Sharp out of the box???

[miso2]

I am pretty sure that this topic has been covered in the past.
But because I cannot find those relevant threads in my search, I post this now.

I have seen a claim saying "this knife is sharp out of the box".
I hardly understand it.
Some knives came sharper than the others for me, but none of them were sharp enough, even my CRK Umnuzaan, Japanese high end knives, or Southard Tolk.
By that I mean, they just ice-skate on my skin or on tomatoes without cutting into them (the only exception I have had is Boker Exskelibur, but the edge was like a saw, though).
I have always had to sharpen a knife before using it and to have a stable edge without rolling by a single cut into cardboard or wood.
My understanding that this is due to potential heat damage at the edge due to high-speed grinding.

So my question is whether the "sharp out of the box" claim is meaningful at all, when judgeing the quality of a knife.
What is your opinion?



Miso

 

[Insipid Moniker]

Dull knives out of the box are annoying, but not a huge deal. In my mind it's a little like buying a car and finding out they only put in a quarter tank of gas. Definitely not a deal breaker, but a definite irritation. I'm going to sharpen it anyway, but I don't like it when I have to right out of the box.

 

[blade dude]

Depends on how you define sharp. Some can use what you call dull for years before sharpening and some may think what you call sharp is full


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[noseoil]

I guess if you can't sharpen a knife properly, it's important. It seems like most knives manufactured with machinery & mass-produced will benefit from a couple of sharpenings, just to remove the outside steel & see what's there.

I typically change the angle on a blade once I get it anyway, so "out of the box" is nice, but not really that important to me.

 

[clearkevin]

I think it's only a thing for people who can't sharpen a knife which is a lot of people. I have the same issue with cut tests on reviews any knife can be sharp for a 10 min video seems like a total wast to me

 

[clearkevin]

Should add that I have had fairly good initial sharpness from spyderco and yeah most factory edges are quite toothy

 

[Dean51]

It's only an issue if you can't sharpen but sooner or latter you're going to have to sharpen any knife.

It's a matter of perspective. What some call scary sharp out of the box, I might consider only usable until I can profile & sharpen it myself.

I don't think any company can sharpen a knife and make all their customers happy.

I sharpen everything before I carry it.

 

[22-rimfire]

The sharp out of the box issue is one of quality control by the manufacturer or maker. It is a sliding scale. I don't expect hair popping sharpness, but I do expect that they would cut a tomato. So, when the sharpness is not there, I start looking at their overall QA/QC of the product and make judgments which impact whether or not I buy another of the same brand.

As mentioned above, new dull knives are annoying. I can fix them, but I shouldn't have to.

 

[palonej]

Out of over 50 new knives I can honestly say 4 were screaming sharp.
Spydie blurple Manix, Brous VR-71, Spydie black Southard and the sharpest of all, Benchmade 761.
The others were kinda sharp.
The worst was a Sukhoi 2.0....it arrived with no edge at all.
I look at it as a bonus.
Joe

 

[JR88FAN]

Depends on how you define sharp. Some can use what you call dull for years before sharpening and some may think what you call sharp is full


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly.

Sharp is hard to measure and very much a matter of personal opinion.

I prefer edges that aren't "sharp" enough to shave hair, but do a much better job for longer in the real world.

Does that mean they aren't sharp?

 

[Converge]

My Delica 4, Kershaw Blur, and recently my Spyderco Worker came very very sharp from factory, hair shaving sharp easily.

The biggest let down for me would have to be my Ka Bar full size tanto. That thing came dull as a friggin rock. Point was good, knife could definitely chop stuff too but the edge was crap.

 

[22-rimfire]

The biggest let down for me would have to be my Ka Bar full size tanto. That thing came dull as a friggin rock. Point was good, knife could definitely chop stuff too but the edge was crap.

That would result in my not buying one or even considering buying one. I guess this relates to be able to handle things at a store and usually pay a bit more. If it was that dull, I would never consider buying it regardless. It is a judgement on Kabar and not something I have to put up with.

 

[Fred Sanford]

Have you ever owned a Spyderco? I have never had one come out of the box that was not shaving sharp. I consider that fantastic if a knife is shaving sharp out of the box.

 

[craytab]

It is nice to have a knife sharp out of the box. That said, it means little to me. I'm going to use the knife. It will eventually need to be sharpened.

 

[HSC ///]

have a look at this -

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1397540-sharp-knife-correlation-(possibly)

I learned alot, just like the differing opinions and thoughts here in this thread.
I deliver every knife scary sharp myself

regards

 

[marcinek]

So my question is whether the "sharp out of the box" claim is meaningful at all, when judgeing the quality of a knife.
What is your opinion?

Depends what you mean by "sharp." Do you mean an acute edge angle or a refined edge angle? I mean, some people like toothy. Some like polished. Some cutting applications require a more obtuse edge, some acute.

 

[22-rimfire]

How about machetes that are dull as a butter knife....? I'll pass even though I am adept at sharpening them. Life is too short to put up with a dull knife and there are way too many options available with a new knife to put up with dull out of the box.

I got one of the traditional forum knives made by GEC a couple years ago and it was poorly sharpened (one side only). It had to be re-profiled to be acceptable which I eventually did after some grumbling. Not a problem, but what if I planned to not use it? I ruined any NIB collector value by re-profiling it. My point is that a customer should not have to put up with this. Not everyone can sharpen a knife.

 

[marcinek]

How about machetes that are dull as a butter knife....?

Those are the worst. A machete edge doesnt really need to be acute OR refined to be usable, and you rarely get usable. That is a pain.

But otherwise, you need to sharpen eventually anyway, and you may be the type who reprofiles or convexes (me), so "out of the box" hardly matters to me.

 

[craytab]

Those are the worst. A machete edge doesnt really need to be acute OR refined to be usable, and you rarely get usable. That is a pain.

But otherwise, you need to sharpen eventually anyway, and you may be the type who reprofiles or convexes (me), so "out of the box" hardly matters to me.

Couple years ago I got a work sharp to handle big tasks like stupid big box dull machetes. Axes too. I don't have many other uses for it. I find myself offering to fix friend's dinged up kitchen knives just to use the thing. I am more of a hand sharpening guy. Rather enjoy it actually. That is why sharp out of the box isn't a worry for me. I'm going to sharpen it eventually. The duller the sooner. Fun!

 

[hlee]

Buying a dull knife is like buying a new car with flat tires. Sure, you can fill them up, and you will need to eventually anyway. But, a car should be ready to roll off of the lot and a knife should be ready to cut out of the box. The benchmades, spydercos, and the one Kershaw that I've bought have all been satisfactorily sharp. I just received a cold steel finnwolf that is amazingly sharp- and has held the edge through wood carving. The production kitchen knives that I've bought have been a disappointment out of the box. I haven't bought a Busse in years, but they were all ground like dull axes.

If it doesn't cut, it's not a knife. Dull edges on new knives show a lack of attention to detail that makes me question the maker. Yes I can sharpen a knife, but I shouldn't need to fill the gas tank on a new car rolling of the lot or put a new knife on a water stone before using it.