Is there such a thing as "sharp enough"?

BePrepared

BePrepared

Joined
Aug 26, 2010
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Of course we know theres "sharp enough to get the job done", but is there a point where your knife has reached a level of sharp that you just consider good enough and wouldn't want any sharper?

I know some of us are the type that won't be happy with a knife until the edge can unzip a DNA helix, or shave Chuck Norris's beard, but what is YOUR opinion on when you think it's "sharp enough"?
 
Good question. In terms of what I see as the ideal edge to have on a knife I would say no, there is no such thing as sharp enough. In term of what I deem sufficient for everyday carry however, I usually feel that shaving sharp is acceptable. I find that spending a ton of time achieving a "show" edge, while very satisfying and impressive, does not really have much practical real world benefit. Most steel will lose it's scary sharpness quite quickly with any sort of real use. At that point you may have spent hours perfecting a mirror polished hair whittling edge all for 10 minutes of breaking down boxes...I don't know, it just feels like a waste sometimes. Either way, I keep my knives sharp, very sharp, some might say scary sharp but sharpness is all relative. I touch up an edge after work nearly every day, if you stay on top of it it never really gets dull. I guess that's good enough for me.
 
I find the optimal sharpness based on blade geo and materials is "sharp enough" and there are always those I wont really use. nothing more then a piece of string or the occasional piece of paper. those I dont mind just taking a degree that would be impractical for extended usage.
 
Yes. There is such thing as 'sharp enough'. It is easily attained, too. All I have to do is sharpen a knife long enough and I'll eventually lose patience and say "Screw this, it's sharp enough".

:p
 
Generally, if it will shave and push-cut paper, it is good enough for me.
 
I usually have a reference knife which I consider to be sharp. If the knife I'm sharpening gets close to that knife, it's sharp enough. So, what's "sharp enough" changes the sharper I manage to get my knives.

A while back I bought an edge pro and a strop and sharpened an old kitchen knife to try it out. Then I cut some newspaper with it and was in awe of how sharp it had become. Now my knives are just as sharp (probably sharper), but I'm used to that sharpness now, so it just feels "normal". I miss that "cut-gasm" feeling :)
 
eccvets said:
this is why ignorance is some times bliss. If its good enuf for you, its good enuf.
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I agree. I have several knives and all of them would be at different "grades" of sharpness if they were measured by some objective standard. They all do the jobs that they're suposed to do and that's my goal. After sharpening knives for 60+ years I have a pretty good idea of how I want a knife to perform its tasks and how it should feel doing them. As long as they satisfy me they're fine.
 
My skill is limited to a sharpness where you can barely cut some hair on your arm while feeling it scratches your skin so that's all I can hope for. ;) After I got my crazy sharp spyderco ladybug I wish all my knives could have that sharpness.
 
When i can get my knives as sharp as "I" can get them... that's sharp enough or baddah baddah baddah dat's all folks!
 
Sharp is as sharp does. Is the question about edge refinement or just being sharp - there's a big difference between the two. How well does it cut whatever it is you need cutting?

This edge came off of an 800 grit King stone and stropped on newspaper. It could just treetop a few leghairs, and dryshave the stubble on my cheek (tho it did itch a bit after). This is the kind of edge that can cut rope all day long. Definitely sharp enough.

Mora_800K_640x_Cal.jpg


This edge on the other hand, came off of a Spyderco EF stone and was stropped on leather w/ Flexcut Gold and then plain leather. Hair whittling, but not for long if it starts getting used for much.

CAT_640_Scale.jpg


Both pics are at 640x (scale in upper left is 7.7mu)

Whatever grit your edge is ground to, it can still be finished off well enough to be considered "sharp enough". I agree with the statement that one's judge of what is sharp changes as one gets better at the craft. But I recently came across one of my old work knives (I used to grind them to 80-120 grit a few years ago when they saw daily hard use) and was curious if it was as sharp as I remembered. It easily parted free-hanging denim from an old pair of jeans, and could pushcut newspaper with the grain - needed a little draw to cut across the grain. Plenty sharp enough even if it could barely shave arm hair, and it can do hard work exponentially longer than its hair-whittling brethren.
Have fun, experiment!
 
Once an edge doesn't slide off my thumbnail and can glide through paper without tearing, then it's 'sharp enough' for me.
 
The sharpness of your blades is determined for the tasks you need to do with them.

I can sharpen my knives to halve hair, but that'd be a stupid edge to chop wood with.
 
eccvets said:
why accept mediocrity?
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This.

I know what working sharp is, and I am fine with EDC'ing a knife that is working sharp.

But along the lines of why I spend on this forum, and why I have more knives than I will ever need, I also want to get my knife sharper than I could previously. Why? for fun.
 
res1cue said:
This.

I know what working sharp is, and I am fine with EDC'ing a knife that is working sharp.

But along the lines of why I spend on this forum, and why I have more knives than I will ever need, I also want to get my knife sharper than I could previously. Why? for fun.
Click to expand...


Plus 1000!
 
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