What constitutes a Sharp Knife??

Flatlander1963

Flatlander1963

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Jan 28, 2008
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I've got two Bark Rivers that I think are pretty sharp (still new factory edge). The knives are a Teddy and Smoke Jumper. I think both knives are great patterns but when I bought them I didn't have much experiance with a convex grind other than to read that as a grind it is considered inferior and only use by knifemakers with lessor skills.

Well all I know it those two will shave. It's been about 4 weeks since my last hair cut and the hair on the back of my neck was becoming noticable. I was playing with the Teddy thinking "this sure is a sharp knife." For some reason I decided to check the edge by trying to shave the back of my neck. Did one side with the Teddy and the other side with the Smoke Jumper. The neck is baby butt smooth. Freaking awsome edges on those two knives.:D

Can anybody top that "Check your edge" story?????
 
convex grind is actually considered superior by many members. certainly it slides thru meat & cardboard better than most profiles. with a little info shown on forum this is easy bevel to maintain. excells at stropping in field on your belt. my b.r. lil canadian is scary sharp.
 
Got a convex edge on my SAK spartan. Like a lazer beam cutting through stuff.
 
I convex all my knives, I prefer a strong sharp edge. I sharpen freehand, No expensive, fancy sharpening system to haul around. If I can`t shave hair with it, I don`t carry it. A convex edge is less likely to chip when it hits bone.
 
i really like the ribbon sound myself, when making a quick cut on meat it sounds like curling wrapping paper ribbon with the edge of scissors
 
I pretty much figure that if it will shave the hair from my arm and push cut newspaper, its good to go.
 
I put convex, flat, hollow, and katashinogi grinds on my knives, (not all on one knife). Each grind has it's applications. The convex is by far the toughest in hard use.
 
I either have bad luck or very high requirements for a edge because I have never saw a "razor" sharp BRKT. The sharpest barkie I ever saw was a gunny, but what seems sharp can be misleading.

Shaving sharp factory edge
PIC068.jpg


After sharpening
PIC069.jpg
 
Bark River's come quite sharp, but like the pictures above show, it tends to be a rather unrefined, toothy sharp. The same goes for lots of other makers... the SAR-8 I got from Busse a month or so back had a nearly identical edge. They are basically sharpened up with the same grit as the final finish of the satin blade (which is 600 grit for BRKTs, and I assume something close to the same for Busse). Good geometry though, a little polishing and stropping and you're in business.

And I'd love to see which makers said convex grinds are inferior and used by less-skilled makers.
 
mk77 said:
i really like the ribbon sound myself, when making a quick cut on meat it sounds like curling wrapping paper ribbon with the edge of scissors
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I love that sound too!

"Sharp enough" is as sharp as I'm capable of getting the blade. That includes being able to whittle hair, but that's not the only requirement (it depends on geometry). When I start to notice performance dropping, I take the knife back to the stones.
 
If you hear the little microbes scream when you wave the knife through the air, you have a sharp edge. -- Apologies to Brother Dave Gardner
 
knifenut i do believe your satisfaction level is lots higher than most of us. what was the magnification of those pics? do you think i could get that edge if desired by using stroup & compound by co. that sells so many barkies? or should one purchase the aids from ferhman? not something i would do for most knives but certainly something to quest for when bored.thanks for any help dennis.
 
DennisStrickland said:
knifenut i do believe your satisfaction level is lots higher than most of us. what was the magnification of those pics? do you think i could get that edge if desired by using stroup & compound by co. that sells so many barkies? or should one purchase the aids from ferhman? not something i would do for most knives but certainly something to quest for when bored.thanks for any help dennis.
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400x or so the camera says. I started with 220 and moved up through 2k before stropping, stropping alone won't have the same effect.

I use the JRE EMS block.
 
I see somebody's been cheating on his Bucks again. You're a bad boy. (That's OK, so have I - remind me to send you a pic of my new Ruana.)

"Shaving sharp" has always been good enough for me. Thanks to today's ceramic sharpening sticks, it doesn't take much more than "zip-zip-zip" to get every knife in your house that sharp, and keep it that way. I've never felt the need to obsess over sharpness any more than that.
 
Skrapmetal said:
And I'd love to see which makers said convex grinds are inferior and used by less-skilled makers.
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Skrappy,

I'll see if I can find the quote. It's in one of the How to Books I bought a few years back when I decided I could grind a knife blade. If I find it I'll post the authors name and the Book's title.

"Shaving sharp" has always been good enough for me. Thanks to today's ceramic sharpening sticks, it doesn't take much more than "zip-zip-zip" to get every knife in your house that sharp, and keep it that way. I've never felt the need to obsess over sharpness any more than that.
Click to expand...

I find I can get everything I own (those Barky's excluded) quite sharp on my Sharpmaker. I don't need to split hairs but shaving sharp is nice.
 
Holy nutbutter, knifenut, that's a fine scratch pattern! :eek:

I've found lately that I'm not as picky about my knives' edges as I have been in the past. I've gone from preferring a shaving sharp edge (by which I mean an edge you're literally comfortable using to shave your face every morning...I find shaving arm hair to be a pretty lax standard for sharpness) to being satisfied with a reasonably sharp edge, with a consistent (albeit not fine) scratch pattern. For example, instead of using the finest grit stones I can get my hands on, lately I'm content with using a 1000 grit waterstone and going straight to a strop.

So, the definition of 'sharp' is pretty flexible for me.
 
Dorito Monk said:
Holy nutbutter, knifenut, that's a fine scratch pattern! :eek:

I've found lately that I'm not as picky about my knives' edges as I have been in the past. I've gone from preferring a shaving sharp edge (by which I mean an edge you're literally comfortable using to shave your face every morning...I find shaving arm hair to be a pretty lax standard for sharpness) to being satisfied with a reasonably sharp edge, with a consistent (albeit not fine) scratch pattern. For example, instead of using the finest grit stones I can get my hands on, lately I'm content with using a 1000 grit waterstone and going straight to a strop.

So, the definition of 'sharp' is pretty flexible for me.
Click to expand...


Making them pretty happens maybe once for my blades, usually I just keep them freshened up on the DMT EEF and a strop, that's more than sharp enough for me. There is a extra level of performance you get from going the extra mile but for a everyday use blade its not practical simply because of the time it takes to create such a edge.
 
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