Why do the edges on production knives suck so bad?

cramsey3006 said:
Ok...you paid what, $30 for the RAT? What if they gave you the option of buying one with a perfect mirror edge (that takes a lot more time to produce), but it cost $60? Would you buy the $30 one or the $60 one? Same thing with the Ritter. Spend what you did on it, or spend an extra $50 (arbitrary figure) for a perfect edge. What would you do?

Getting that perfect edge takes time and would add considerably to the cost. I'm going to say that 90% of the people wouldn't spend the extra money.
Click to expand...

well i do own 2 rat 1's, but it wasn't my post originally, so i don't own a ritter.

if i wanted a perfect edge and didn't want to invest my own time, and my own time is worth something as is yours and everyone elses....so i would calculate what it would cost me in my own labor and decide. some don't figure in their own labor as a cost, but they are wrong as that time could be used to earn more money. so then i would decide.

on a cheaper good quality for the most part knife like a rat1, a basic functional edge i'd be fine with.... which you should get for the 30 buck price tag. if i wanted a better edge i'd pay for it if it made sense on how long it would take me in my own labor costs to do it vs. the extra price for the better edge.

i can buy a $26 buck knife with 440c steel and g-10 scales....so when i pay 160 bucks for the same scale material, but slightly better steel....i expect some of that labor i am paying for to make a even sharp edge on the knife. maybe i expect too much? i won't argue that, you are probably right on that point.......but i think the original poster has a good basic point, a knife with a dull or bad edge is almost useless until it is fixed. not many would buy another product with a poorly or nonfunctioning crucial part and not say something about it, or complain a bit.

in the end on these kind of boards, people redo factory edges that are good edges cause they can and know how and want a little better. average people know no better for the most part, like when they buy a machete from the home goods store and don't realize the reason they paid 6 bucks for it is because you have to put an edge on it, and they complain it is dull and toss it in the corner of their garage. my point being production or not these aren't flea market type "brand name" companies. they can put a decent edge and most of their buyers expect it at the price points. otherwise the buyers would ask the industry for unsharpened knives to save all that extra labor sharpening costs at the factory and do it themselves, right?

i do appreciate your points though.
 
Every Fallkniven and Bark River has been screaming sharp out of the box. Every kabar I have has had a very slap dash edge. Since one brand costs twice as much as the other I'm completely okay with that.
 
retzius said:
Bad analogy. A knife without an edge is non-functional. Its no longer a knife, its a pry bar. Any knife should come sharp with a functional edge, maintenance is expected, but NO product should come that way.
Click to expand...

I am going to partially disaggree with you here. A knife without the kind of laser sharp edges that us knife nuts love would still cut and by most people's standards would be sharp. It would be functional to a level that is acceptable for the vast majority of consumers, cutting would just take more effort than us knife nuts would like. With that said i would love if every knife came with a perfectly sharp polished edge.

If we have to use a car analogy i would say, a knife nut edge is like a turbo charger. It will add to the preformance nicely, but is not neccessary for the general consumer, and sure some knives/cars come with them but you need to pay a premium. But with a lot of them youll need to add the edge/turbo after the purchase.

edited to add:
Actually i think premium tires would be a better analogy since they wear out and you need to change them.
 
I have to admit that I'm surprised at the number of people arguing for mediocrity. Conversely, one votes for mediocrity by purchasing a mediocre product. Buy only from makers that satisfy your requirements and you won't have to worry about the quality. I don't bitch about the low quality of current domestic automobiles, I simply buy foreign or classic.
 
dtownknifekid said:
A knife without the kind of laser sharp edges that us knife nuts love would still cut and by most people's standards would be sharp. It would be functional to a level that is acceptable for the vast majority of consumers, cutting would just take more effort than us knife nuts would like.
Click to expand...

+1

A friend of mine pulled out a knife for me to sharpen the other day. I sharpened it, but didn't feel like spending 30-40 minutes re-beveling the knife (it was some POS no name knife). I just followed the 50-60 degree bevel that was already on the knife and polished it for him.

Handed it back to him and he was blown away by how sharp it was.

What is sharp for the average person is dull to knife nuts like us.
 
Wyszrd said:
I have to admit that I'm surprised at the number of people arguing for mediocrity. Conversely, one votes for mediocrity by purchasing a mediocre product. Buy only from makers that satisfy your requirements and you won't have to worry about the quality. I don't bitch about the low quality of current domestic automobiles, I simply buy foreign or classic.
Click to expand...

You get what you pay for. I can't but a Hyundai and expect a Porsche. I buy mainly convex edges for that reason it requires skill and a human hand to produce while cheap mass produced knives are machine made. Doesn't make them a poor choice though, I love cheap knives!
 
This is dictated by economics; sharpening (and even more so, polishing) is labor intensive and therefore expensive, when costs are cut it's among the first things to suffer. Many makers probably figure a large portion of their customers either won't notice or not care particularly.

A surprisingly large number of people are actually SCARED of a knife that is "too sharp" as they fear getting cut with it, mediocre edges are probably preferable to them.

I like getting a sharp edge out of the box but I don't mind having to sharpen edges a bit, especially if it's a mid-range or lower blade; if it really needed reprofiling (i.e. the edges weren't even lined up) I would probably never buy that brand again, unless it were a total fluke.
 
retzius said:
Bad analogy. A knife without an edge is non-functional. Its no longer a knife, its a pry bar. Any knife should come sharp with a functional edge, maintenance is expected, but NO product should come that way.
Click to expand...

Perhaps your expectations are too high for what you're paying.
I'll bet your "dull" knives you bought would seem sharp to the average guy/woman on the street.
I'll bet most people are cutting up their veggies and meat with knives duller than what you bought.
Can the knives you bought cut paper out of the box?
Can they cut a carrot or a pepper?
If so, then they're sharp enough for the vast majority of the public.
 
MassMatt said:
A surprisingly large number of people are actually SCARED of a knife that is "too sharp" as they fear getting cut with it, mediocre edges are probably preferable to them.
Click to expand...

You ain't lying.
If I sharpen our kitchen knives, then I have to use them till they're dull enough for my wife to like.
 
retzius said:
Like I said, I have to reprofile, correct the symmetry, and then sharpen almost every knife I receive.

To me, thats a pretty bad sign of the level of QC in an industry.

Imagine if every car you bought had a crap engine and all the effort was put into the interior and the response of the dealer when you brought it back was "Once the car is yours you can fix it any way you want. You do know how to fix a car dont you? Engines break so youll have to fix it occasionally anyway."

To be clear, the only knife company, so far, that I havnt had an issue with is Spyderco. It seems like they put some effort into their production knives.
Click to expand...

+1 Excellent analogy. I agree, when I spend my money on something, I expect it to be in a condition reasonable for that particular item. ergo, a knife, I'd like the fit & finish to be decent and the blade to be at least somewhat sharp. For a watch, again, I'd expect decent fit and finish, and for it to keep good time. The list is endless...:)
 
It's amazing what people try go justify. Most people buying a 125+ knife care. People that don't care buy Gerber knives from Walmart. When I take a $220 retail knife out the box from spyderco and it is dull or has a burr on it that is not acceptable. Uneven grinds are not acceptable either.

If your car comes with two different shades of paint off the showroom floor is that acceptable?
 
Expecting and accepting mediocrity is ridiculous, as is saying it is ok due to low wages of the factory worker.

I am a manufacturing engineer and it is my job to train factory workers, develop fixtures, equipment, and quality systems. Many of the operations must be done by hand, with utmost accuracy, hundreds of times a day.

Excuses for mediocrity are just that, excuses.

Btw, Queen is one of the worst offenders for leaving the primary grind too thick - then for good measure adding an obtuse edge. And amazingly, almost all $5 Rough Riders will shave out of the box.
 
stevomiller said:
Expecting and accepting mediocrity is ridiculous
Click to expand...

Well, if one spends the same amount on a knife as they do on dinner at an average restaurant, then they don't get much right to whine about the little things.
When they pay a bunch, they get to expect a bunch.
When you spend mediocre amounts of cash, you get mediocre amounts of quality.
It's really that simple in alot of cases.
 
Dr Heelhook said:
I buy Spyderco, so I wouldn't know what the hell this thread is about. :)
Click to expand...

Maybe i got a lemon but my delica was one of the dullest out of the box factory knives i have gotten from a respected company, worse than all my benchmades althogh BM has been going downhill recently.
 
New CTS-20CP para2 bevel way off at heel and burr down most of the edge. M4 Manix had blade play, was way off center and bevels were uneven. Delica was rubbing the liner and had a bevel that went from 30 to around 40 at the tip. All in the last 6 months.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top