"Sharpest knife" why?

[forestwalker]

When people review a knife they often talk about how sharp it was out of the box. Personally I've never seen the point of this; ease of sharpening and edge-retention (as well as edge geometry, which takes work to fix) make more difference than how far they sharpened it before they shipped it. Or am I missing something?

 

[littlebiglane]

I pretty much agree with you on this. Little to add except a well finished, well sharpened edge is easier for a novice to maintain than having an unsharp blade (which might mean several things, including lack of attention to detail or care by the manufacturer) that also needs a more expert hand/eye to sharpen it/correct the final edge. I know, for instance, in my 'salad days' I ruined the edge of a couple of knives through over zealous sharpening or trying to correct edge geometries.

However, if you are an more experienced sharpener then it should not really matter if the blade comes a little dull for you to hand-finish. I have got used to doing this with other working tools such as wood-carving knives........

 

[Graham_S]

If you are buying a knife, how sharp it is out of the box is a good indication of the care and attention taken during the manufacturing process.
A knife after all, is a cutting tool, if the edge is poorly finished, what else has been skimped on.

 

[John Fenna]

"Iffn it baint sharp - it be just a bar of steel, baint no knife" ....as they say....

 

[Mesquite]

As Graham says.

I wouldn't be at all impressed if a knife I bought from Joe Bloggs, knifemaker was blunt and needed sharpening before I could use it. And I'd tell folks of my experience with Joe Bloggs's knifes and wouldn't recommend them for that reason.

 

[BorderReiver]

If the knife was sharp but the grind was uneven, I would be less than impressed.

 

[demographic]

Cos if all you do is bung the knife in a drawer and never go near it with a hone you need a really good factory edge when your mates come round otherwise it won't cut paper as well

 

[Omegarod]

"Iffn it baint sharp - it be just a bar of steel, baint no knife" ....as they say....

Reminds me of a cheap machete I recently bought. It was only to hack down some bramble thicket at the bottom of the garden. It came with a scary sharp ground edge..... after a few minutes I couldn't figure why it wasn't cutting though the 1/2" bramble stems..... until I looked at the rounded blunt edge. Might as well have been cutting with a bar of lead. Oh yes... the blade had also bent into a nice S shaped curve.

But when new.... yup... a great edge.

Rod

 

[oetzi]

If you are buying a knife, how sharp it is out of the box is a good indication of the care and attention taken during the manufacturing process.
A knife after all, is a cutting tool, if the edge is poorly finished, what else has been skimped on.

I agree, albeit in parts.
Knives from Marttiini, for example, come very sharp out of the box but are some of the most overpricest, crappiest constructed knives in their bracket and also have a very inferior steel.

 

[John Fenna]

Reminds me of a cheap machete I recently bought. It was only to hack down some bramble thicket at the bottom of the garden. It came with a scary sharp ground edge..... after a few minutes I couldn't figure why it wasn't cutting though the 1/2" bramble stems..... until I looked at the rounded blunt edge. Might as well have been cutting with a bar of lead. Oh yes... the blade had also bent into a nice S shaped curve.

But when new.... yup... a great edge.

Rod

I had one like that once...Tramontina was its name, bin was its destination..
I also had a Tramontina clone of a Buck "Frontiersman"...three wacks into a green Ash pole and 3 semicircles disapeared from the edge!
I think they were having some tempering issues at the time.....

 

[markheolddu]

When people review a knife they often talk about how sharp it was out of the box. Personally I've never seen the point of this; ease of sharpening and edge-retention (as well as edge geometry, which takes work to fix) make more difference than how far they sharpened it before they shipped it. Or am I missing something?

I think it might have somthing to do with the fact that for a lot of knife owners the factory edge will be the sharpest it ever gets. This is a sweeping statment and I dont want to start a blood bath here. As people become better at sharpening it is a bit less of an issue.

Mark

 

[Leonidas]

Well at the risk of upsetting all prior posters
I like to offer new owners the choice.

The blade is always stage 1 ground prior to the hardening and tempering process.
Some folks want to be the very first to ever sharpen the edge.
(The caveat with a newly hardened blade is the very first sharpening requires the removal of the first couple of thou of surface steel to get to the hardened steel)

Other folks want the blade sharpened, in which case it is treated to several Japanese water stones up to mirror finish, then stropped.

So in this instance, out of the box it might not be scary sharp through choice....however it will take and keep an excellent edge
Or it will be delivered shaving sharp......

Well...Life is all about choices eh!

Tom

 

[John Fenna]

Well at the risk of upsetting all prior posters
I like to offer new owners the choice.

The blade is always stage 1 ground prior to the hardening and tempering process.
Some folks want to be the very first to ever sharpen the edge.
(The caveat with a newly hardened blade is the very first sharpening requires the removal of the first couple of thou of surface steel to get to the hardened steel)

Other folks want the blade sharpened, in which case it is treated to several Japanese water stones up to mirror finish, then stropped.

So in this instance, out of the box it might not be scary sharp through choice....however it will take and keep an excellent edge
Or it will be delivered shaving sharp......

Well...Life is all about choices eh!

Tom

If it is the intended owners choice to do the sharpening then - fine - it is their choice!
If however the knife is bought off the shelf by a knife sharpening newbie then they could ruin the edge before they get to cut with it!
As Mark said - the factory finish could be the best edge it ever gets!
Informed choice is great though....