Who sharp is sharp enough

That's an impressive tale (and feat no less) that you were able to accomplish with your 710. I really want my ZDP-189 Leek to be like that and I know it has the capability, but we'll see. I need to look into re-profiling my blades.
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If it hadn't been that sharp, I would have sent it back to the factory and demanded that they "finish" sharpeniung it!

When I pay the money for a quality blade, or gun, or anything else quality, I expect it to be finished when I take delivery. After spending a lot of money on a product, I'm not going to have to complete the normal manufacturing process for them.:grumpy:
 
Gentleman - Sharp in a cutting edge is how often you need to resharpen a blade when you are dressing a Moose or Bear. Ofcourse if you are cutting cheese sharp is something else. In my experiance 1 out of every 5 times I let someone else use my knives they end up with a trip to the hospital for stiches. So the answer must be dependant on what you intend to do with you tools.
 
offsetlover said:
my grandpa was and my two uncles are master wood carvers. i dont show them my new knives (they think that the idea of modern folders is kinda dumb) very often. when i do though they aren't really too impressed, but they did say my Kershaw Blur was sharp. it takes alot to impress them. in their book, if it cant shave, then it isnt sharp. shaving sharp seems to be the best all around edge. im ok at sharpening on my own, but one of my uncles has told me that he will get any of my knives so sharp that "i wont know im cut until i see the blood on the floor." im prolly going to take him up on that one. and see if he'll teach me.
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IMO nothing is sharp if it won't shave. Even my Kabar I use for camping is shaving sharp and that's at 30 deg with a micro seration. I think I stop at 250 grit.
 
Sharp is when the knife performs in a way that is satisfactory. In most cases this means the knife is razor sharp. Generally speaking, if it won't shave the hair on the arm easilly, the knife will under perform in most cutting jobs.
 
I once heard that a knife is truly scary sharp will cut freestanding here, for example a piece of hair from your head between two fingers. For me unless it is truly factory Scarry sharp a slightly toothy edge just sharp enough to shave works very well, some people even differentially sharpen their edge putting a polished edge on the front and a more Toothy edge on the back to start a cut and for for fibers material.
 
langchop said:
You can get most knives very sharp but depending on their quality, they may not hold the edge long. Some knives that are either too hard or too soft (brittle/ductile) will be difficult to get a keen edge on. I am satisfied when a knife shaves my hair off the back of my hand and when it easily slices through a sheet of paperwhen only held at the corner. I think this is a rough benchmark lots of knifemakers use. Look around in public for guys with no hair on one arm.. THEY MUST BE KNIFENUTS/MAKERS
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Yep my right arm only has stubble, and my left is missing some hair. I personally think that shaving sharp is a good benchmark for where I like a knife o be for my tasks which usually are cutting around stuff that could easily dull my knife really fast, so anything sharper just doesn't make sense to me. Currently I recently bought a kyocera ceramic steel and found that on my 940 in S30V that a few passes on the blade gives me a razor edge, which has excellent drag cutting properties.
 
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