How sharp?

I've found a few things over the years - If my blades will push cut paper and shave hair off my arm with little pressure - they will do anything I'll ever need them to. Therefore, those are my two tests after sharpening every knife. I don't need to be able to "tree top" arm hairs or push cut toilet paper 3" from point of hold. FWIW, most of the "super scary sharp" blades will not remain that way for more than 5 minutes of real field use. Just my opinion, which my wife will tell you - means nothing.

Carry on.
 
I like my edge to be good and sharp, but I don’t go overboard.

I think a knife needs to be working sharp, i.e. easily sever the material being cut; that will very a bit between a big chopper and a blade used for delicate work.

Generally if a knife will slice paper cleanly without pulling or tearing that works for me.

That said, I find a polished edge will stay sharp longer, so I will often strop my edge on bare leather once I feel its sharp enough.




"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike
 
I usually get mine sharp enough to do one of two things (usually if it's sharp enough to do one, it will do the other): slice regular typing paper without tearing, or dig into my fingernail with slight pressure.
I'm not hung up on "hair popping" or any of that...if it'll slice typing paper it's usually plenty sharp enough to do what you need.
 
Sharper the better for me, especially if it's a machete or something likely to clear vegetation and growth. With extremely sharp edges and good geometry, you can get ridiculously thin curls off of wood that will ignite with a fire steel.
 
Not to get too snotty, but "how sharp?" has to be compared to "how hard?" and "how hard will it be used". Personally, I'm willing to trade a little edge-retention for toughness, and (at least in theory) this allows to put on a more acute edge without fear of chipping. I don't mind frequent touch-ups, which is often just a strop on the edge pof the sheath.

Assuming your knife is made of decent steel/HT etc, get it as sharp as you can with a nice fine edge. Test it the way YOU like to use it, and see if the edge geometry is too weak (chips or folds over). If not, you win! It if does, it's real easy to make it a little "duller" but still have a darn good cutter.

The only way to know is to do it and find out :)
 
Rockywolf said:
As sharp as I can get them! I like to touch up the edges, not have to work hard to cut things.
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:thumbup: Same here

and if I can't get them sharp enough, Big Mike can:)

Nice to have a friend with a grinder:cool:
 
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