sharpening a new knife?

J

jebib

Joined
Apr 21, 2011
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Sometimes I have read that users here have complained that new knives they have purchased did not have an edge to their liking, as in not a keen enough edge. When this occurs do we take the do no damage first philosophy? In other words if generally speaking everything looks fine but I'm just not happy with the edge is the first step to use a fine stone or ceramic as the case may be? And only then perhaps turn to a more aggressive stone? thanks!
 
I sharpen almost all of my brand new knives. Even if it is sharp, i see if i can get it sharper. That said, i do not own any custom made or high end knives yet. If they shave paper & hair, thats good enough for me. I have semi polished a few edges. It seems to me for real use, just using the course or medium sharpener is sufficient & gives the edge more bite when cutting meat, cardboard & such. Thats just my opinion though.
 
Even on a knife that is sharp out of the box, like all my Spydercos I have bought. The first thing I do usually is run the edge on the brown stones of the sharpmaker, at the 30* setting, then finish on the fine stones. This gives me a sticky feeling edge and is one I am happy with for all the tasks I do. YMMV.
 
It depends on how the edge was when I get it. If I like the angle and grind, I'll just touch it up a little. If I don't like the angle, or it's actually dull I'll use a coarser stone to get it where I like it.
 
I was actually pretty impressed with the edge that my brand new CTS-XHP Military came with. That being said, I can get my knives a lot sharper. This weekend I'll probably get around to refining the edge down to one micron, but despite how coarse the edge is (I can feel the ridges in the edge with my fingers) I'm surprised at how well it cuts.

Every knife gets dull if you use it. The solution to that problem is sharpening it.
 
Just about everything I get goes to the belt grinder initially. Really more a question of how long they stay at the grinder. Even my box of Opinels were touched up there first. My philosophy is that if I thin the edge profile, worst case scenario it's easier to make it more obtuse if needs be than to go back to narrow things further.

Of course, in general I buy knives in the mid-to-low price range, so they don't all arrive shaving sharp to begin with. Having the tools to put a decent edge on most things without spending hours at it makes the state of the initial edge less of a limiting factor in my bladely choices. :thumbup:
 
Sooner or later that new knife will have to have MY EDGE on it .Most of the time it is SOONER except for one Buck and one Benchmade that I have recently aquired. The way I look at it "It's not your knife until you put your edge on it."
 
I buy at around the 100-200 dollar range so not high end knives. I find that I can usually improve an edge OOTB. I also sharpen to get a feel for the steel especially if it's a steel I haven't tried before. Some knives that I buy duplicates of, I don't sharpen until I start to carry.
 
I like to put my own edge on all(99%) new knife purchases.It's rare when I don't have to re-profile an edge.
 
Please familiarize yourself with the other forums. Everything doesn't belong in General Knife Discussion.
 
jebib said:
Sometimes I have read that users here have complained that new knives they have purchased did not have an edge to their liking, as in not a keen enough edge. When this occurs do we take the do no damage first philosophy? In other words if generally speaking everything looks fine but I'm just not happy with the edge is the first step to use a fine stone or ceramic as the case may be? And only then perhaps turn to a more aggressive stone? thanks!
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That's entirely up to you. If you do decide to make it sharper, just be sure you know exactly how you want to go about it. I'd highly recommend some quality practice time on other knives that won't bring too much grief, if it doesn't work out as expected. If your new knife is an expensive one with high-end 'supersteel', that needs to be approached with caution. Steels like D2 or S30V won't behave in any way similar to the steel on 'cheaper' knives; they're much more 'resistant' to sharpening easily. Also make sure whatever sharpener you use is up to the challenge. Something like an Arkansas stone on an S30V blade will be an uphill battle, if undertaken with little/no prior sharpening experience. There's a flipside to that also; a diamond sharpener can do a lot of damage to an edge quickly, if used improperly.

And, don't try to do too much all at once. 'Baby steps' is the best way to approach it. I used to 'practice' with the sole intent of preventing damage to the edge on new knives. At the very least, you don't want to leave your edge in worse shape than when you started. Just a few passes at a time (maybe 3 - 5), then immediately test for any change in cutting performance. If anything, start with very light pressure on a fine/very fine grit, and at a conservatively low angle (to prevent blunting or rounding the edge). That'll minimize the chance of really damaging the bevel, if your technique isn't as refined as it needs to be. I wouldn't even touch a coarse stone with a new knife, until you're absolutely sure your technique is sound.

Most importantly, be prepared and willing to 'own' the results of your efforts, good or bad. If it doesn't pan out well, figure out why it didn't, and use that to your advantage the next time around. It's basically impossible to truly ruin a knife edge using unpowered tools. Any undesirable results are fixable, but it just might take some time and practice.
 
i sharpen all of my new knifes becuase very few will pass the HHT which is my current standard.

why not get your knifes as sharp as possible?

hell i have to even sharpen brand new box/carpet cutter blades as for me, they suck stock. I recently started to have to cut a lot of cardboard (double layered very thick stuff) and noticed that a true razor's edge, which will easily pop hair, will glide thru cardboard much faster and easier then a new stock blade will. it really doesnt take much either.
 
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edlex said:
I would pay extra for a knife with your edge on it!
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that edge isnt gonna last forever, better to learn how to sharpen now or spend a crap load of money and time to get them sharpened later.

everyone has their own scale of what is sharp and if something is sharp enough for you, well ignorance is bliss!
 
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eccvets said:
that edge isnt gonna last forever, better to learn how to sharpen now or spend a crap load of money and time to get them sharpened later.

everyone has their own scale of what is sharp and if something is sharp enough for you, well ignorance is bliss!
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The edge that Ankerson puts on is a good measure of what stupid sharp is. Anything that makes my leg hairs jump off with the edge off the skin is damn sharp:thumbup:. Having that edge was a good wakeup call that the edges that I put on could still get sharper.
 
Whitedog said:
Sooner or later that new knife will have to have MY EDGE on it .Most of the time it is SOONER except for one Buck and one Benchmade that I have recently aquired. The way I look at it "It's not your knife until you put your edge on it."
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This is quickly becoming my philosophy as well. If you know what you're doing, you won't hurt your knife. I too used to assume that the factory was the best edge. Once I learned to sharpen properly, one finds that seldom the case. I too am a factory, production knife guy.
 
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