opinions on when a knife gets dull?

"In reality, if it slips on my thumb nail, I sharpen it."

i also use the finger nail test.

after i use my knife to do a task that i think dulls it, i test it at the end of the day. if all i did all day was cut up a bagel and an apple for lunch, i don't usually bother testing it. if i cut carpet or did some heavy box cutting, i know that it is probably dull and i test it.

if it slips off the nail, it gets a touch on my pocket stone. if it sticks, i leave it be.

i also sometimes touch up my knife if i am bored and looking to waste a minute. also, just before i whittle something i might touch up my blade if i am worried about it being sharp.

basically, i keep all of my knives sharp enough to cut stuff. good overall grind geometry is sometimes enough to get me by in between sharpenings if i simply don't have the time, but i am a knife knut and i make sure that i have time ;D
 
For my EDC folders, I use the fingernail test.
 
My Native S30V is always "dull" in that it will have a shiny spot or two on the ede and won't shave as cleanly as I'd like. I gave up the battle on keeping it hear splitting sharp a few months ago and found it holds the "not-quite-scary-sharp" edge FOREVER (as opposed to the scary sharp which it holds until, oh, you LOOK at it). But yeah, it'll go throuh just about anything rather clean, I don't know if its the steel or the finish my DMT XF gives it, but it sure does slice great.
 
when it cant do its job swiftly and smoothly if i have to use effort when cutting something then it needs a sharpening
 
I'm glad that I'm not the only one that thinks that if it doesnt shave hair, its not sharp enough.
 
Hair shaving is defiantely the benchmark. Easy enough to get and will make almost any cut butter smooth.
 
this is a good thread. I always wonder when a knife is sharp and when it needs sharpening. I probably over sharpen- is there any damage or excessive wear on a blade from sharpening too much? I also think it depends on the knife. I have some cheap 420j2 knives for breaking down boxes before they go in recycling. They dont get sharpened until they really have trouble cutting cardboard. My SOG Field Pup gets sharpened even if all I did was clean a pheasant or turkey with it. I like that thing sharp enough to pass the hair shaving test, the fingernail test, and the " I havent sharpened this thing in the last week" test.

WT
 
whenever i got the time to sharpen it,I sharpen it.I like my standard purpose ka-bar folder to be able to cut my arm off at all times.=)
 
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