Never Good Enough?

[stoffi]

I can't seem to follow what you are saying. Cutting free hanging newspaper can be done with an edge sharpened on double digit grit abrasive or a file, and is kinda far from a 4K edge followed by a strop which is able to shave and split hair. That level is also around the 0.3-0.4 micron edge radius of a metal scalpel. As well, the silicates in a leather strop will be as fine/finer than a 50K stone. I'm not sure where you are saying to stop. When is sharpness a short-lived luxury, and when is it sharp enough to properly cut fuzzsticks (which I do by push cutting, not slicing)?

I'm just trying to say that there is a level of extremism to sharpening (especially among enthusiasts) which has few practical applications, since that type of sharpness doesn't last very long. One can spend hours of sharpening and honing that "perfect edge", only to take that sharpness down after cutting a few sticks in the woods. I didn't plan on writing an essay, so I can understand that I seem a bit fuzzy.

An edge which will be used a lot needs to be sharpened a lot, so spending hours after hours on sharpening something that'll last a few rounds at the hands of a real user, doesn't seem necessary to me. Edges like that are better suited for aficionados who don't really need to use them. I mean, give me any knife that'll whittle hair and I'll get it to not whittle hair (or even shave) within a minute or two by normally carving up some wood.

I personally spend a lot of time honing all of my blades to a scary sharpness because I like to — but it's not necessary for the blades' intended use, since they will sort of default to a regular type of sharpness (non-hair whittling, yet still very sharp) quite soon. Does that make sense?

I don't have a problem with understanding my "scary sharp" blade won't remain that way after use. For me it's just acknowledging it's sharp and has reached the "practical limit" of sharpness. Since I am stilling learning to perfect the techniques I'm using, I somtimes feel if I were just alot better at this I could get the edge sharper? For me, I still think there is a confidence factor in there somewhere screwing things up.

I feel you man and I too want to take it to the next level. It is rewarding to achieve things.

 

[Mannlicher]

I have always felt that a given knife can become 'too sharp'.

Not all steels are able to be made 'hair popping' sharp, and still usable in the real world.

Not all tasks require the blade to be sharp enough to push cut Kleenex.

I try to insure that my blades are as sharp as they need to be. Taking into consideration the material involved and the task required, blade X might well be taken to a different level of sharpness than blade Y.

It is fun, and gratifying, to make a knife as sharp as a microtome, but it is not always practical.

 

[Rich S]

Mannlicher hit it on the nose: Sharpen the knife as sharp as it needs to be to do the job the needs doing. Many levels of "sharpness" and as Master Po said "many paths to same gate" - in this case many ways to achieve the desired sharpness. OK Grasshopper, get out your stones, hones, emory, etc and go to it - when you can leave no footprints you will have achieved the goal

Rich S

 

[Moengo]

I didn't plan on writing an essay, so I can understand that I seem a bit fuzzy.

I personally spend a lot of time honing all of my blades to a scary sharpness because I like to — but it's not necessary for the blades' intended use, since they will sort of default to a regular type of sharpness (non-hair whittling, yet still very sharp) quite soon. Does that make sense?

Actually I thought your post was spot-on...not a bit fuzzy. I also spend a lot of time sharpening/honing....because I like to.

 

[Ben Dover]

Why on earth would I sharpen a "big ol' honkin" jungle knife to whittle hair????

Because I can!

 

[Heiheit]

I recently put my sharpening systems away and went back to bench stones. Picked up a nice 4 stone set (Naniwa SS) and some good advice/tips from knifenut1013, and was on my way.

Here's my "problem": when I finish with the 8K stone, I check for sharpness in every way I've read and learned... my blade can pass these sharpness tests, put when I feel the edge, it just always seems it could be a little sharper...sometimes it doesn't even "feel" sharp? So back we go to the stones to make it "feel" sharp...a never ending cycle. My wife and kids shake their heads and can't understand...and ask why a person would continue to sharpen a sharp knife. I have no good answer. Maybe once I start stropping the knife will "feel" sharp...sharp enough to STOP.

Yeah i know what you mean. Yesterday I took a couple of knives (Endura 4 and Military) and took them to a DMT extra coarse and then immediately put them on a paper wheel buffer very lightly loaded. I actually really like the results. they feel like they're sharp, cut like they're sharp and shave like they're sharp. I also like the way the edges look more than a mirror polish. Eventually we'll find the edge we like the most individually because not everyone likes the same thing. Good luck.

 

[udtjim]

I think I have finally gotten past the addiction stage, now-a-days as long as a knife performs it's intended function well, it's good enough. I use the slicing paper test and just listen to the sound, when it sounds just right, I am done.

 

[stoffi]

I find that tomatoes are a pretty good reference point for testing sharpness. If I can slice a tomato effortlessly without denting it (creating paper-thin slices) then it's a sharp enough blade for me.

 

[stitchawl]

I still think the old Samurai had it right, with chopping slaves in half to test a new blade. That seems to have gone out of practice in recent years, what with the coming of the "RazorEdge Edge Tester" device, which, by the way, does actually do a fairly objective series of edge tests a few steps above a Bic pen.

As I've said before, most of us here don't sharpen a knife because it needs to be sharpened, but because we want to sharpen it. We take it to 60,000 grit because we can, not because it needs be sharper than 1,000. Excuse me, but now I have to go and strop my toothbrush.

Stitchawl

 

[stitchawl]

oops! double post!

 

[Moengo]

As I've said before, most of us here don't sharpen a knife because it needs to be sharpened, but because we want to sharpen it. We take it to 60,000 grit because we can, not because it needs be sharper than 1,000.

Stitchawl

I think you hit the nail on the head...you should use that quote in your signature.

I never knew Samurai slaves had it so tough! I bet slave number 2 was pissed if that blade was dull.

 

[Broos]

I find that tomatoes are a pretty good reference point for testing sharpness. If I can slice a tomato effortlessly without denting it (creating paper-thin slices) then it's a sharp enough blade for me.

Same for me, except I push cut paper thin slices of tomato. Once a guy gets used to cutting with a razor sharp knife, it can be hard to go back to that "working" edge!

 

[Gadgetaholic]

Same for me, except I push cut paper thin slices of tomato. Once a guy gets used to cutting with a razor sharp knife, it can be hard to go back to that "working" edge!

I know what you mean - I could take a steak knife out of the drawer and saw through a tomato or I could grab my stainless Opinel #8 and slide through that tomato like it was made out of soft butter. I used to like my steak knives, now I'd rather grab something sharp.