Who can give me jaw drop sharp?

wuyeah

wuyeah

Joined
Sep 29, 2005
Messages
1,665
Hi, i read a lot of threads recently. Occure to me the impression from other people is Spyderco knives are sharp. even describe as "scary sharp" And people bring up spyderco's sharpening tools for few times.

This bring up my curiosity.

BM 630 is famous for build and money, CR sebenza is what people say "sharpest ever purchase. sharper than 630" Combat ellite is "Sebenza quality" words. words. words....that really mess my heads.

so who is Sharpest if you must say? Is Spyderco outstandingly sharper then all? or They are just as sharp as BM 630? i understand exaggeration of loving one knife. Or Sebenza is the sharpest period, end of searching.

To be honest and No offense to all fans of Spyderco knives. I don't like how Spydies' look. Must say they really spidy looking to a creepy degree. That really not my taste. But for my curiosity, I might really buy a A.T.R. to end it. since my draw still has room.

Let me know how you think. Thanks.
 
I'll make a couple of comments.

First, Spydies look weird or creepy to some people because they used to traditional looking knives and/or picking knives based on looks. Once you get used to the actual functionality of a knife, and apply that to each knife you are considering purchasing you'll see spyderco in a new light.

Trying to find "the sharpest" knife is pointless, there's no way to really know statistically what actually IS the sharpest. Though perhaps Cliff can tell us what the smallist included edge angle. Further once you use it and especially once it's sharpened, it's no longer the sharpest.

No offense meant, but I believe you may be asking the wrong questions.

Better perhaps to astate what your inteded use is, how much you want to pay, and you expectations on edge holding, pcoket clips, sharpenability, etc. Then we can help you.
 
There obviously will be much knife-to-knife variability. Each knife is sharpened individually, so one Sebenza might be really sharp and the next one just sharp.

There are at least two ways to rethink the question: (1) Which knife has the inherent ability to be the sharpest, and (2) Which model, on average, tends to be the sharpest? Of course, you can make a ridiculously sharp edge that will not last more than a minute, so the question really is flawed.

That said, the Spydie Calypso Jr. in ZDP--the one I held--was the sharpest knife I've ever seen.
 
Seriously......i don't know when, what, where i am gonna use it.

I just know that I keep buying different steel, different make searching the best, the legend. Seeking A knife that will finally stop all the madness. Then i will tell myself: "this is it, truely the sharpest one on earth, best body build on planet and the perfection of both performace & beauty. Now you can sell all other knives you have ever own."

Truely a sickness.

I think i should put this on "Who has found THE knife?" thread.

Which clearly my answer is, not yet.
 
DaveH said:
... what the smallist included edge angle.
Click to expand...

In order from generally more obtuse -> more acute :

Benchmade -> Cold Steel -> Buck -> Spyderco

To benchmark the few big names in terms of edge profile optomized for cutting ability.

Overall, puukko ground knives set a standard for normal v-grinds as it is common for them to be ~10 degrees per side.

Some Japanese chisel ground knives are 15 degrees and under included, in general they have a smalled included angle than puukkos.

I have some customs which are ~5 degrees included.

In regards to NIB sharpness, Spyderco easily averages *FAR* higher than anything else I have seen.

In regards to customs, R.J. Martin is known for outstanding NIB sharpness as are Tai Goo and Jim Fikes.

Any of the ABS guys who do the competitions like Kirk obviously know how to sharpen a knife as well.


-Cliff
 
You could always sharpen a knife to how you want it. Like my Benchmade Benchmite I took down to about 18 degrees and polished the edge to a mirror finish. It is extremely sharp, sharper then anything I have ever seen out of the box. Since the knife is a "gents knife" and will only be used for light tasks I can sharpen it down that far and not really worry about the edge chipping. Now on my Benchmade 520 I sharpened it to about 25-30 degrees and left the edge kinda toothy, that way the edge wouldn't chip during harder tasks and it would do a better job at, say, cutting rope. Factory edges are a compromise, they usually have to leave them thicker then what the steel can actually handle in order to make the edge last longer for those that don't know how to sharpen. You can bring it down further, you just have to be more careful about what you cut and make sure to keep the edge maintained.
 
blades. This should be the sharpest ever. It could probably be shaving sharp.
 
I got my first VG-10 knife today (and my first new Spyderco in many years), an Endura. I was quite impressed with the grinding and it was definitely hair-popping sharp from the box. It was also buffed or stropped (I assume) to get it to that point, as it did not slice fibrous materials nearly as well as it popped hair or sliced paper. As mentioned above, there are tradeoffs.

I've since used a couple of diamond rods on it, and it slices far more aggressively. It does not pop hairs as easily though, but that's more of a trick than useful. If I were wood carving, I'd want the more polished edge, but I'm not.

Still, the primary edge bevel was one of the best I've seen, and it was thin enough that I didn't have to do any reprofiling. That's sharp!

I've had similar experience with Cold Steel Voyagers and the original TwistMasters. The large TwistMaster was easily the sharpest probably the best cutting tool I've ever seen from a factory, although it lacked the CDI and cool factors of the easy one hand opening.
 
The sebenzas I've handled (mind you most were either user knives or sold from a dealer's table, so it may not represent actual "new in box" crk sharpness) were sharp, but I would call them "slightly above average" and I think Spyderco easily surpasses them. I have to say though that the sharpest factory edge I ever had was on an old Bucklite. It had a very high, "extremely" thin hollow grind, easily cutting hairs above the arm and also quite agressive. This has not been typical of other bucks I've handled, but it sure did leave a good impression.
 
I gotta give one to Cliff for calling Benchmades obtuse. I also think given the quality of the steels used, the grinds on some models could be a lot better. I don't have a flatground Spyderco yet, but I do wish my Delica was ground higher. Can someone tell me how the distal taper on the Manix is? The 4mm blade is a bit thick for my taste, but if it tapers well, I would like one.

Lately I've forgone using my pocket knives when to cut fruit when I can get my 1mm paring knife.
 
Nothing drives me knuts faster than a NIB knife that was not cheap that I have to sharpen right away to be happy with it. As much as I love BenchMade and have taken to them lately that has been the case a couple of times for me.

Spyderco on the other hand is consistantly the sharpest I have ever bought new.

As for customs. I rarely buy those. I do have a few though and they are primarily users. Bob Dozier, Gene Ingram, Bill Vining, and Ralph Freer are some of the customs I still have. Bob's knives are sharp but the bevels are not always even or even close. Most of the time I redo the edge bevels on Bob's knives to even them out before using them. It probably isn't necessary but I like things just so on my cutting edges. Gene's knives on the other hand didn't need anything but used right away. They were flawless and even and extremely sharp. Bill's knife was sharp too and easily popped hairs off above the arm. Ralph's knife was as dull as most of my butter knives in the kitchen. It would not slice thick paper let alone hair. I've had three of Ralph's knives though and none of them were that sharp when I got them. They took a great edge though once I got done with them. Why they are not sharp I don't know. Some guys seem to get everything right except the final step. Go figure.
 
First I'd like to point out that how sharp a knife is out of the box has little to do with it's future edge-holding ability or even product quality.

That out of the way, I have bought one or two knives that were scary sharp out of the box. The first was a Japanese hunting knife from AG Russell. The second was a Camillus CUDA CQB.

Good Luck in your search for the 'best' edge,
-Bob
 
spydercos are generally sharpest NIB. sharper than most customs as well. it's to do with the 15 deg per side bevel as well as their commitment to making sure their edges are sharp. the spydercos I've had were both extremely sharp as well as not overly polished (you could see the grit marks), so they would cut fibrous material, no problem.
 
One thing that we must watch here (and something that I believe causes more than a little confusion and misunderstanding around here) is the terminology we use and what our criteria are for it.

My statement: "This knife is scary sharp." What was not stated is that, without any additional information, all that I've stated is an opinion. "In my opinion, this knife is scary sharp" - and what is scary sharp in my book? I didn't say, and now we're confused. My scary sharp may very well be your butterknife dull. I like Cliff's own sharpness testing procedures for this reason - he can supply us with numbers. Not only can we tell that the knife was scary sharp, but we can tell just how scary it was.

Slightly off topic but somewhat relevant. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
 
Good point, and it's also relevent only in comparison to other knives I personally own. There may be an entirely new category of "scary sharp" that's beyond anything I'm familiar with.

-Bob
 
What about DOVO or Thiers-Issard? :D I guess that doesn't really count.

Go on, bicker amongst yourselves! :D
 
What do you guys use for sharpening? I was looking at the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker, but the thing that bugs me is I can't pick the angle. What do you all think?
 
I've always used an Arkansas stone made from natural Novaculite, but wanted something that would leave a more 'professional' finish on the edge. So I bought one of the Spyderco Sharpmakers and it's been perfect so far.

Best Wishes,
Bob
 
wuyeah said:
Hi, i read a lot of threads recently. Occure to me the impression from other people is Spyderco knives are sharp. even describe as "scary sharp" And people bring up spyderco's sharpening tools for few times.

This bring up my curiosity.

BM 630 is famous for build and money, CR sebenza is what people say "sharpest ever purchase. sharper than 630" Combat ellite is "Sebenza quality" words. words. words....that really mess my heads.

so who is Sharpest if you must say? Is Spyderco outstandingly sharper then all? or They are just as sharp as BM 630? i understand exaggeration of loving one knife. Or Sebenza is the sharpest period, end of searching.

To be honest and No offense to all fans of Spyderco knives. I don't like how Spydies' look. Must say they really spidy looking to a creepy degree. That really not my taste. But for my curiosity, I might really buy a A.T.R. to end it. since my draw still has room.

Let me know how you think. Thanks.
Click to expand...

RJ Martin ;)
 
I say Spyderco out of the box is sharpest in my expeirience, but I really count how easy it is to sharpen as what important. So overall I vote Spyderco.
Bucks and Microtechs are really sharp too though!!!! :D
 
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