Stupid questions about pics and edges

[cooks 7]

I've been on this board for quite a while now, I have made a couple knives and would like to make more when the weather turns and my shop is in better shape, but I realize that although I have learned alot from you guys, there is always lots more to learn, and sometimes I focus on new info and skip over basics i would know if i spent more time making and less time reading about making...
anyhow, pardon the lengthy intro, my question is, when you guys post pics of your knives, do you take the pics before final sharpening or i am i missing something. I know a lot of blades i look at are fairly thick, maybe 1/4, flat ground from spine to edge which gives a great look but there must be another angle where the actual sharpened edge begins correct? otherwise to sharpen you'd have to grind down the whole blade again right?
maybe i am just extra dense this morning, but i can't seem to find many pics with a final angle on them, or can you camoflauge an edge with finishing procedures?
any help would be great, i am just tring to figure out what i am looking at, also, what kind of angles do you sharpen to that'll get you that shaving edge?

 

[Mike Hull]

When and if I ever photographed mine, they were completely done, edged and all. Just ready to go out the door, even the sheaths made.

I can't speak for other makers.

 

[RokJok]

I know a lot of blades i look at are fairly thick, maybe 1/4, flat ground from spine to edge which gives a great look but there must be another angle where the actual sharpened edge begins correct? otherwise to sharpen you'd have to grind down the whole blade again right?

There is typically a small grind below the big primary grind you see in the pictures. That small grind forms the actual cutting edge. Note that some blades only have one grind for both the bevel and the edge. That single grind is sometimes called a Scandi grind, since it seems to have originated traditionally on puukko and other blades from Scandinavia.

what kind of angles do you sharpen to that'll get you that shaving edge?

The "shaving edge" isn't so much a product of angle as of final polish of the edge.

FWIW, I prefer my knives to have edges with a little toothiness to them that aids in cutting soft materials. So the edge may not literally shave hair, but will cut like a demon. OTOH my woodworking chisels have very highly polished edges to cleanly shear woodgrain fiber on a push-cut. And because of the high degree of polish on the edge, they will shave hair easily.