So are you talking about how acute an edge is or how refined, both?
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Is too sharp a real thing?
- Thread starter NeedItCheaper
- Start date
Well I can't speak for someone else, but it has been put forward many times that if you have a good steel with good heat treat and good edge retention, if you set the bevel at an acute angle such as 15 degrees per side, then when the apex of the edge inevitably dulls, the edge will still be so thin that it effectively remains sharp anyway. The steel and the heat treat are important because in order for this to work well, your steel cannot be too soft or too brittle.
That's true, but if I go to acute with the angle on my kitchen knives they get sticky on the board. I also had a video that I can't find at the moment of a Japanese fishmonger that was very specific about his knife sharpening because if he went to refined he lost the feel.
I was talking about the width of the apex, but it's really both. A finer apex will cut longer and a lower edge angle will cut longer, assuming that the steel can support the chosen angle.
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2012
- Messages
- 366
I think what people are reporting is the edge rolling. The edge might still be sharp, but that edge is nnow turned sidways.
Or the edge is so thin and fragile , the edge breaks away ...
How do I know - Cos I been there .. Sharpened a Scandi till it would cut layers of skin off .
But the edge ( Apex ) was weak , very weak . Can a knife be too sharp ?
Again depends on what your using it for .. But the answer is , Hell Yes !
I can understand two things :
A) Folks have never been there
B) Or their full of it ................ ( Something )
Scandi’s a bit of a special case. What was the edge angle? Maybe 8 dps? Probably a soft steel?
It was my Brother 005 in D2 ... ( Was scandi )
I sharpened and sharpened till it was scary sharp .. It actually bleed me when I touched the edge gently .
But that edge broke when I accidentally touched the side of the table with it ..
I have since turned it into a normal edge & : So yeah , a normal edge now ..
5000 grit edge , guided knife sharpener , the polished edge !
Returned some 300 slices for a fail with what appears to have been a rolled edge .
80grit grind , off the wet stone grinder .
Returned what looks like a 550 slice fail with a possibly rolled edge .
Recent polished VS ground test .. 550 with a 80 grit ground edge .. I can live with that as it falls well within D2 performance levels . ( Being a D2 knife )
Yeah , I chase - "Stays sharp" - as sharp is no longer good enough ( for me ) .
Spyderco SPY27 Mule - Legendary Stays Sharp ! ( Yep , when you go over 1000 , it's legendary ) As steels improve , the next level might be 2000 ? Who knows ? There will be another Mule in my life !
I sharpened and sharpened till it was scary sharp .. It actually bleed me when I touched the edge gently .
But that edge broke when I accidentally touched the side of the table with it ..
I have since turned it into a normal edge & : So yeah , a normal edge now ..
5000 grit edge , guided knife sharpener , the polished edge !
Returned some 300 slices for a fail with what appears to have been a rolled edge .
80grit grind , off the wet stone grinder .
Returned what looks like a 550 slice fail with a possibly rolled edge .
Recent polished VS ground test .. 550 with a 80 grit ground edge .. I can live with that as it falls well within D2 performance levels . ( Being a D2 knife )
Yeah , I chase - "Stays sharp" - as sharp is no longer good enough ( for me ) .
Spyderco SPY27 Mule - Legendary Stays Sharp ! ( Yep , when you go over 1000 , it's legendary ) As steels improve , the next level might be 2000 ? Who knows ? There will be another Mule in my life !
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There is good D2 and Bad D2 ...
I don't harsh D2 , but that Brother D2 in Scandi .. Was not great .
As long as the steel is cooked properly , it will perform ..
Coldsteel manages to get AUS8 and 4116 to perform ok ( Budget steels ) ..
The problem is , a lot of steels are just overly soft ..
What good is tool steel at say 50HRC ? Tool steel is used to cut other steels . So should be tough ! ( Should be )
Gerber Mansfield is D2 and Scandi , and performs really well . So if Gerber China can do it , it can be done . ( Cook D2 )
Only way to keep the knife sharp longer is to sharpen knife with more coarse sharpening medium . Period !
Even with dull tooth this saw will still cut wood .Try to cut wood with spine of saw
Only way to keep the knife sharp longer is to sharpen knife with more coarse sharpening medium . Period !
Even with dull tooth this saw will still cut wood .Try to cut wood with spine of saw
Sorry but I only use a flaked piece of stone tied to a stick with animal guts and glued in place with pine tree pitch.
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2023
- Messages
- 38
Too sharp is a reality if the edge you created doesn't hold up to the purpose for which it was intended. An axe is a good example. You can get an axe with a convex edge really sharp - sharp enough to shave with. But it still isn't going to be as sharp as the edge on my straight razor that I also shave with because if it was, the first time I struck a log the edge would be rendered useless. In fact, you can even have a straight razor too sharp. I have on one occasion sharpened a straight razor so sharp using fine diamond paste that it would tend to cut your face just from the pressure of the razor held against it. That is too sharp to shave with, unless fine facial cuts and blood don't bother you. But for the norm of things, I would agree with you. Give me sharp every time over less sharp.