Photos Terrible Factory Edges

ATJ999 said:
For just looks, Mirror edge is fine. For actual cutting(all types of random materials/tasks), I prefer 400-1500 a heck of a lot more than high grit. Too bad I bought all the expensive, high grit stones before figuring this out!! :/ My favorite stone right now is a 9 dollar double sided diamond stone and a double sided ceramic, also on the cheaper side.
As for Bradford knives, both of mine had sharp edges. they looked better than the one you have, but they were sharp lower grit edges.
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Hmm I guess I have to put a toothy Edge on one of my knives and see if I can tell a difference? My philosophy is the "finer" (less scarchy) the edge the better cutting/slicing results I will get? But who knows as I have no experience with a "toothy" edge per say. I finish every knife at 1000 grit.
 
Armadew said:
Polished edge looks great, but I see nothing wrong with the first picture.
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I suppose it just feels unfinished to me? It's like someone not quite closing the cap to a liter of soda..like why wouldn't you just give it another twist or two to make sure it's on their good?
I want to pull out my knives and people raise a brow because of the bevel they see..and perhaps ask where I get it done and I can proudly say I do them myself
 
Aquaholicc said:
Hey some of us think driving a 1998 Honda Civic is fine lol.
Just different views I guess
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Polished edges take more time. Most people don't care because if they did companies would adopt the practice. Was the knife sharp? That's all that matters.
 
So is the gripe that the edge is not polished?

I actually prefer the cutting characteristics of a slightly toothy edge. A mirror-polished edge is not objectively better or less sharp than a toothy one. They just cut slightly differently for different types of cutting.
 
That Bradford edge looks just like the one on my G3, and that little bad boy was stupid sharp.
Beat the snot out of it at work and have only stropped it at the end of the work day.
Had no issues with it at all.
 
madcap_magician said:
So is the gripe that the edge is not polished?

I actually prefer the cutting characteristics of a slightly toothy edge. A mirror-polished edge is not objectively better or less sharp than a toothy one. They just cut slightly differently for different types of cutting.
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You could say that yes..to me it's just feels unfinished as stated above..
I understand how a bevel of my quality/liking acts differently than something others may like. But hey that's just the game I suppose. I just feel as if people don't have the patient to get a polish like me ?
But I will say that the type of cutting I do, don't constitute for a "toothy" Edge that everyone seems to love. For me a polished bevel just seems more professional? I watch countless knife reviews on YouTube all the damn time and the guys that also offer a sharpening service finish their customers bevels to a polish? So it just seems dumb to stop prematurely when sharpening? Again this is just my personal opinion.
 
palonej said:
That Bradford edge looks just like the one on my G3, and that little bad boy was stupid sharp.
Beat the snot out of it at work and have only stropped it at the end of the work day.
Had no issues with it at all.
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I'm currently at work now (taking my 15) and so far I've cut about 300 feet of romex sheathing, cardboard, and 2 bungees and still is shaving my arm hair. I don't doubt the factory edge wouldn't perform the same but I just feel like maintaining an edge that I put on the steel will be more enjoyable not to mention easier.
 
Aquaholicc said:
You could say that yes..to me it's just feels unfinished as stated above..
I understand how a bevel of my quality/liking acts differently than something others may like. But hey that's just the game I suppose. I just feel as if people don't have the patient to get a polish like me ?
But I will say that the type of cutting I do, don't constitute for a "toothy" Edge that everyone seems to love. For me a polished bevel just seems more professional? I watch countless knife reviews on YouTube all the damn time and the guys that also offer a sharpening service finish their customers bevels to a polish? So it just seems dumb to stop prematurely when sharpening? Again this is just my personal opinion.
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I used to go for a polished edge because "Woo, shiny."
It sure didn't cut better, but it sure was shiny. ;)

Then I realized that I didn't really care if it was shiny if it would cut.
And I got bored with it too...I am not one of those who gets into the "Zen Zone" from sharpening; I sharpen my knives when they need to be sharper, not for spiritual enrichment.

My Medford 187 Deployment DPT came with a beautifully polished edge....which was not all that sharp.
But it sure was shiny...
Now it is sharper, but less shiny, and I am okay with that. :thumbsup:
 
stabman said:
I used to go for a polished edge because "Woo, shiny."
It sure didn't cut better, but it sure was shiny. ;)

Then I realized that I didn't really care if it was shiny if it would cut.
And I got bored with it too...I am not one of those who gets into the "Zen Zone" from sharpening; I sharpen my knives when they need to be sharper, not for spiritual enrichment.

My Medford 187 Deployment DPT came with a beautifully polished edge....which was not all that sharp.
But it sure was shiny...
Now it is sharper, but less shiny, and I am okay with that. :thumbsup:
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I agree my friend not everyone is cut out to spend 90-120 mins sharpening one single knife like me, but alast I get some sort of enjoyment out of it. When I first got into knives I thought to myself "eh I'll just collect them.." boy was I wrong..it quickly escalated to being educated on every aspect of what made a "high quality production knife" well.."high quality". And to me that includes being able to sharpen at a very high level? To me ..quality is a biproduct of time.

As far as you having a polished edge that is not sharp, sounds like someone rolled your edge and didn't bother to correct the mistake? Sorry to hear this my friend.
 
I took the calipers to that Condor Kephart blade. The spine was like .093. The bevel right behind the edge was......wait for it......052!!!!! I think that qualifies as a skinny pry bar!!!!!!! That would be like taking a 1/4 inch blade down to .150 and then sharpening.:confused:
 
sharp_edge said:
It seems you OP equal high quality to polished edge, which is sth not everyone agrees to.
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I'm not trying to preach my beliefs, just speaking my mindi suppose. I've got no problem in saying that some people prefer toothy over a finer grit for their profession.
 
jdm61 said:
I took the calipers to that Condor Kephart blade. The spine was like .093. The bevel right behind the edge was......wait for it......052!!!!! I think that qualifies as a skinny pry bar!!!!!!! That would be like taking a 1/4 inch blade down to .150 and then sharpening.:confused:
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Hahaha, I imagine you just gave it a microbevel and called it a day?! o_O
 
Aquaholicc said:
My production knives never come evenly ground lol...because they are in fact done by hand..I'm not sure what systems you guys use but which ever company whether it be Spyderco, Benchmade,ZT, ect...they all come to me at about 20 near the nose and as I get down through the belly it may drop to 18 then near the tang it's 15..it's just inconsistent workmanship in my eyes ..and it's a pain that I pay 200+ bucks for all my knives and I have to spend hours fixing their mistakes ? But the other half of me sees this type of thing as a challenge/learning experience to correct these flaws as I love to sharpen steel..

But hey some are fine with factory edges I just don't think your steel is at it's full potential if your don't have a consistent secondary bevel (whatever it may be) on your knife...not to mention maintenance on a knife that has a very consistent secondary bevel (that is known) is 100x easier.
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Good news with Spydercos from the US plant now, as I'm fairly certain they sharpen all their knives with a machine that sharpens them to the exact same angel every time. My 52100 Millie from last year and my M4 Millie from this year both have the exact same angle and little micro-bevel across the whole knife. Both are 180+ semi-production knives. My GB1 also came with a great, unbelievably even edge and micro-bevel as well.

None polished of course, no mirror business going on...but very sharp out of the box. I'm hoping BM and ZT stop doing what you describe and get on board with Spyderco. It feels like a lot of people probably miss out on just how nice a knife can be when it has an edge better suited to it.
 
JenWrath said:
Good news with Spydercos from the US plant now, as I'm fairly certain they sharpen all their knives with a machine that sharpens them to the exact same angel every time. My 52100 Millie from last year and my M4 Millie from this year both have the exact same angle and little micro-bevel across the whole knife. Both are 180+ semi-production knives. My GB1 also came with a great, unbelievably even edge and micro-bevel as well.

None polished of course, no mirror business going on...but very sharp out of the box. I'm hoping BM and ZT stop doing what you describe and get on board with Spyderco. It feels like a lot of people probably miss out on just how nice a knife can be when it has an edge better suited to it.
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This must be new because I bought the BBS M390 PM2 about 3 weeks ago and it was all out of whack lol. I feel as if just have bad luck with these things though. I'm glad your experience overall seems like a pleasant one !
 
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