Toothy or polished edges on your sebenzas?

uofaengr said:
My understanding on this is just the opposite although I agree that a toothy edge performs EDC tasks favorably.
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If you're push cutting it won't matter much, but if you are slicing a slightly toothy edge will last longer than a polished one. Some of that will depend on what you're cutting.
Polished is best for push cutting , and slightly toothy is best for slicing.

As a butcher(and game processing owner) we always used a tooty edge, and that is one reason why. The other reason being that it cut better. Most in the food industry also use a toothy edge.
There is a profesional sharpener that posted in this thread, and he also thinks a slightly toothy edge will hold up longer.
YMMV.
 
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richstag said:
For what you are doing, polished would excel on the wood working. But thats an age old known. You don't want teeth on the apex or grit marks on the bevel when you do wood working.

Now, what is the benefit of a toothy edge?

Lets say there is not always an obvious benefit if you are not using it for certain applications. First you have to realize guys that know what they are doing can get a toothy edge just as sharp as a fine straight edge. Then you have to realize teeth actually give you more cutting edge per lineal inch of blade length. Then you have to realize that not every is simply cutting cardboard or woodworking, so lets take those two out and move into cutting flesh and rope. Sure, I can get a straight edge to cut anything, but once that straight edge turns into a rounded straight edge where are you left? Now the same for those serrations, sure the serrations have dulled but they still have teeth to rip in.

Picture for reference


Now look at the knife on the right, its crazy crazy sharp, pull that along flesh and oh yeah buddy it will cut right through, but do you think its going to bite in as aggressive as the knife one to the left? Think about the physics of this. Now lets say your hunting away and that pretty polished edge goes blunt, bet you can still saw away with the serrations. Now trust me, I am a strong advocate of keeping a knife sharp, but please remember, there is real foundation for certain facts.

Here is a vid I made showing the awesomeness of a full polished apex and bevel.

[video=youtube;5qGxaIxKmq4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qGxaIxKmq4[/video]

Here is another showing REAL polished edges do not lack in any way when still SHARP

[video=youtube;fX95Kil5t0s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX95Kil5t0s[/video]

Now you are just slicing cardboard, so honestly you shouldn't need much more than a decently sharp knife.

Hope this helps you understand better.
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Very informative and enjoyed reading, I agree that a toothy edge will be more useful in long term uses without being able to re sharpen.

Luckily I'm one of those guys that keep a 8000 grit stone in my car :p
 
Ken44 said:
If you're push cutting it won't matter much, but if you are slicing a slightly toothy edge will last longer than a polished one. Some of that will depend on what you're cutting.
Polished is best for push cutting , and slightly toothy is best for slicing.

As a butcher(and game processing owner) we always used a tooty edge, and that is one reason why. The other reason being that it cut better. Most in the food industry also use a toothy edge.
There is a profesional sharpener that posted in this thread, and he also thinks a slightly toothy edge will hold up longer.
YMMV.
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No doubt when cutting meat that a toothy edge is much better. I had heard Clay Allison say in one of his videos that a polished edge will hold up longer so TIFWIW.
 
Sorry, all my slicers are super polished.

Wish I could invite you guys over for some steaks. You could pinch my sujihiki and pull slice a steak. No toothy edge will ever do that.
 
Boar d laze (expert on a chef forum) says he prefers a 5000 grit polish for red meat. He says toothy is ok, but will not outlast a COMPETENT polished edge.
 
HwangJino said:
Boar d laze (expert on a chef forum) says he prefers a 5000 grit polish for red meat. He says toothy is ok, but will not outlast a COMPETENT polished edge.
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This may be, but I'd suppose he is not using a steel rich in vanadium carbides like S30V or S35Vn.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone here, just hoping to convey the point that a reputable authority's preference may or may not have much bearing on another user, with a different set of conditions. One size (or grit) does not fit all;)

I would also NOT contest that you can get some nice performance from a highly refined edge on vanadium rich steels like those mentioned above. However, about the time that performance degrades, the steel stabilized to a working edge where the carbides really start to demonstrate why the steel was formulated this way. Invariably, polished edge junkies (like myself) will re-hone the edge when this happens (and thereby defeat the design intent of the material).

I say this, because for years I fought it...and now I have come to understand the conditions under which these alloys really earn their keep;)

Don't take my word for it, give it an honest shot and see for yourself...and if polished edges is what you demand, you will likely find many other alloys that perform better with a high polish;)
 
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Toothy edge on D2. I just pushed the fine hair into the edge under the microscope. I did this when so many said they couldn't get D2 to shave due to the carbides. I made sure to do it with teeth on top of it.

This next photo I shot a human hair to show scale for the grit patterns on the following shot...but its even more magnified as shown by the pointer



Now my user 1095 after about a month of stropping. As you can see, all teeth gone at apex.



Heres the maintained polished edge on the Busse in my pics from previous posts.

 
I agree, s35vn isn't the best steel for polishing.

Wish I had a microscope to see what's going on with my edges.
 
Yes, it's very fun for showing AND seeing what's really there. Btw, I bet your buddy the chef keeps his very sharp and I know how buttery a polished edge cuts meet. He's a pro chef and I'm sure his knife is kept up. Also, for what it's worth, it's been said that a polished edge can last longer for certain uses. Say a senerio where the toothy edge gives more ability for media to rip out carbides where as the polished doesn't give let's say the meat and extra "meat" to grab onto :) just a thought. He uses his knife daily for that. I bet if toothy was better for him he would go toothy.
 
Very interesting stuff for a tyro sharpener like myself to read and dwell upon.
Thanks. We obviously have experts on both sides of the coin.
 
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