan P]

I expect my new knives to come very sharp and with a nicely formed edge bevel. I am perfectly able to reprofile an edge if need be, and make the knife as sharp as I want, but a quality tool should be operational when you buy it. Besides, most people are not expert sharpeners.

I just received a batch of knives: The Kershaw and CRKT's were ok sharp. The Benchmade Outbounder was a pleasant surprise - razor-sharp, as opposed to many Benchmades I have bought before. It has never stopped me from buying one though.

The last one, a Spyderco Moran drop point, came really scary, scary sharp! That speaks to me of careful manufacturing and QC, whereas a sloppy edge on an otherwise well made knife leaves me annoyed.

Regards Jan

 

[edb]

Absolutely a complete "ditto" on your
last paragraph, Jan. I recently bought
a Spyderco Moran drop point, and it was amazingly
(!!)
sharp out of the box. Seems to me that's
how they *ought* to come from the factory...

 

[Full Tang Clan]

"Pass the shaving cream, I have to shave some stubble." if it's made by Spyderco.

If it's made by Benchmade, "I'm having trouble cutting the butter here."

Oooh, cheap shot at Benchmade! Actually, I do like Benchmade knives in all other respects.

 

[Architect]

Razor sharp, period.

If you want a a blunt instrument - use an ax or a club.

Knives were made for cutting (and thrusting I suppose) period. Dull edges = dangerous tool for the user. If an initial "customer sharpening" is a requirement, then the knife should be priced accordingly.

 

[Medic1210]

I tell you, I have yet to buy a knife that is as sharp as my Leatherman Micra blade. I thought I could sharpen a knife, but I was mistaken. I can get a good edge that is great at slicing and mediocre at popping hair. After reading someone's article about sharpening a blade so sharp it would cut a piece of hair that was just dangling, I decided to try my blades. Every one of them failed miserably except the leatherman Micra. It actually did it, and rather consistently. I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

Mike

 

[Bladeswinger]

Razor sharp! And we shouldn't settle for anything less!
P.S. If your spending over $100.00 it should be flawless out of the box!!!