Never Been Sharpened - Overated?

K

knifezoid

Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Messages
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I often see in the exchange a knife described with the terms
"never been sharpened."

I guess this still has some appeal to me as it indicates the
knife probably saw little use, but then I bought a Sharpmaker
and started sharpening my knives and I don't think as highly
of this status anymore.

Barring someone who is totally incompetent and damages the
edge of a knife, I don't think sharpening is such a bad thing.
There are even some knives out of the box that need some
touch up.

So what do you guys think? Is "never been sharpened" a
strong selling point for you?
 
How it was sharpened is what I want to know.

GregS: How did you sharpen that knife in your sales thread?

Seller: Bench Grinder.

GregS: No thanks.
 
Means the knife is still new in box and has the factory edge.
Kind of like not opening the action figures increases the value.
 
No, because most factory edges are useless. I think it appeals to collectors but to those who want to use the knife I think it means little.
 
If you would have seen a few knives I have received that people had previously sharpened then you would strongly care about the statement, "Never been sharpened".

But.....you are right.......if someone knows how to "properly" sharpen an edge without making a mess then it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
 
I wouldn't mind buying a knife from someone that I know can sharpen a knife properly. The thing is a lot of people can't and you never know when the seller is a 16 yr old kid that used one of those Presto Electric things on a nice knife.

So yea unless I know the seller is a competent person I'd much prefer to see that the knife has never been sharpened. One because I know the knife probably hasn't seen much use and shouldn't have a butchered edge. And two because I can sharpen a knife myself, if the knife needs to be reprofiled I'd rather do it myself.
 
it is important as an indicator of "newness".

i always put whether or not a knife i am selling has the factory edge or not, because inevitably buyers will ask, even if i list the knife as nib.

so, my ads generally say something to the effect of: never used, carried, or sharpened.

or: lightly used, touched up on sharpmaker.

etc....
 
Yes there is a big difference between a edge that has had a few touches on some crock sticks and one that was dragged through those god awful carbide sharpeners. I have seen some scary sharpening attempts on some nice blades that made me want to cry.
 
I'd rather have a knife with an edge that hasn't been touched,that way I can reprofile it the way I want it.IMO it just makes it easier.
 
If the knife has never been sharpened it means it has barely been used. Barely used = worth more than heavily used and sharpened.

It's a good indicator of the overall condition of the knife usually.
 
It makes me nervous when it has been sharpened and I don't know who sharpened it or how they did it. Some people can butcher a blade trying to sharpen it.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
it is important as an indicator of "newness".

i always put whether or not a knife i am selling has the factory edge or not, because inevitably buyers will ask, even if i list the knife as nib.

so, my ads generally say something to the effect of: never used, carried, or sharpened.

or: lightly used, touched up on sharpmaker.
Click to expand...

I agree - it's important as an indicator of "newness".

We can all have slightly different definitions of "Mint".
Even "New" and "Brand New" are subject to some interpretation.

If I take a brand new knife out of the box to photograph it, is it still "brand new"?

So, with these kinds of questions and shades of meaning floating around, I can say something definite about a knife's condition that everyone can understand:

"Never used, never sharpened, never carried".
 
Arpaio said:
It makes me nervous when it has been sharpened and I don't know who sharpened it or how they did it. Some people can butcher a blade trying to sharpen it.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. I feel the same way.

In fact, many of the questions posted right here on BF about sharpening
can only intensify my concern about the condition of a knife that's been 'sharpened'. ;)
 
I agree with all the above for the same reasons- but I did buy a Game Warden once strictly because the previous owner had put such a beautiful polished convex edge on it and I don't have a belt grinder yet.
 
Personally I would want to know if it was sharpened and how if it was.

I prefer the factory edge so i can sharpen it the way I choose to.
 
if the knife isnt LNIB its of little interest to collectors, and part of being LNIB is not being sharpened, i've seen some pretty beat up knives which probably hadnt been sharpened so imho thats a poor way to describe something, if ya are wanting to say its LNIB anyway.

if ya want a user knife and its been sharpened by someone who knows what he/she is doing, no biggie, sharpened by someone really good like tom krien, even better, but if its been sharpened by some one without a clue, not good, the bevels could be ruined, who knows what else,

anyway, imho LNIB, 90%, etc are better descriptors than "not sharpened".
 
Since I buy only custom knives, never been sharpened means a great deal to me. The only person I want sharpening any custom knife, is the maker.
 
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