Knife Sharpness-Question for the Makers

many years ago i bot a new randall that was " almost " sharp. paper work that came with it said the edge was " good enough " for the real world. anybody thats got a new randall lately might could let us know if thats still the way they do it. paul
 
it's razor sharp or nothing. there's nothing in between. one can get a razor sharp toothy edge as well, ask Tom Krein/RJ Martin or BRKT/Kershaw/Spyderco.
 
As stated earlier..I think that sharp and edge geometry are in play here. If you want an edge that has been ground down to 5 or 10 thous and then sharpened with a hard stone is completely different than an edge ground to 50 thous and then sharpened with a diamond stone. One will hold an edge for a long time and one will hold one for a short time but be very sharp out of the box. Another factor is the materials used to sharpen the edge...hard Arkansas for example or rough diamond. One mirror polished the edge and will appear to be less sharp as it lacks large serrations. The diamond will have multiple large serrations and work much like a saw and appear to be very sharp...but will not last long.Whattuda you want?
 
Can I drop another idea here?

I am going to sharpen my knives to my likeness anyway - I know polishing and sharpening to a super fine edge takes time - and time is money.

I would rather take a great knife with the proper geometry that I have to put the final edge on AND save money - than the other way around.

I have bought a couple of knives like this - at first I was disappointed - but then when I realized that I was so anal I would put my edge on ANYTHING I got - then I was glad to save the money.



Also,

I agree with Spiken - I put a polished 'wipe away hair' edge on all my knives. It is as toothy as others - but is highly polished. I don't understand those that say you can't have both. I think it is about the type of grind and the edge geometry though.

TF
 
TF: OK...I'll bite...how do you get a toothy and highly polished edge....seems like opposites to me. Thanks for any info as I could use a toothy polished edge.
 
I always sharpen all mine to a shaving edge before I mail them out. The first thing many people do is try to shave their arm when they get the knife. First impressions count.

I initially sharpen mine on the belt grinder, then test the edge in possibly destructive ways. if it passes then I re-sharpen, finish out the knife completely, then before I pack the knife for shipping I do a final few swipes on a fine diamond stone, to ensure a nice clean edge.
 
How many of you makers who supply a 'razor edge' also supply , like newgraham.com, a few bandaids with the knife ???
 
James_Terrio said:
Have you spoken to the maker(s) about it? We all need honest feedback. If I sold a piece and the customer wasn't happy, I'd want to know right away. To me, the knife being dull seems like a warranty-type issue.

I agree with James here on the feedback . Thanks to the honest feedback from one of my customers I realized that I was not completely removing the burr off of the blade edge . Thanks to him I have corrected that problem and now have no hair on my left arm .
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top