Sharp as a Razor?

bucksway

bucksway

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Jan 7, 2007
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Razor sharp..it's a term that that's used often in the knife world but few knives are that sharp. The closest Buck that I have seen is a 112 Slim Pro Plus in S35VN I barely touched my thumb with and got a deep cut lol! But thinking about it I wonder just what it takes to have a true razor's edge. Part has to be the steel as well as the type of grind and bevel on the edge but the skill of the person actually doing it is probably the most important. I do know to get that kind of edge you have a blade that is subject to chipping and might be easily damaged but I want one!
I have had a few knives over the years that I carried basically for self defense that I tried and tried to get really sharp and failed. Has anyone here been able to get a true razor's edge on one of there Bucks and could you share a little bit how you did it? I think there's a market for that type of blade..true razor sharp. I would buy one!
 
Better buy a Buck Salient. After talking to the guys who designed this knifenits super sharp.
 
I shave with a straight razor and so I also have to sharpen my razors. Razors are sharpened at insanely low angles. I’m talking about a 3/32 inch thick piece of steel 7/8 of an inch wide that is hollow ground such that to sharpen it I lay it flat on the stone. That is, I sharpen my razors as if they were full flat ground blades with no secondary bevel (all mine happen to be hollow ground, FFG wedge razors are uncommon).

So what makes a razor so sharp? Geometry and a good polish I’d say.
 
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I have sharpened my knives, both S30V and 420HC, to shave arm hair and the edge is pretty durable (chipping wise). The edge doesn't last long with regular knife use though (plastic packaging, cardboard, etc.).

I use a Smiths tri-hone system with water, $25 from Wal-Mart. The system has coarse, fine, and Arkansas stones. I do 10 swipes on one side then 10 swipes on the other side. Then 9 and 9, 8 and 8, and so on and so on until 1 and 1 then switch to the next finer stone. I go coarse, fine, Arkansas for S30V and fine, Arkansas for 420HC (unless its chipped).

I do think the steel, and more importantly, the heat treat affect the ability of the knife to get that sharp. I have a set of Wolfgang Puck Chinese chef's knives that I can't get hair shaving sharp no matter what I do.

Rich
 
I was able to get my 110 in 420hc that sharp once. I would concede it may have been a wire edge bur still left on the blade. It did not hold that edge very long. However I was able to just use a strop for a while to keep it close to that sharpness. Of all my knives it is the easiest one to sharpen.
 
I agree with you that the s35v is a really sharp knife when new.

I have found 420hc easier to sharpen than s30v.
I have gotten some nice edges on 420hc by finishing up with a strop, but that nice edge goes away pretty quick.
I haven't been able to dublicate that with my s30v, but I think I could with more patients.

I like your thread. Thanks.
 
I shaved with a straight for a year using mostly a Frank Bannister 5/8", likely 1095 steel. I used 2 layers of ele. tape. Taking it to a ultra fine Spyderco ceramic stone then on to stropping on green rouge. To finish it off. I could get 3-4 good shaves out of it before needing to strop it
again. This type edge doesn't last. It's design for push cutting, not slicing. You can get a arm hair shaving edge by working your knife / finishing
it off on a black Arkansas. Or a Charnley Forest stone (rare). It will come off very sharp but not the edge for general use. It will skate off rope,
and fiber type items. It's a specialize edge. DM
 
An oberservation:

A dull razor is still "razor sharp".
It just ain't as "razor sharp" as some.

I'll shut up and go to bed now.
 
I like toothy edges myself. In my experience it is possible for a knife to be too sharp.

it’s seems there are 3 camps. Those who love serated those who like razor mirror polished edges and me. A toothy edge is really finely serated and cuts what I need to cut.
 
eveled said:
I like toothy edges myself. In my experience it is possible for a knife to be too sharp.

it’s seems there are 3 camps. Those who love serated those who like razor mirror polished edges and me. A toothy edge is really finely serated and cuts what I need to cut.
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or those who like all types those and more depending on the steel, knife and use.
 
I usually take my utility knives to a fine SiC stone at 280 grit and remove the burr on the stone, with no stropping. Then my razor I take to very fine. Probably 1K grit and some stropping. Done right this will give several good shaves. DM
 
420HC can take a terrifyingly fine edge, and Buck's hollow grinds make them even better cutters. Sharpen at a consistent low angle, sharpen all the way to apex, and IMO there's no need for a finish higher than 1000 grit. Shaving arm hair is easy, facial hair is more coarse. I was able to trim the edges of my beard with a Vantage.

I don't use diamond hones anymore, I just use a Smith's Tri-Hone with water or other cheap water stones and keep them clean and flat. I typically start with medium pressure to remove material, then finish out each grit with progressively lighter strokes to prep the edge for the next finer grit. In theory it stops cutting the steel deeper and starts cleaning off the jagged high spots left behind by the rougher grit, and at the end I use very light strokes on the finest grit I intend to use and then strop if needed.

Lower that angle, and as long as you're holding the angle consistent you should be good. Please understand I'm not that great of a sharpener, I'm just a guy that likes to rub knives on rectangular rocks.
 
So far I get a so so edge with a Work Sharp and the basic belts..but I've rounded the tips on a couple of 112's trying to get a really sharp edge. After I get some more experience with it I will see what I can do with S35VN. I gave up on pure hand sharpening with a few Buck stones I had..I just couldn't keep the correct angle.
 
bucksway said:
So far I get a so so edge with a Work Sharp and the basic belts..but I've rounded the tips on a couple of 112's trying to get a really sharp edge. After I get some more experience with it I will see what I can do with S35VN. I gave up on pure hand sharpening with a few Buck stones I had..I just couldn't keep the correct angle.
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An angle guide helps a lot. I use an ancient Buckmaster occasionally to realign an edge. It's no longer made but there are others available.
 
bucksway said:
So far I get a so so edge with a Work Sharp and the basic belts..but I've rounded the tips on a couple of 112's trying to get a really sharp edge. After I get some more experience with it I will see what I can do with S35VN. I gave up on pure hand sharpening with a few Buck stones I had..I just couldn't keep the correct angle.
Click to expand...
When using a power sharpener dont run the tip off the edge of the belt or wheel and dont stop either, but lift it off.
 
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