How sharp are your sharps?

[addyb]

Just like the title says, how sharp do you keep your knives?

An odd question but I'm curious as to how some of you posters would answer it.

I keep my Mora shaving sharp at all times and the first thing I do after a trip in the bush is to clean and return it back to 'scary sharp'.

I think I probably sharpen my EDC a bit too much as maybe pocket knives don't always need to be able to pop hairs off an arm. To use my Father as an example, he takes his SAK's to a stone about once a year, maybe less. In his mind, he's not cutting anything beyond the occasional apple at lunch or some sausage on a day trip.

So what about the rest of ya?

Adam

 

[sharp88]

I always try to keep mine sharp enough to shave the hairs off the back of my arm, because its good practice to keep it that way. Im never quite sure what my knife will be cutting into next - could be anything from cutting through a cardboard box to extensive whittling.

At home I'l use a Japanese water stone (1000/6000 grit) and a leather strop and in the field il use a 1000 grit slip stone and a small fine Arkansas stone, because there alot smaller and easier to carry.

 

[Tadpole]

Just like the title says, how sharp do you keep your knives?

An odd question but I'm curious as to how some of you posters would answer it.

I keep my Mora shaving sharp at all times and the first thing I do after a trip in the bush is to clean and return it back to 'scary sharp'.

I think I probably sharpen my EDC a bit too much as maybe pocket knives don't always need to be able to pop hairs off an arm. To use my Father as an example, he takes his SAK's to a stone about once a year, maybe less. In his mind, he's not cutting anything beyond the occasional apple at lunch or some sausage on a day trip.

So what about the rest of ya?

Adam

Having learnt quite recently how to sharpen bladed tool, I spent an orgy of time sharpening anything that needed it, (including my bread knife and a meat knife that is only used at Christmas) my stainless steel multi tool and cheap penknife were as sharp as a razor. I even tried (quite successfully) to re-sharpen a throwaway Stanley knife blade. I’ve taken to heart the practice of “if you use it I sharpen it”. Be it my clipper or my butcher’s knife. Preparing food has never been so easy, I have nightmares when my little girl is helping me, as I allow her to use my good knives, after a paring knife bit her she respect the knifes as tools and not toys. A blunt knife is a dangerous knife, even if it’s an apple knife.

 

[Longstrider]

Hi Addyb, it's obvious we've not met !

In my house, if it's meant to be sharp, it is. I keep all my edge tools at least sharp enough to shave my arm, some sharper. Be it a fixed blade, my EDC's, any one of my collection, an axe, kitchen knife, chisel, plane or leatherwork blade, I would be ashamed to be seen with it if I couldn't shave with it.

My partner was at my place the other week and commented on the way the veg knife went through a tomato so easily with one push, slicing it beautifully. "Erm, thats a butter knife darling..." was all I had to say. She understood, bless her.

See my signature for my philosophy on edge tools...

 

[spamel]

I also keep mine atom splittingly sharp, and like someone elses' signature says, "If I want something blunt, I'll use a spoon!"

 

[leon-1]

Ask Ahjno, he has seen how I keep things in the field not using bench stones, I am normally quite fanatical about things being sharp although I must admit that recently I let the edge on my clipper go a bit. Not any more though.

 

[addyb]

Yeah but guys, if you all keep stropping and sharpening your knives, sooner or later there won't be any blade left.

hahaha

Adam

 

[leon-1]

Yeah but guys, if you all keep stropping and sharpening your knives, sooner or later there won't be any blade left.

hahaha

Adam

At the cost of a clipper I am not overly worried, but I would rather strop a knife and restore the edge than having to grind it because the edge is now a white line, in as much as if you dropped something on it then it would crack rather than cut.

 

[Tadpole]

Yeah but guys, if you all keep stropping and sharpening your knives, sooner or later there won't be any blade left.

hahaha

Adam

simple, buy a new one. A tool will wear out and need replacing, unlike a decorative but useless toy or bangle.

 

[Longstrider]

Whoever claimed that we were forever grinding away at our tools until they wore out? I sharpen my knives and axes when they need sharpening. Once they are sharp enough they are left alone until used enough to need a touch-up. I bought myself a Buck 110 with an S30v blade in February. It's done more work since then than any of my other knives except my Fallkniven A2. When I bought the Buck, I slightly re-profiled the edge and sharpened it to my own satisfaction, then used it, and used it,, and used it. Last week I realised that whilst it would still shave my arm, the hairs were not exactly popping off as the blade passed, so I gave it a dozen wipes on a loaded leather strop and brought it back to proper sharp. Thats the first time I've had to anything to re-sharpen the knife since I did it originally. Considering the amount of work the knife has done between sharpenings (various whittling, opening parcels and mail, no-end of stuff at the Moot and a weeks camping in the Brecons) I reckon I'll be an old, old man before me and my strop manage to wear the blade down to a stub !

Good steel with a good heat treat, used correctly and properly maintained, sharpened as and when it needs it, and only as much as it needs it will most likely outlast any of us. Just because the knife isn't popping hairs, it doesn't mean it needs a re-grind!
I've heard people advocate sharpening methods where you hear phrases like "Strop it to remove the "wire" from the edge" and the like If you've removed enough steel from the grind to form a "wire" on the edge what you have done is re-profiled or re-ground the thing, not just sharpened it! A decent edge will often feel blunt-ish but only need a few wipes on a strop to bring it back up to standards, and you'll be a long time stropping a good knife before you wear it out.

 

[Simon E]

Well said Longstrider!

I sharpen my EDC (Case Canoe in C.V) about twice a year on an Edge Pro. I have a list of all my knives including the kitchen stuff on a memo that tells me the angle it was either resharpened or re-profiled at. When I need more than a touch up, I only have to use the finest stones to re set the edge.

For the vast majority of touch ups I use a #1200 ceramic steel that came with the Edge Pro.

 

[laurens ch]

I usually keep one knife really sharp mora helle f1 whatever, and keep another mora for rough work like cutting dirty wood and into earth which isn't quite as sharp.

 

[addyb]

'tis true, stropping on leather with paste does wonders. Old Jimbo was kind enough to mail me two large blocks of green compound and Longstrider is right on the money, we'll all be old, withered men (boys?) before stropping wears out a blade.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[Biddlesby]

Despite many long sessions on the oilstone and the strop, I have never managed to get my sharps to arm hair cutting standards (but good enough for the paper test). Perhaps it's my shaving technique not my sharpening technique.

 

[Longstrider]

Biddlesby, If you can hold a sheet of printer paper vertically between thumb and forefinger and then easily cut it from top to bottom without using the length of the blade (i.e a simple push cut with the blade at right angles to the paper) then your edge is probably as sharp as most and would shave arm hair if youe technique were better.