When is a knife too sharp?

William Schrade

William Schrade

Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Messages
632
I know different edges are suitable for specific tasks i.e. skinning, boning, chopping etc.
But when is a knife too sharp? I was inserting a knife into a sheath and it pierced the back of the sheath and sliced my finger. I probably shouldn't have sharpened it so much.

So the question is how sharp do you fellow makers sharpen your knives before you send them off to your customers?

Bill Schrade
 
I say never. I wouldn't fault the knife, but the sheath in that instance.
 
I agree with Josh Mason on this - it sounds like the problem was your sheath. The job of a knife is to cut. Sharpness allows the knife to do its job. any knife of mine that won't take the hair off my arm is not sharp, as far as I'm concerned. Not all knives necessarily NEED to be this sharp, but no knife I've ever made has suffered from being this sharp.
Try kydex.

Chris
 
I don't think a knife can be too sharp. But a knife I made for my brother was very sharp and you have to be very careful how you return it to the sheath as it keeps catching the sides and slicing chunks out. It's annoying.
 
Sounds like a design fault with the sheath to me. Can't imagine a knife too sharp...... of course, if you swing it thru the air and you hear small "squeaks", it might be the air molecules getting cut in half.....

Ken H>
 
I'd blame the sheath and deep down inside be proud that I managed to get the knife that sharp :)

If you mention too sharp I'd think to steep an angle and the edge not holding up to it's intended use
 
I vote Yes! Super sharp likely means it won't hold an edge long enough to be a decent slicer. If your hatchet shaves hair, then you have the grind wrong and it's too sharp. I've found kitchen sharp is not nearly as sharp as razor or hunter sharp, but it slices veggies longer. Like the OP said, the right edge for the job.

Somebody go over to RichardJ's house and wake him up to have him tell us all how it can never be sharp enough.

PS Yeah, I blame the sheath. Even a dull knife can cut through an inadequate sheath.
 
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Atlas Knife Company said:
I vote Yes! Super sharp likely means it won't hold an edge long enough to be a decent slicer. If your hatchet shaves hair, then you have the grind wrong and it's too sharp. I've found kitchen sharp is not nearly as sharp as razor or hunter sharp, but it slices veggies longer. Like the OP said, the right edge for the job.

Somebody go over to RichardJ's house and wake him up to have him tell us all how it can never be sharp enough.
Click to expand...

Gransfors Bruks hatchets/axes shave hair and hold up great.
 
There is a difference between sharpness and geometry. A knife can be made sharper without changing the angle of the edge. I can shave hair off my arm with a 10 degree inclusive angle or a 60 degree inclusive angle. There are geometries that are inappropriate for certain knives, but a knife that is sharp will be better at any geometry.
AKC: I'm not exactly sure what you mean. A sharper knife will always outlast a duller knife because the shaper knife will have to go through the duller stage before it stops cutting.

Chris
 
I had one very sharp knife cut through the stitches at the tip of the sheath, but that was because it was an "off the shelf" sheath that was a little too big for the knife and I pushed the knife down hard a number of times to secure it in the sheath..
 
I've known a few skinners that preferred a less than shaving sharp edge,
as too sharp would easily damage a hide.

Sheath..? I'd suspect that some additional resistance was encountered as the knife was inserted...
and started to cut the sheath...that was time to stop.
 
Pencils don't misspell words.

Needle sharp tips don't cut sheaths.

I'VE been careless a few times...

Barge cement is your friend.
 
When making a living off of animal hide.....I can certainly see a case for being "too sharp", as Russ mentioned. But ceteris paribus, it can't be too sharp for me!
 
I'll have to concede. The sheath is tight at the tip. It went in nice while I was forming it but after it was dried and dyed it was much tighter. It was a half inch from being home when it went amuck.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Bill
 
It is possible to sharpen your Mom's kitchen knives too sharp. Trust me on this one.
 
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