I can and can't believe it...First CRK

Congrats on the new blade. Probably won't be your last no matter how much some of us say it will. :p
 
I think it's just pretty variable. My small seb came with a fairly dull edge that was distinctly underwhelming. I sent it to CRK for some other work and they sharpened it up to a razor level, wherein I could cut s-shapes through hand-held single sheets of paper without the slightest tear. But of course that kind of razor sharpness is very short lived. After a few days, it was back to non-razor-ness. The only solution is to get a sharpener of some kind and learn how to do it onesself. I also got a Sage 1 (Spyderco) that was unbelievably dull out of the box - could barely cut through cardboard at all without tearing it to shreds. 5 minutes on the Sharpmaker and it was good to go.
 
All CRK's I've received have had a "decent edge", but Spyderco's always come much sharper from factory. Benchmades have always been terrible in that respect. I always reprofile the factory edge of any knife once it dulls, come to know what I like.

I don't care how much a knife costs, the purpose is to cut. Most people that buy knives have no idea how to sharpen. "Sharpen it up and it's no problem" isn't realistic for most. Although I agree if you own a pocket knife you should learn sharpening. But that doesn't justify butter knife blades from the factory.
 
Anyone that says it's fine for a $425 knife to come not sharp needs to lay off the Kool Aid. Granted, some people's standards of sharpness may be unreasonable. Should it split a hair, no. Should it open an envelope without tearing paper, yes. Yes it will need sharpening eventually, but usually stropping will postpone that for a long time. As long as the initial bevel is good and sharp, bringing it back is easy.
 
I've had a few CRK's and all have shaved hair off my arm. "It's a $+++ knife and I think its dumb if it can't do xyz like my lower end knives"...then return it and move on if it's not your cup of tea.
 
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I have yet to buy a knife that was up to my standard of acceptable sharpness from the factory. I'll have to remember to take a picture of my Umnumzaan later today to show you what I mean.

In fact, I expect it. I would almost prefer it if knives came unsharpened - though still with the primary grind - from the factory.
 
mjolnir74 said:
Cynic please post that pic. What degree do you put on it and what do you use to sharpen.
Click to expand...

Here's a picture:

2012-11-11_21-50-47_432.jpg


It was done partially freehand and partially on an Edge Pro. Primarily a succession of diamond stones up through the coarse/fine/ultrafine Spyderco stones and I ended on a 1 micron diamond paste strop.

The bevel is ~10 a side (20 inclusive) and the microbevel is ~30 inclusive. I freehanded the microbevel completely, but I've gotten pretty good at keeping a consistent angle.
 
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