What is your Sharp Test?

I like the paper cutting, hairvpopping, and hair splitting tests.

But hair splitting is a bit hard to do. Therefore I also like cigarette paper to test the sharpest ones.

If my knife barely cuts paper clean, it is plenty sharp for me. I am more interrested in edge retention than shorttime high sharpness.
 
I only buy knives to use them, so shaving arm-hair is definitely enough for me when I sharpen them.
I try to keep my knives at that level, too. So if I used a knive over the day, it get a resharpening in the evening, if necessary
 
1. Can slice through printer paper when your knife pulls through it
2. Can slice through paper at any given point on the blade. (I keep the blade straight just to test specific parts of the edge)
3. Can slice through phone book paper
4. Can whittle hair ~ Not a free hanging hair though

I haven't achieved a free hanging hair whittling sharp, but I find no need to do so. A edge will only keep that sharpness for so long and to me it really serves no purpose.
 
Tree-toppling sharp is when you can shave hair off your arm, leg, etc without actually touching your skin. So the blade is just gliding over your body, but you're cutting off hairs without contact on the base.
 
endurawave said:
"which was capable of tree topping"


what does this mean??
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Tree topping is that point of immediately severing hair on contact I was talking about. Hold a hair in one hand and the knife in the other. Push the hair against the edge, if it splits the hair or shaves curls along the hair that it hair whittling. If the hair cuts in half immediately on contact that it tree topping. As mentioned above, a tree topping edge can also be waved a centimeter above the arm and cut any hair it touches above the skin with zero resistance.

Here's what I'm talking about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O-l_baHiXI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
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I don't really test my edges any more. I just feel along the whole edge.

I used to fillet paper with them, though. If I could fillet the letters off of a news page without cutting right through the paper, I figured that was a bit more reliable test than "will this cut paper".
 
mkjellgren said:
Yup, completely serious, lots of practice and a steady hand (I find a few beers help... Lol). Either way though, those kind of edges are somewhat pointless. Jdavis882 did a video testing how long an edge will keep its hair whittling sharpness. He took a gayle bradley which was capable of tree topping and cut paper with it until it wouldn't whittle hair. It took about 6 cuts before it would no longer whittle. So really, sure, you can spend lots of time getting ridiculous show edges, but they're gone almost immediately if you put them to any real use. As a general rule, I don't ever let a knife get below hair shaving, but they all easily whittle hair when they come off the stones. I've had good luck with m4 though, that stuff seems to get to that ridiculous severing hair on contact point relatively quickly and easily.
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So what does it mean that I got a blade to whittle beard hair after making over 100 cuts in aluminum cans, other that beard hair is easier to cut than head hair?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lVy-iZeEoM&feature=plcp
 
tbh i'm not much of a sharp nazi. usually as long as the entire edge can slice printer paper easily, that is good enough for me. this usually means it will shave arm hair, but not quite *pop* arm hair off. If I will be whittling I might try and refine the edge a bit more. Or if I'm just bored.
 
I have reeds that grow out behind my barn. (it's like small bamboo that grows like 15 feet high. ).
They're pretty tough. If I can cut them, it's good enough.
And I do the fingernail test too.
 
arm hair test and paper cut. I really only need my knife to be paper cut sharp for performance that I am satisfied with. and i cut a crud load of paper. when I'm bored or watching youtube vids or whatever I'll just slice away, its very relaxing to me
 
I was setting talking to a nurse practitioner once I noticed she was looking at something . She took my right arm and ask why don't you have hair on this arm? (I'm left handed and hairy) I had Been sharpening knives :D
Roy
 
Hi I use blue or silver Rizla papers I try to clean cut off all 4 corners this leaves you with a sort of diamond shape.... I then call it a blue or silver diamond edge. Rizla papers are so thin that even micro serrations shows up as it loads the paper and snags. Not really sure how compound edges will do on cigarette papers I only own convexed or Scandi knives the elbows on a compound edge may just load out the paper...... regards Dave.
 
i only consider a knife sharp if it can whittle hair...but thats just me, maybe my standards are too high lol. I can easily get knives to that sharpness with the edge pro
 
Dynamo wave convex 1 said:
Hi I use blue or silver Rizla papers I try to clean cut off all 4 corners this leaves you with a sort of diamond shape.... I then call it a blue or silver diamond edge. Rizla papers are so thin that even micro serrations shows up as it loads the paper and snags. Not really sure how compound edges will do on cigarette papers I only own convexed or Scandi knives the elbows on a compound edge may just load out the paper...... regards Dave.
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Do you leave some for your doobies? ;)
 
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