Tree topping, is this real? Does anybody have video of this?

J

jimmybjj

Joined
Nov 30, 2010
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I commonly see references to tree topping and understand what it refers to but I have a hard time believing this is actually possible. I can't find any videos of people attempting to do this and people loving showing off ( and i enjoy watching) their abilities. Does anybody have video of this happening or is this more of an urban ledgend?

Thanks
 
I don't have a video of it, but it's really not all that mythical. It's pretty much hair splitting, same idea. The knife edge grabs and bites without it pressing against your skin.

dm-1.jpg


knife3-1.jpg


Those will all tree top with no problems. I'm sure someone will come in with a video of it happening, but i really dont want to shave myself on video, just feels... creepy.
 
all my respect to the one who can make a video of the arm's hair close enough to see each hair being grabbed and cut by the blade while keeping everything in focus.

last time i've tried the only proof that could be made from the video was that the blade didn't touch my skin and there was a couple of cut hair on the blade at the end of the vid. i've tried hard ...

maybe someone with decent video equipment.
 
It's really not that hard to do. Especially if you tilt the blade about 20 degrees. Doing this I can pick a hair I want to cut and cut it in half above the skin. Hair whittling is much harder to accomplish IMO. I might try getting it on video later but all I have is a camera which is not the best and I don't have any editing software.
 
Oh it's real, it's VERY real. Just have Ankerson sharpen one of your knives:thumbup:.

What I'm most confused about is the final level of finish on such an edge versus the edge bevel. I've been stropping away like crazy on my XM-18 and never achieved more than hair splitting(guessing here, basically a thick hair would only be cut in half and then "bends" at an angle, never being fully cut) after a 1-0.5 micron strop, though the edge is quite obtuse at about 20-25 degrees per side.

So I'm not 100% sure if I need to take the angle down before I can get that tree-topping sharpness. I'll try a lower angle on another knife and see if that helps any.
 
every now and then i'll get my kitchen knives to pop hairs without touching the skin. it's real enough. the knives are ~12 degrees each side and finished with 8000 ceramic stone. i wonder if my dslr would be able to capture it with a macro focus...

here's a video of a japanese dude who does it: http://www.youtube.com/user/Matsuzo241 he finishes with a 30K slurry
 
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I can not seem to get a video of tree topping due to focus issues, but essentially it is a lot like this, only the knife is held at a slightly wider angle so it cuts through the hair instead of splitting it. And yes, "tree topping" is very real...I think it may be slightly easier than free hair whittling...but the edges required to do both are pretty close to one another in terms of polish.

[youtube]yH12Cld6_sA[/youtube]
 
Unit,

What steel is on that Military? It's really loud. Do you notice different sounds from different steels on ceramic?
 
Anyone should be able to get their knives to tree-top hair if you sharpen correctly. It's not a difficult task. It's the result of proper sharpening. It's a lot easier to achieve with a thin blade, but it can be done with a larger fixed blade knife too. It's most certainly NOT an urban legend. It's the way a lot of us test our edge to see if we've finished our job!

Stitchawl
 
KarlMaldensNose said:
Unit,

What steel is on that Military? It's really loud. Do you notice different sounds from different steels on ceramic?
Click to expand...

It is s30v.

I use a lot of different sharpening equipment...cannot say I ever noticed a lot of difference in sounds. That might seem loud due to the way I am holding the rod?
 
Just finish the edge on my Cold Steel American Lawman at about 15-20 degrees per side on a 1 micron diamond strop.

It pops the hair off my leg without touching the skin, though it takes a couple of swipes. With one of my thicker hairs, it can cut clean through the hair if I do it quick:thumbup:.

Seems like the final edge angle ultimately determines how sharp you can get the knife.
 
Here's a pic of my GB after a good sharpening and stropping on leather with 1 mic diamond paste.

IMG_17611.jpg
 
Noctis3880 said:
Oh it's real, it's VERY real. Just have Ankerson sharpen one of your knives:thumbup:.

What I'm most confused about is the final level of finish on such an edge versus the edge bevel. I've been stropping away like crazy on my XM-18 and never achieved more than hair splitting(guessing here, basically a thick hair would only be cut in half and then "bends" at an angle, never being fully cut) after a 1-0.5 micron strop, though the edge is quite obtuse at about 20-25 degrees per side.

So I'm not 100% sure if I need to take the angle down before I can get that tree-topping sharpness. I'll try a lower angle on another knife and see if that helps any.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how much finish has to do with it. I've whittled coarse (beard) hair with a coarse water stone (220 grit Lee Valley Green). A thinner edge definately helps for me. I used about 15 degrees per side. The edge must be burr free, and I've only done it regularly with low carbide, medium carbon stainless steel, specifically Buck's old 425 Modified. Oddly enough, this edge will not tree top hair easily, if at all. Direction of the hair has an effect as well. Running a fresh edge off my Sharpmaker from elbow to wrist will tree top hair, but going from wrist to elbow makes it easier.
 
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