Out of the box...who's the sharpest?

Edgefinder

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New out of the box, who makes consistently the sharpest production, or semi-production/custom folding knives?

I would say: Microtech, Chris Reeve, and Kershaw.

Comments? Opinions?
 
I have had Benchmades and Microtechs come pretty sharp, but the most consistent best edge is, in my most humble opinion - Spyderco.


Mike
 
"Out of box" definitely implies production. I'd say that top tier is:
1. Chris Reeve... extremely refined, polished convex edge on a hollow grind.
2. Microtech. Not as refined but maybe even a hair sharper than Reeve.

Spyderco edges aren't quite as refined and are close to Microtech.

[edited subsequently to agree that I forgot to mention Cold Steel alongside Spyderco. I do kind of agree the point is partially moot, as you gotta sharpen them yourself someday]

Benchmade hasn't put out consistently sharp knives in a couple years now... and even the ones I bought 3-4 years ago weren't THAT sharp. No biggie really. Gotta sharpen them up anyway.

The only knives I can get sharper (very subjectively) than 1 & 2 above (that I own anyway) are two hunters out of 52100 by Rick Dunkerly, and an ArcLite in 420V by Darrel Ralph.


[This message has been edited by rdangerer (edited 03-17-2001).]
 
Cold Steel knives ARE the sharpest "out of the box". (...And I have the scars to prove it!.
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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663
 
I'm trying to understand why this matters. As soon as you use a knife it begins to dull and become ready for sharpening. How they come out of the box is very unimportant to me. Why the interest in a factory sharpening job? Truly curious.

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Fred
Knife Outlet
http://www.knifeoutlet.com
 
I find Spyderco to be the easy winner here.
I'd say it matters because (1) I don't want to have to improve something I just bought; and (2) it's much easier to keep a knife really sharp than to get it that way by hand.
 
Cold Steel And Spyderco. Hard to beat either one of them.

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Lincoln
eclark@totalzone.com
 
Fred,
I think the interest is in to see what companies take the extra time it takes to get that edge on the knife and not just one here and there but everyone that leaves the door.

Maybe it just shows that they have a good QC dept. And if so maybe that also reflects back on the knife as a whole...?

I do know that whenever I show a knife to a non knife nut, it can be my Sebenza or a Cold Steel, doesnt matter...The one thing they all do and are impressed with, is when they check out how sharp it is and go...OOOoooo thats sharp isnt it?



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Keith D.Armacost
"The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary
telegraph is like a very long cat. You pull the tail in New York, and it
meows in Los Angeles. The wireless is the same, only without the
cat. " AE
 
Several offer good to great "sharp" edges out of the box, but IMHO of coarse, Cold Steel offers "the seriously scary factory edge".
eek.gif


CS edges are so sharp that I'm actually apprehensive when I use them because I'm afraid that I won't be able to recreate their edge.

Also, CRKT has suprised me with their edges on several of their knives as well.

--The Raptor--
 
For my money the sharpest out of the box are Chris Reeve's knives.

AJ
 
Microtech, Chris Reeve Knives, Kershaw, Spyderco and Cold Steel ! And not necessarily in that order !
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I would have to say Kershaw

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I am just a worthless liar....... I am just an Imbecile ...... I will only complicate you ..... Trust in me and fall as well .... I will find a center in you ... I will chew it up and leave .. I will work to elevate you just enough to bring you down
 
For me the most constantly sharp edges come from Spyderco.

However the sharpest edges...EVER for me are.

1. Benchmade Nimravious in M2 (no, I am serious!)
2. Spyderco Moran
3. Large classic Sebenza
4. MT LCC D/A
5.Spyderco Military.

W.A.

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"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
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My Spyderco came sharper than my Benchmade.

However, all my knives stay sharp thanks to my Sharpmaker 204!
 
I've heard it said that Bob Dozier wins the out of the box sharpness contest hands down! I own only one of his so far, but I have to agree. I thought CRK was really sharp, Ross Aki impressed the hell out of me, and my Spyderco's are sharp too, but when I first tentatively touched that Dozier edge I broke out in a cold sweat, and that had never happened before...
 
Cold Steel is consistantly very sharp. However. . . the very sharpest I've ever came across was a Spyderco Moran (Version 1.0)

I whittled a hair length-wise into three strands.
 
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