"Toothy" Edge vs. Polished Edge

[GrinderMcgee]

....toothy

 

[fujita yuji]

Polished preferable for me.
Because it works better on carving wood.
Other reason is it holds the edge better as stated in previous posts.

 

[jacknife]

I like toothy edges. I use a butchers steel on my work knives.

 

[dantzk8]

Polished preferable for me.
Because it works better on carving wood.
Other reason is it holds the edge better as stated in previous posts.

You are right when it comes to pushcutting (carving), not when it comes to slicing. Take a saw and its teeth. If you try to pushcut with it, not only you will get bad results but you will, too, damage the teeth. If you slice (saw), it will work and will last.

dantzk.

 

[DennisStrickland]

my formula is more simple. country needs toothy edge. urban setting i like a polished edge.

 

[Jason B.]

Sharp is sharp but sharper is always sharper, once you experience a very sharp edge (10k grit or higher) and know how to use such a edge you never go back.


You cut with a sharp knife and you saw with a dull one.

 

[thejamppa]

I like polished edges on my slipjoints and beaters, while in between, smaller fixed blades and folders the toothy might be handy. No real preference, work defines the edge of my knives.

 

[JohnDoeSlo]

Polishing an edge is best used on steels that will corrode easily. 1095, CPM-M4, D2, etc. all benefit tremendously from a polished edge as it helps protect them from rust. I like other steels like CPM-S30V and VG-10 with a "toothy" edge as it is easy to restore and cuts very well.

 

[pvicenzi]

A lot depends on the knife. With some, the result is just not worth the effort.

 

[tenman]

On kitchen knives I like them a bit on the toothy side. Typically I'll use the medium and fine stones on the SM, then hit the blade a few passes on the medium just to rough it a tad. On larger folders like the 710, I'll go through the medium and fine stones for a polished edge, then use the medium rods to put just a tad bit of tooth in the recurve area.

 

[Gator97]

I've experimented for a while on my kitchen and field knives.
At a time, I've had 600 grit (ISO grit) edge on most of the kitchen knives I've used. It seemed more aggressive, but later on, once I've learned proper sharpening and went to high level polished edges, I've figured it was better.
Yes, 0.25mic finished edge edge won't last at initial levels very long, however, overall cutting performance is much higher, and it stays higher compared to 600 grit edge.
The theory with toothy edges is that those teeth break away during the use, and new ones are created, keeping the edge "toothy" all the time, but at least what I was observing wasn't really going according to that plan.

 

[Kaizen1]

I've used both and lately have pretty much been polishing them. They work either way. If they're sharp, they're sharp and they'll cut.

 

[zyhano]

IIRC Tom Krein takes his edges to somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 then strops... his knives are plenty sharp.

I was fortunate enough to follow a workshop by european bladesmith Andrew Jordan (www.jordanknives.com).
He only uses 400 and 600 grit waterstone and then strops (green and pink compound). No need to say that he really knows his steels. and his knives are plenty sharp too (as a guy that was taken to the hospital that day with a severed tendon can testify to)

 

[theamazingdrew]

has to be a super polished convex for me, nothing else will do the job after trying it.

 

[MVF]

I always wonder why it needs to be either/or- it's easy enough to have some polished and some toothy areas on the same blade, no?

 

[Dorito Monk]

I always wonder why it needs to be either/or- it's easy enough to have some polished and some toothy areas on the same blade, no?

You mean like, get a nice scratch pattern going over the whole blade on a 1000 grit stone, then only strop half of it?

 

[babakanoosh45]

As long as they are sharp I don't have a definite preference. I am always working on the edge of one knife or another. Some edge configs work better for me polished and some are better less honed. The task at hand has a lot to do with it as well. As said before I like polished for kitchen work, meat and veggies. I read somewhere that a polished edge helps prevent crap sticking in the blade. Outdoors, a good toothy edge works for me. I am one of those guys who's favorite knife is a full serrated Spyderco Military. It's like a really cool "Ginsu".
I also feel there is a in between edge. A semi polished lightly toothed utility edge which is what I find I use most on the job. Enough tooth to grab onto nylon banding and rip through it but honed enough that the blade slices through heavy corrugated. I am no metal expert, but I am sure that each different steel has properties that are better suited to a specific grind and or hone style for max performance. Just my two cents. Great topic though!:thumbup: I enjoyed this thread very much!

Three different knives and steels with different edges.

ZT 0350 S30V with utilty edge. Lightly polished.

EKI 7A CM 154 with a work in progress highly polished edge.

Spyderco Persistence 8Cr13MoV Factory edge and a hard week of use.

All are hair shaving sharp with different blade geometry and materials and uses. It's what works for each knife for me...

 

[cziv]

Cool Pics babakanoosh45!

 

[FTO_dude]

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...

eh?
that seems to be the opposite of my experience.
I cant get a toothy edge to pop hair anywhere near like i can get a mirror edge to.
I dont have much to say about edge retention.

 

[Ankerson]

Depends on what you are cutting really.

If you cut a ton of cardboard and rope then something like a 600 grit edge will be fine.

If you do a lot of push cutting then a polished edge is better.