"Toothy" Edge vs. Polished Edge

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pedicabdriver

Joined
Nov 29, 2007
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Which do you prefer and why?

I went through a period where I wanted all of my knives to have super high polished, hair-popping edges, but I've recently found that when it comes to users (most of the stuff I have to cut day in and day out is either cardboard or rope) I actually prefer an edge with a little more bite.
 
I like a toothy edge it works great an is easy to do I go from a norton pike a pike stone to the strop but I also have knives with polished edges that don't get used much
 
They both have their place in my mind. Toothy ones are cutter's and bite in well, but a highly polished laser-like edge will lay open flesh (personal experience) so cleanly that it takes awhile before they even bleed - then they hurt like He**! :)
 
I used to take absolutely every knife up to a mirror-polished edge, but it just doesn't seem worth it at the moment...Lately I've been going from a somewhat medium grit stone (600-1000 grit) straight to a strop with green compound - leaves the edge pretty 'toothy' but quite effective.

Honestly it's just a matter of how lazy I'm feeling when it comes to sharpening - in use, either edge works just fine for me.
 
for me it really depends on what steel I am using, some take a polished edge better then others. Usually, I leave the edge coarse. I generally do dmt xc, spyderco fine then buff/strop. To maintan the edge I usually do a total of 15 swipes per side on a loaded strop. Honestly after hours and days of frustration, oull figure out which you like the most.
 
1000 grit and then strop is a toothy edge?

I'm not being a smarta$$ but I always thought that would be pretty polished. I just got an Edgepro and the 1000 grit is the most polished edge I've ever put on a knife.
 
IIRC Tom Krein takes his edges to somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 then strops... his knives are plenty sharp. I have been taking mine up to 600 then stroping on unloaded leather.... works pretty well. I guess I'm a toothy edge guy. I need a knife to cut well not do whatever polished edges do better than a nice toothy edge. ;)
 
I like toothy for most tasks, but find that it works best to take my blades to about 1200 grit, then stropping on a green-loaded strop. Best of both worlds, as it can still push cut fine through paper and holds an edge well.
 
MVF said:
1000 grit and then strop is a toothy edge?

I'm not being a smarta$$ but I always thought that would be pretty polished. I just got an Edgepro and the 1000 grit is the most polished edge I've ever put on a knife.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this one, if you can see you self in the steel, it's polished!
 
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let's just say that the appropriate kind of applied toothiness largely depends on what's generally being mostly cut or sliced.
some surfaces simply require more teeth to sink into to make cutting easier, hence more micro serrations would be beneficial.
 
For cutting up veggies I like a toothier edge. (I have one knife for just cutting tomatoes that only gets touched to the brown Sharpmaster rod. Nothing else.) For cutting meats I like a polished edge. For my EDC I like a highly polished and stropped edge. For my hunting and bushcraft knives I like a medium toothed edge.

Stitchawl
 
I don't cut a whole lotta stuff, I spend most of my time at school or riding my bike. I prefer polished edges just because they look great.
 
Well, depends what you need it for... here is the main thing...

toothy = a VERY VERY SHARP edge... but it also will get dull sooner..

polished and strobed on leather edge.... will be a LITTLE less sharp but will hold its still very sharp edge for a VERY much longer time then a toothy edge will...

i'd recommend a polished edge for any military personal who will be deployed if u won't be able to get a sharpener overseas ;)..
 
yeah, that grit thing can get very complicated. ISO doesn't match Japanese. I wish eeryone switched to microns.
 
I like a polished edge on my blades just because it cuts through meat/food like a laser. This is my EDC, and it gets polished up on a 6000 grit Japanese waterstone. I wish I could get my blades like Ankerson, but this is about the best I can do.
4442879598_7397c384f0.jpg
 
For me, anything but sharpest is dull. I can't stand any of my knives that can't split hair free hand. Toothy edge is just a nicer term of a dull blade, or a lazy owner :p
 
MVF said:
1000 grit and then strop is a toothy edge?
Click to expand...

It can be. It depends of the sharpening angle as well. More acute is the angle, deeper are the serrations. It depends of the steel too. For instance, at the same grit and angle VG10 is more bity than many other steels.

Hawkings said:
if you can see you self in the steel, it's polished!
Click to expand...

If you can shave your face without burning it, then the edge is polished.

dantzk.
 
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