Out of box sharp

Benchmade has been improving but still unpredictable. The Spydercos have always been great sharpness. Uneven grinds are my big concern. It grinds my gears lol
 
For my experience, Cold Steel, no contest. The AD10 I purchased recently was the best yet.
 
Knives are frequently purchased from major manufacturers and occasionally from custom makers. A new knife is expected to have a "factory edge". This edge should be decently sharp, as these knives are being made by professionals. Many knives fresh out of the box are suitably sharp for the task they are intended for, although some collectors and enthusiasts will sharpen them before use.

If knives you purchased are not "your kind of sharp", consider purchasing whetstones to "touch them up" or get it done via a professional knife sharpening service.

In my experience, "Made in Japan" knives are the sharpest "out of the box". In fact the only new knife "out of the box", which gave me a cut is a Moki Kronos - a Japanese Lockback Knife with a 2.75 inch VG-10 Blade.
 
Spyderco: my Manix 2 and Para2 came extremely sharp, Tenacious and Resilience came nice and sharp too. They are the master of the FFG and QC is always good. My Byrds were good too but I thined out the edge on the Raven a bit.

Buck: all but one (s30v sm Vantage) has come scary sharp. 420hc isn't a super steel but with Bucks heat treat and hollow grind they are all nice sharp slicers. I have a china produced Sandman my wife got me years ago that was like a scalpel out of the box, sharpest of all the knives I've handled.

Cold Steel: most are very sharp out of the box but I've had three now that needed work and the Code 4 clip point in s30v had to be reprofiled, it was way too thick behind the edge and grind was off. I still can't get it as sharp as I'd like. The FFG Broken Skull was very sharp, wicked large blade in a thin sleek setup.

Benchmade: I've had good luck with all but one full size grip and a 940, all the rest came shaving sharp even with a thicker edge. My mini grip in 154cm takes a nice edge for a chunky little blade.

ZT/Kershaw: all have come sharp even if they are thicker at the edge. My only complaint is some budget Kershaw knives seem to be too soft, more so than a buck at the same price point.
 
Spydercos seem to run the sharpest out of box but I'd say nothing ever compares to how sharp they can be when done by hand. Most edges are burned up and fatigued so to get the true performance it has to be hand sharpened.

Chuck4480 said:
Hi everyone, I used to be really into the knife scene about 10 years ago. Looking to get back into it. I recently lost my beloved Camillus Cuda Tanto Dominator at work. I almost cried. I’m wondering, what’s everyone’s opinion on the sharpest knives brand new out of the box? So far I’m looking at the Spyderco Manix 2, Benchmade mini griptillian or mini barrage. Again, I’ve been out of the loop for quite some time so I’m not exactly as up to date with the latest and greatest as I’m sure some of you are. Trying to keep it around $150 or so but I’ll take a look at anything.
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Out of box sharpness means nothing to me at all. It’s nice if a knife is sharp when I receive it, but that doesn’t determine if I would buy it or not.

If you can’t make a knife sharp and keep it that way, you should learn to.

To answer your question - it has been Spyderco, Buck, and Cold Steel in my experience. Never had a dull one from any of those brands.
 
Every Spyderco I've got came sharp...I've got Manix 2s in S30V, CTS-BD1 and M390...can't go wrong with a Manix 2 imo
 
Buck...I've never had a Buck that wasn't sharp as heck right out of the box.

Spyderco...easily rivals Buck in the sharpness department.

Victorinox...for the shear amount of knives they produce, they are incredibly consistently very sharp.

Kershaw...maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never had one that wasn't hair poppin sharp.
 
Ajack60 said:
Hands down, Spyderco. It's not a hit or miss with them. You can count on whichever Spyderco you pick up, it's going to be stupid sharp.
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The absolute worst edge I've ever received on any knife type was a brand new Delica in ZDP-189. Not just dull, but zero apex and totally uneven grinds. Yes, I could've sent it back but the fact remains, it came to me in terrible shape. I have a bunch of Spydercos and typically they are very good (although often uneven) but any mass produced product can have an issue. The brand name alone is no guarantee. And, as DeadboxHero DeadboxHero said above, regardless of brand, the edges are usually so burnt they don't last anyway.

OP, as others have said, out of the box sharpness is effectively meaningless if you intend to use the knife at all. If you're not interested in free hand sharpening put that $150 toward a KME and then you'll know that practically every knife you own will be sharp.
 
The sharpest knives out of the box in my experience have been Spyderco and Buck. Cold Steel next tier.
 
Cold Steel knives I bought were both shaving sharp out of the box.

Also, I have whetstones, so I touch them up without an issue whenever they get dull. I also strop them with leather belt or nylon strap after sharpening.
And they are shaving sharp again.
 
Eli Chaps said:
OP, as others have said, out of the box sharpness is effectively meaningless if you intend to use the knife at all. If you're not interested in free hand sharpening put that $150 toward a KME and then you'll know that practically every knife you own will be sharp.
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You don't even need a KME. I used a lansky and, thanks to Kershaw/ZT, have become pretty proficient at getting pretty nice edges. So getting a knife that is not that sharp, or has a bad edge, isn't at all bad. It can help you elevate your sharpening skills.

Now I use a sharpmaker most of the time, and am practicing my freehand skills as well. The lansky isn't good for blades near 4 inches imo. Having to move the clamp and match up the angles is too much a pita. Kme would be better here, or as I'm doing, just getting good at freehanding.
 
In terms of rating the highest overall sharpness out of box, mine are the following:

Spyderco
Victorinox
Buck (most of the time)
Cold Steel
Way back in the ‘70s, the carbon steel Schrades I had came scary sharp. Later on, I think they went downhill.

Jim
 
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