What’s wrong with my edge?

KnifeCarsen10

KnifeCarsen10

Joined
Sep 12, 2018
Messages
167
Hello guys hope all is well. Recently I have been polishing my edges more and more. I finish off a eef dmt plate and then strop with wicked edge 5, 3.5, 1, and 0.5 micron. After that I use a spray of 0.25 micron. After I’m done I can whittle free hanging hairs but not with 100% consistency. Also, I can slice paper with ease. However, when I go to do the Murray carter 3 finger test, my edge has no bite at all. What am I doing wrong? Is there any tips you guys have for getting a beautiful mirror edge with no scratches visible to the unassisted eye, but still bites the fingers when doing the test? Thanks!
 
Thanks! I’ve never moved a thread before... how would I go about doing that? Also, how hard should I be pressing down on the strop? Thanks.
 
Okay...so I had to google this "Three Finger Test"...this seems...weird and dangerous to me. Like is he seriously encouraging people to slide their fingers along a new blade in store to see if it slices your fingers open? Do it until you know how to avoid being cut and feeling out sharpness? Am I missing something? "Your brain is gonna tell you to stop" well yeah, it's telling me not to attempt it with a new blade or one that I sharpened from the get go. What's the point "Oh you cut your fingers, now you know it's sharp!" yeah, duh. So do I slice my fingers everytime I cut a blade? Do I feel out flat spots by seeing how my fingers get ripped instead of sliced neatly.
Somebody elaborate.
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KnifeCarsen10 said:
Thanks! I’ve never moved a thread before... how would I go about doing that? Also, how hard should I be pressing down on the strop? Thanks.
Click to expand...
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Hit the three lines and select report. And ask a moderator to politely move the thread into the correct subforum.
 
b00n said:
Okay...so I had to google this "Three Finger Test"...this seems...weird and dangerous to me. L....
Somebody elaborate.
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Basically if the edge has 'teeth' those teeth will bite into your skin, you are doing this lightly, your skin will hang up on those teeth and you can visibly see that the skin area of your finger tip pads are being kept in place by those teeth...IF you forced your fingers to slide across those teeth then yes, you will get cut, but as Murray is trying to say, your brain will tell you not to do that, sounds weird I know but after I tried it, it does work. Is it a test you really need to do? Myself I don't think so as lately I judge my edge sharpness on paracord cutting, push cutting down on a piece of wood. But I have done the three finger test and if your edge is not apexed enough or is too polished an edge, your fingers will slide like they are on polished metal...which they are ;) but a toothy edge will stop that sliding and you can see the pads of your fingers being held in place as your finger itself moves slightly. Hope that helps explain it a little...
G2
 
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Gary W. Graley said:
Basically if the edge has 'teeth' those teeth will bite into your skin, you are doing this lightly, your skin will hang up on those teeth and you can visibly see that the skin area of your finger tip pads are being kept in place by those teeth...IF you forced your fingers to slide across those teeth then yes, you will get cut, but as Murray is trying to say, your brain will tell you not to do that, sounds weird I know but after I tried it, it does work. Is it a test you really need to do? Myself I don't think so as lately I judge my edge sharpness on paracord cutting, push cutting down on a piece of wood. But I have done the three finger test and if your edge is not apexed enough or is too polished an edge, your fingers will slide like they are on polished metal...which they are ;) but a toothy edge will stop that sliding and you can see the pads of your fingers being held in place as your finger itself moves slightly. Hope that helps explain it a little...
G2
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That explains the idea behind it at least. It still seems like bad advice to me. I've cut myself more than once and I work with a lot of different knives in an industrial setting, so running my fingers even lightly along a (potentially very) sharp edge isn't something I'd do, especially when a paper cut test seems perfectly adequate to me.
 
Gary W. Graley said:
Basically if the edge has 'teeth' those teeth will bite into your skin, you are doing this lightly, your skin will hang up on those teeth and you can visibly see that the skin area of your finger tip pads are being kept in place by those teeth...IF you forced your fingers to slide across those teeth then yes, you will get cut, but as Murray is trying to say, your brain will tell you not to do that, sounds weird I know but after I tried it, it does work. Is it a test you really need to do? Myself I don't think so as lately I judge my edge sharpness on paracord cutting, push cutting down on a piece of wood. But I have done the three finger test and if your edge is not apexed enough or is too polished an edge, your fingers will slide like they are on polished metal...which they are ;) but a toothy edge will stop that sliding and you can see the pads of your fingers being held in place as your finger itself moves slightly. Hope that helps explain it a little...
G2
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well explained ... I do it with my thumb and learned at a very young age to "feel" if the blade was toothy sharp and ready to use ...
 
I think the part that you are worrying about is the “running my fingers”

You are really just slightly moving them left and right without going too far

Your fingers should really stay almost in one spot to feel that the toothy edge is grabbing your skin

G2
 
KnifeCarsen10 said:
Hello guys hope all is well. Recently I have been polishing my edges more and more. I finish off a eef dmt plate and then strop with wicked edge 5, 3.5, 1, and 0.5 micron. After that I use a spray of 0.25 micron. After I’m done I can whittle free hanging hairs but not with 100% consistency. Also, I can slice paper with ease. However, when I go to do the Murray carter 3 finger test, my edge has no bite at all. What am I doing wrong? Is there any tips you guys have for getting a beautiful mirror edge with no scratches visible to the unassisted eye, but still bites the fingers when doing the test? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I’m honestly shocked you could get such an amazing edge without already knowing the answer.
 
One test that I heard was to comb the back of your head and if the edge catches on the hair, it really is sharp enough for most cutting chores
G2
 
I think ya’ll are friggin nuts with this combing and finger slicing methods. Jeez! Granted I learn stuff here every single day, but sometimes ya seem like that “hold my beer, watch this!” Kinda friend I used to have .......
 
sickpuppy1 said:
I think ya’ll are friggin nuts with this combing and finger slicing methods. Jeez! Granted I learn stuff here every single day, but sometimes ya seem like that “hold my beer, watch this!” Kinda friend I used to have .......
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Ya know things are going sideways when someone named "sickpuppy" calls out your behavior. :p

Actually, SP, these are time honored methods. Get with the program or prepare yourself for hazing. ;)
 
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