Things we techs do when we're bored....

[MacTech]

I found out an amazing fact, a well sharpened pocketknife is actually *sharper* than a utility knife....

i took my Spyderco Cricket, Kershaw Scallion, Spyderco Harpy, and SAK Spartan Lite, and a brand new, out of the package utility knife, and a standard 8.5x11 sheet of 20# bond copier paper in the portrait orientation

starting at the top, using only the weight of the knife itself, i cut downward thru the paper, pulling the blade towards myself, the cut stopped when the point exited the paper....

brand new utility knife; 1" cut, very ragged edges
Kershaw Scallion plain edge assisted opener; 2.5" cut, clean edges
Spyderco Cricket plain edge; 3" cut clean edges
Spyderco Harpy serrated edge; 5" slightly ragged edges, but cleaner than the utility knife
Victorinox Spartan Lite Swiss Army Knife;
small blade; 2.3" cut, *exeptionally clean* cut, *no* tearing
large blade; 2.7" cut, *exceptionally clean* cut

i also did two other tests, the "fingernail drag" test;
all my knives had a draggy feel on my thumbnail, the utility knife did not, the utility had no resistance

the final test was the "shaving arm hair" test;

utility knife; did not shave at all, pushed hairs under
Spyderco Harpy; what, are you *INSANE?!?!*, use a *serrated* knife for shaving, NO frakkin' way!
Spyderco Cricket; the "Reverse S" blade makes it dangerous to use for the shaving arm hair test, this one was not tested
Kershaw Scallion; this one shaved quite well, not hair popping, but it did cut hairs
Vic Spartan Lite; (both blades performed the same), this one *did* pop hairs, while shaving my arm, the arm hairs jumped about 2" into the air as they were severed by the blade...

all my knives have been sharpened on my Spyderco Sharpmaker....

hmm, that gives me a *crazy* idea..., i'll sharpen the utility knife on the Sharpmaker tonight to see if that improves it's cutting ability.....

 

[inspira]

I wouldn't be too surprised, consider the blade thickness of a sak c.f. for spyderco.

-- Vince.

 

[Cougar Allen]

No kidding! I used to think Exacto knives were sharp until I learned how to sharpen a knife properly. Now I not only resharpen them when they get dull, I have to sharpen them before I can use them.

 

[MacTech]

Sharpening the utility knife on the Sharpmaker (5 passes on the corners and 5 on the flats) *DID* make a difference in sharpness, still not as sharp as a well sharpened pocketknife, but close

the knife contenders;

here's photographic proof;

note the difference between the stock utility knife, and the Sharpmaker sharpened one...

 

[frugalweaver]

People always think I'm nuts for sharpening a brand new Exacto knife blade. I'm glad I have company. Great experiment and good pics to go with it. Thanks!

 

[Psychopomp]

Sharpening the utility knife on the Sharpmaker (5 passes on the corners and 5 on the flats) *DID* make a difference in sharpness, still not as sharp as a well sharpened pocketknife

I wouldn't be surprised if the Sharpmaker didn't actually make the utility knife less sharp to be honest. Assuming you held the knife vertically as you would a normal knife, the 30 or 40 degree angle would be far more obtuse than the utility knife's blade was ground originally.

Utility knives don't really do anything better than a good pocket knife. As long as you can control the tip, you aren't going to do any damage to the product inside.

The only use I've ever found for a utility knife is cutting violin bridges because they do have a very thin blade that's easily controlled. I've probably got close to $1000 of violin making knives, and the best knife for bridges is a $6 Stanly box cutter.

Violin bridges and hijacking airplanes filled with people are just about the only uses I've ever found for a box cutter.

 

[TFin04]

Eh....

I get what you're saying, but there are way too many variables in your test to make that the only evidence of how sharp knives are. Those blades all have different thickness, length, and profile. Ones with a longer blade *should* have a longer cut stroke on the paper.

 

[JohnR7]

a brand new, out of the package utility knife, .....

A brand new out of the package what? China made knife? You should have tried an american made utility blade. I have cut a lot of drywall with a lot of utility blades. They may not hold their edge, but they will take a nice edge.

My brother in law in the Philippines knows how to sharpen those things, because he can not afford to replace them.