Sharp Out of the Box

J

JDBLADE

Joined
Dec 8, 2003
Messages
1,373
It often amazes me how one knife company can supply you a "sharp" knife out of the box and another company don't seem to "give a damn". I have had expensive knives with a dull edge and "el-cheapos" hair poppin sharp. I recently bought a Spyderco Native II and it was as sharp as I want it out of the box (I haven't even steeled it yet) and around the same time I bought a Queen Cutlery Rabbit Hunter with a "dull" edge (which came up good with a bit of effort. I have had so-called good knives such as Buck and Schrade with "dull" edges (although I will say in the main they are sharp) and inexpensive Chinese knives with sharp edges. It would seem to me that the "edge" would be one area where knife companies would have the best quality control. It's no use having a well put together knife with no edge. Do other forumites have similar experiences?
 
Mass production means less quality control.
 
Planterz said:
Mass production means less quality control.
Click to expand...
To a certain extent this is true but you could say that Spyderco is massed produced and their knives generally seem to be sharp as hell straight out of the box.
 
One company I've had ups and downs with is Cold Steel. I had a aus8 master hunter that came absolutely razor sharp. On the other hand, I had a Recon Tanto that came with what I would loosely call a semi-sharp edge.
 
Kershaw and Buck have always given me fine edges - sharp even grinds.

Two Benchmades I own have come with crappy edges.

Gerber seems to be a crap shoot. Didn't use to be that way with them.

Bark River knives are invisiblely sharp always, however the protos have fit/finish issues (maybe because they're protos ???)

A couple of Spydercos were sharp and even.
 
The fit, finish and functionability of the knife is what I look for.
If the blade is a little dull or unevenly ground but made from a quality steel, I have no problems in reprofiling and sharpening them to my standard. One of my favourite mass produced knife, a BM710HS, needed a fair bit of work on the edge to get the most out of the M2 steel.
I actualy enjoy sharpening my blades, very therapeutic.
 
Planterz said:
Mass production means less quality control.
Click to expand...

I have had customs which were dull, and, spyderco's edges are the best out there. does that figure?
 
What I said was a broad generalization. The more stuff you make, the more chance there will be of a bad product leaving the factory. Unless you make a greater effort to control the quality. I'm sure Buck can't ensure that every 110 that rolls off the assembly line will have a perfect edge.

Besides, arms only have so much hair on them, and companies can only employ so many people. :D
 
I have yet to get a Spyderco that was not razor sharp out of box, just got a Camillus Heat that was razor too :)
 
I can't say I've had any major disappointments in the sharpness department. For what it's worth, the most consistently sharp production knives I've bought were from Spyderco.
 
the sharpest knives i have are my emerson custom spec war CQC8 w/a zero bevel grind blade, and a collectors association persian tactical also zero grind, they are absolutly unbelievably sharp, sharper than a razor imho, if ya havent seen one, check it out if ya have a chance, ya wont believe it!! of course the downer is ya cant really touch them up w/out scratching it up, but dont use these for utility anyway, so.....i dont worry about it.

sharpest factory knife?? well, spyderco does pretty well, so does BM, but have to say the sharpest probably is Microtech, they are uniformly sharp in my experience.

i too have gotten several knives which were not up to snuff in the sharp dept, the most recent being a cammilus maxx dagger, it sharpened up fine, but from the factory was rather dull. also have gotten several customs which were not REALLY sharp, all were ok, but if i made knives i would ship danger SHARP myself.

greg
 
Spydercos are the sharpests out of the box.

I can't say the same about Benchmades. They're fine and very well made knives, but I've never had a at least a satisfatory sharp one out of the box.

My Randalls came very sharp, either :cool:

Regards,

Andre Tiba - Brazil
 
I find that Benchmade knives can come either way--either sharp out of the box, or dull as a spoon. I have never seen a new Spyderco that was not sharp, and Kershaw seems to be the same. I really do not understand knife companies that don't pay attention to this. One of the reasons that I travel a bit to visit the best knife store in the area is so that I can handle the knives before I buy. In addition to seeing how comfortable the knife is, I can also feel how sharp it is. I decided awhile ago not to purchase any new knife that is not sharp from the git-go. And, by the way, this is why I patronize the knife store. They will never be able to match the best internet prices, but they are sure nice to have around. It's worth the increased cost, as long as they are not greedy.
 
Neither of the Schrade mid sized stockmans I bought last year came sharp enough to cut newspaper. I bought a Buck 105 5" slender fixed blade afew years ago that the tip was un evenly ground. A few minutes of quality time took care of that. The other one was the Buck 301 I just bought.It was 'ok' sharp, but not like normal. Some thing odd.. my two CR one piece were dull when I got them.
So 6 overall out of about 150 knives I've bought in the last 8 years isnt bad.
 
I've had several Kershaws (low end ones mostly) and they've all been absurdly sharp. I've never seen a dull Victorinox from the box (clamshell wrap?). My Benchmade 42 was rather dissapointingly dull (but OK by me since it was my first balisong--shaving sharp now), but my 31s was like a scalpel.
 
I think that maybe they (big knife companies and custom makers who don't ship sharp consistently) just don't know how to sharpen a knife for the first time consistently. I would hate to think that they just don't care. :( Sifu1a, I agree with you, I ship all of my knives as sharp as I can get them. I would like to hear a comparison of edges from anyone who has gotten one of my pieces.

Tom
 
How does a mass-producer sharpen their knives anyway? Is it all machine done? I'd hate to think of an assembly line of bandaid-covered workers with Buck 110s and Lansky clamp sharpeners.
 
Interestingly, one of the sharpest factory edges I've ever had out of the box was the chisel grind on the bottle/can opener on an old SOG Toolclip. It would pop hair off your arm. Ended up dulling it intentionally in an effort not to hurt myself whilst opening up an RC cola.
 
Sharpthangs,
Funny you mention that. One of the nastiest cuts I recieved was shile on an isolated beach in Honduras and it was with a can opener on an original leatherman. Of course I had no firstaid supplies so I bleed some. :D I was also a little nervous snorkeling after that blood in the water and all :eek: .

Tom
 
I think the Camillus HEAT is the sharpest knife I ever purchased right out of the box. I have had the opportunity to handle quite a few of them and every one of them has been shaving sharp. I also noticed that every one was sharpened the same. This leads me to beleive whoever is making these knives for Camillus is using a machine to sharpen them.
Good Collecting !
JOCKO
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top