a few notes on sharpness and what it actually means.
theres a lot of factors that go into how sharp an object is
1 cutting edge angle
2 amount of material directrly behind the cutting edge
3 the angle of the rest of the knife
4 the thickness of the spine of the knife (or possibly only the tip if that is the only part being used)
5 the grit at wich the cutting edge is finished
6 the steels ability to attain and maintain the level of sharpness desired
7 the stiffness of the blade (not so much though... this is more of a personal preference in performance rather then an indicator of sharpness)
if you put a 10 degree angle included (both edge angles added to gether, meaning 5 degree's on both side (wich is insane. thats thinner then most knives are capable of getting given how thick knives tend to be) at a 4000 grit mirror polish, and your knife is 1/16" thick
and then put the same cutting edge conditions on a 5/16" thick survival knife, they will both initiate the cut equally as easily, but the 5/16" thick survival knife will be a lower performer in the overal act of slicing. while the added weight of its thickness aids in a lot of tasks, its technically not as sharp.
when you have a knife that ground like a puuko, meaning there is no edge bevel, it goes from spine to edge in one straight v grind, vs. a knife that is 1/16" thick right behind the edge, the second knife has no chance against the puuko given that they are finished in the same way at the direct cutting edge (high polish or same grit). you will have to push things apart much farther at the very begining of the cut with the second knife.
if you knife is brought to a 6000 grit polish, compared to the exact same knife brought to a 100 grit polish, both will be intensley sharp, but in a totally different way. if your cutting flesh with it, the 6000 grit polish will slip into it (push cut) like it wasnt there, where as the 100 grit polish will tear into it like bread knife into angel food cake. wich is pretty much what your accomplishing, a knife with a great deal of serrated edges, just in a very small form.
so.... why are scalpels so sharp (seemingly?) - they are very thin. thats about it. you can have a dull scalpel compared to a normal knife (scalpel at 45 degree's at 600 grit polish, your normal knife (say crkt m16) at 17 degree 6000 grit polish,) the scalpel will still slice better simply because its only got about 20 percent of the thickness of the crkt m16. you push the material apart 5 times as far with the crkt then with the scalpel.
same with the hemostat knife, even if its not sharp (wich normally it is because they are replaced regularly), its still going to slice better then any normal knife, because its so incredibly thin. unusably thin in a normal knife (it would be a like a sheat of paper), but do to the small size of the blade used in the machine, it can keep its stiffness maintained.
so to answer your question of "is a scalpels sharpness overated" yes and no. a scalpel made of m2 (or d2) sharpened to a 10 degree angle, 6000 grit polish will destroy any regular scalpel in an extended cutting conpetition. but, the geometry of a scalpel makes it inherently good at slicing.
when people say "insanely sharp" they normally mean that the edge of their knife has a very good fit and finish. its 17 degree's and it has a completly consisten 3000 grit polsih, or a 100 grit polish, and as such it cuts better then any other knife they have ever handled. thats understandable. but insanely sharp to me is an example that cliff said once, that he got a knife down to 10 degree's included on a 100 grit slack belt.
a knife at that angle is unusable. it would roll, dent, and mash emmediately upon use on anything harder then butter, but if you were cutting flesh with it - it would be like the flesh wasnt there. insanely sharp = unusably sharp = truly impressive in its performance from a cutting stand point. but there is more that goes into a knifes ability to cut (and maintain) in daily activities
hope that helps
