Who oversharpens?

Diomedes Industries

Diomedes Industries

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Mar 19, 2007
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Who here tends to sharpen their knives too much? I used to tend to touch up my knives after every use - which was of course - ridiculous. Anyone else obsess?

TF
 
I don't sharpen too often, but I do sharpen waaaay too sharp!
There is absolutely no reason for me to take my edges to 12,000 grit, much less 60,000, but I do anyway. It's fun! :D

A very good grit size for most kitchen use is between 340-800.
A very good grit size for most camping chores is between 800-1,200
A fine edge for wood carving is between 8,000-12,000

As long as the edge profile is correct, and the steel good quality, the edges will hold up to everything other than severe abuse. :thumbup:


Stitchawl
 
i used to sharpen alot back when my EDC was an opinel. the edge retention on that wasn't awesome-decent, and adequate-but not awesome. i carried a small soft arkansas stone in my pack pocket or pack and touched it up as often as twice a day or as little as once a week.

now that i carry a stockman that has better edge retention i sharpen probably once a month or so (that is-my own knives. i sharpen lots of other knives). i use the main blade about 98% of the time, and don't obsess about keeping it hair popping sharp all the time. every once in a while i strop it to keep it in good shape. i know that the blade will cut well even when its a "little dull" (which is still 100% sharper than alot of people's kitchen knives) and i know that if it isn't sharp enough to do the job i have two other blades handy.

as for my fixed blades-i have been carrying a scandi for a while, and i really don't like sharpening scandis. this means that i put off sharpening for as long as i can, but even when i decided that its time to sharpen it can still usually slice paper cleanly. i often strop in between sharpenings to keep the edge in good shape.

i used to really obsess over keeping my knives crazy sharp all the time, but i realized that its a bit silly to sharpen after nearly every use. with my stockman i can always keep a stupid sharp edge in reserve, which solves a dilema for me (what if i need to perform emergency surgery?!?!). i like to step back and take a look from a different perspective...even when i call it dull 90% of the population would still call it stupid sharp.
 
I agree Siguy. If it doesn't wipe hair away - I call it dull. I have learned no matter what shape my knife is in I hand it to a stranger and warn them.

TF
 
I oversharpen because I cant get my knives scary sharp. I dont have a strop. Ive tried my belt, magazine covers, phone books.... Once I get them to pop hair off my leg I might as well quit. Thats as sharp as they will get.
 
thats why i like the wheels, you dont have to work up a burr to get your knife shaving sharp or mess with a strop. in the time it takes to get a strop out and ready to go, i'm done and on my way to do other things.
 
I'd like to. But just don't have a knack for it. Do you guys sharpen by hand or belt? All my users are convex. Where do you guys get your sandpaper and what grits do you use. Also what's your preferred backing. Leather? Mousepad? Sorry to hijack the thread. Just curious.
 
I strop after every moderate use (this really keeps the edge popping for a LONG time) I only sharpen when the edge starts to roll in spots or if I can't bring it to shave by stropping
 
What the hell else am I going to do in my spare time??????????


Ya. I sharpen.............I sharpen a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Green compound on a piece of corrugated and use it all the time when I bored at work.. It works wonders...
 
There's no such thing as oversharpening. :D

OK, that's BS, of course there is. It depends on the tool and its intended use. And to some extent, the type of steel its made of. But mostly it depends on the tool's intended use. A nice chisel doesn't have to have the same edge as an equally nice bushcrafter, necessarily.

I've been known to polish an edge till it drives me batty trying to get both sides of the bevel (or convex radius) just perfect. I'm talking about seeing your as-yet-unborn third grandchild's reflection on the final bevel mirror polish...

But lately I've been spending a lot less time on the bench and a lot more time cutting things quite nicely with an edge that some folks would barely consider adequate. Yes, I get my knives shaving sharp and I keep them that way. But I've kinda grown tired of the mythical "perfect" edge.

For gawd's sake it's only a knife, can you cut what you want to cut with it? Then it's sharp.
 
None of my jobs require hair whittling. That said, I do have a couple that I keep a bit sharper than required just cause it is so darn relaxing to sit there and work an edge.
Every edged tool I own will shave easily though. That to me is not excessive, others may feel differently.

The strop is my friend. Every knife sees it after every few days of use. The stones are only needed when I screw up an edge.
 
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