How sharp is too sharp?

[fergusontd]

If we ever get a war in Aruba, Hawaii, Cancun Mexico or someplace like that, we'll give you a call.
[/quote]

Yeah! Just stick with the Navy, great rooms with an ocean view, excellent dining with gormet food and a great activities manager allto insure a memorable cruise! ftd

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Funny the Wall Street Journal had an article just today about how many people cut themselves making guacamole dip for the super bowl. A lot of the accidents happen from inexperience or a dull knife. Can’t fix stupid.

[jerryd6818]

If we ever get a war in Aruba, Hawaii, Cancun Mexico or someplace like that, we'll give you a call.


Yeah! Just stick with the Navy, great rooms with an ocean view, excellent dining with gormet food and a great activities manager allto insure a memorable cruise! ftd

Funny the Wall Street Journal had an article just today about how many people cut themselves making guacamole dip for the super bowl. A lot of the accidents happen from inexperience or a dull knife. Can’t fix stupid.

Did they happen to speculate how many were alcohol induced incidents?

[Sharpnshinyknives]

If we ever get a war in Aruba, Hawaii, Cancun Mexico or someplace like that, we'll give you a call.


Yeah! Just stick with the Navy, great rooms with an ocean view, excellent dining with gormet food and a great activities manager allto insure a memorable cruise! ftd

Funny the Wall Street Journal had an article just today about how many people cut themselves making guacamole dip for the super bowl. A lot of the accidents happen from inexperience or a dull knife. Can’t fix stupid.

Did they happen to speculate how many were alcohol induced incidents?

No they didn’t Jerry. Apparently it comes when people try to strike the core and embed the knife blade so they can just pull it back out. Many people seem to miss and cut their hands. They said there were over 50,000 injuries from this since 2008, and over half have happened since 2013 with 27,000 injuries. Go figure.

[Nev52]

Thank you all for your comments on this subject.
I guess when you grow up working with tools or knives everyday you learn how respect, maintain and use them.
The people who told me the knives were too sharp were not kids. At the time of these incidents there age was from 30 years old up to 60 years of age. I would think by then you would how to use a knife. As previously stated in this thread most people do not know what a sharp knife is like to use.
Thanks again
Nev52

[jerryd6818]

Thank you all for your comments on this subject.
I guess when you grow up working with tools or knives everyday you learn how respect, maintain and use them.
The people who told me the knives were too sharp were not kids. At the time of these incidents there age was from 30 years old up to 60 years of age. I would think by then you would how to use a knife. As previously stated in this thread most people do not know what a sharp knife is like to use.
Thanks again
Nev52

Were those the same people who told you, you don't need a gun?

[Nev52]

No I keep my distance from people like that.

[Reverand]

I used to keep all my knives "shaving" sharp. But I wore out a lot of blades, too. Nowadays I keep mine sharp, but at less of an angle so I have better edge retention.
But in my opinion a knife cannot be "too sharp" unless it splits atoms and starts a chain reaction!
Until then, I will keep 'em sharp enough to use, and use them with respect.

[Dinadan]

There are a lot of interesting comments on this thread. My opinion is that razor sharp is a bit too sharp for a knife unless it has a special use like castrating livestock or impressing coworkers. I never use my knives for anything that requires a razor edge, or that a a razor edge would even help. Filleting a fish, slicing an apple, pruning a fruit tree, slicing strips of pork jowl - none of those need a razor edge. And a razor edge would not last more than one slice through the skin on a pork jowl or a bacon side. And when my wife is slicing cabbage, OMG - I could not believe what a cabbage does too a sharp santoku blade - I asked her if she had been chopping bones with the knife!

Anyway. I use a soft Arkansas stone or a fairly coarse stone on my knives and almost never try for the shaving sharp edge. Not because it is too sharp. But because it is just not anything that I need and will not last past one good Red Fish filleting.

[mrwatch]

OMG - I could not believe what a cabbage does too a sharp santoku blade - I asked her if she had been chopping bones with the knife!

The type of cutting board was more likely the culprit. Many say wood or Bamboo, not plastic. or bare kitchen counters. my Victorinox santoku will make short work of a bone in ham where others struggle.

[Nev52]

I would have to disagree on edge retention. I always sharpen all my knives to shave arm hair. Be it a kitchen knife work knife or hunting knife. I have used a schrade LB7 all day at work cutting heater hose or air lines and then used that same knife to field dress a deer without touching up the blade. I think it has to do with blade steel. But that's just my opinion.

[Dinadan]

OMG - I could not believe what a cabbage does too a sharp santoku blade - I asked her if she had been chopping bones with the knife!

The type of cutting board was more likely the culprit. Many say wood or Bamboo, not plastic. or bare kitchen counters. my Victorinox santoku will make short work of a bone in ham where others struggle.

I agree that wood cutting boards are best. Just like I think that carbon steel is the best steel for a kitchen knife. But ... my kitchen stuff needs to go into the dishwasher. We cook a lot, maybe more than most folks these days. So we use plastic cutting boards and stainless knives since no one in our home likes hand washing stuff.

I would have to disagree on edge retention. I always sharpen all my knives to shave arm hair. Be it a kitchen knife work knife or hunting knife. I have used a schrade LB7 all day at work cutting heater hose or air lines and then used that same knife to field dress a deer without touching up the blade. I think it has to do with blade steel. But that's just my opinion.

Could be I am doing it wrong. I use Case and Western knives on the fish, and if I am filleting more than a half dozen I like to touch up the blade part way through the process.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

You answered the question** never can get one ""to sharp"" -- people just need to know how to use this ""TOOL""

Roger that!


I like my knives sharp. That's kinda the point of them.

[Ole Joe Clark]

In recent years, I am really careful with my carry knives, one slip and my old hands will be sliced.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[WillyCamaro]

Actually, in my case gents, it's not a good idea for me to have razor sharp knives.
I'm severely klutzy, drop/bump/bang knives all the time, do to my fibro fog/fatigue/poor control/shakes. Having a blade razor sharp, is asking for trouble.
And from my experience, a clean cut threw paper, is where I like my edge to be at.
Like in sword comparisons: a katana is a beautifully thin, razor sharp blade. A broadsword is sharp, but not razor, and has a much thicker edge.
It's like with any tool, what is it's intended use use going to be?
For tomatoes, you want a thin, razor sharp blade. But for peeling apples, by hand, with a pocket knife, I wouldn't want it bone cutting sharp. Would make me too nervous, I've had prior experience with "too sharp" a knife...

[CluelessNick]

The first Opinel I ever got I cut myself twice just while looking it over the first time. Scary sharp right out of the package.

[desmobob]

I don't think a knife can be too sharp. The edge angle may be too acute, but that's a whole different thing...

[CamMan21]

I once cut myself on the thigh about 4" long and an inch deep. I was slicing carboard with a Victorinox Bantam. The cut took several stiches to close.

The knife was so sharp I never felt the cut, but soon thereafter I felt my leg getting wet with blood.

The sharp blade wasn't to blame...me being unaware of where the cutting edge was in relation to my body parts was.

[doglegg]

Those sharp cuts seem to heal easier to me.

[carpx]

Car too fast, dog points too many birds, girl's too pretty...No such thing as a knife "too sharp"..I have worn out ta lot of knives trying to keep an edge up to my standards, and now won't waste time on a knife that doesn't have adequate heat treat and metal, I cook a lot, and know how important having an adequate edge is. I much prefer an old high carbon steel blade to some of the cheap ss you see passing as knives.

[Nev52]

I agree You can not beat a old carbon steel knife. I love old Schrade knives with carbon steel blades.

[cudgee]

There are a lot of interesting comments on this thread. My opinion is that razor sharp is a bit too sharp for a knife unless it has a special use like castrating livestock or impressing coworkers. I never use my knives for anything that requires a razor edge, or that a a razor edge would even help. Filleting a fish, slicing an apple, pruning a fruit tree, slicing strips of pork jowl - none of those need a razor edge. And a razor edge would not last more than one slice through the skin on a pork jowl or a bacon side. And when my wife is slicing cabbage, OMG - I could not believe what a cabbage does too a sharp santoku blade - I asked her if she had been chopping bones with the knife!

Anyway. I use a soft Arkansas stone or a fairly coarse stone on my knives and almost never try for the shaving sharp edge. Not because it is too sharp. But because it is just not anything that I need and will not last past one good Red Fish filleting.

Thought you may find this interesting. I was always under the opinion that the soft Arkansas stones were roughly about 400-600 grit compared to man made stones, and that was the figure posted on a lot of reviews. Well, maybe not my friend, i found a website that did some tests on different stones of comparable grits, the purpose was to see the scratch patterns under a microscope and compare them. The soft Arkansas stone compared to a 1200 grit stone scratch pattern, which is getting up into the finer grits, not what was previously thought. Anyway, i just purchased my first Arkansas stones, the soft Arkansas and the black, and i must say, when i first saw and felt them out of the packaging i was impressed, just the stones on their own are things of beauty, i can now see why people collect vintage sharpening stones. Now, back to things more serious, a sharpener that does a lot of youtube videos, also said the soft Arkansas was similar to a 1200 grit stone in his opinion. I have just used mine for the first time to finish a knife i re profiled from 20DPS to 15DPS, i worked my up from 120 grit diamond, through to 1000 grit, all aluminium oxide, then finished on the soft Arkansas then green stropping compound on rough leather, i only want a sharp working edge. I was blown away how much difference the soft Arkansas made, you could nearly shave with this blade, i did not set out out to get such an edge, but it is razor sharp. I remembered reading your post and thought you might be interested.

[Nev52]

Cudgee,
You are correct with your assessment of Arkansas stones. Years ago I purchased Arkansas Novaculite sharping stones from a company in the USA called Natural Whetstone company. After talking to someone in their shop I explained I had always used a Lansky tri stone. He told me to use their black Novaculite stone to finish the blade for a surgical quality razor sharp edge. I tried it and WOW super sharp!! I then use a white stropping compound then green. If it is a kitchen knife I finish with the red stropping compound. Scary razor sharp!!



Nev 52

[cudgee]

Cudgee,
You are correct with your assessment of Arkansas stones. Years ago I purchased Arkansas Novaculite sharping stones from a company in the USA called Natural Whetstone company. After talking to someone in their shop I explained I had always used a Lansky tri stone. He told me to use their black Novaculite stone to finish the blade for a surgical quality razor sharp edge. I tried it and WOW super sharp!! I then use a white stropping compound then green. If it is a kitchen knife I finish with the red stropping compound. Scary razor sharp!!



Nev 52

The American company you speak of is rated by knife people a lot more knowledgeable than me as the best provider of Wichita and Arkansas stones.

[Captain O]

This old sailor believes in a sharp knife. (I've been at this since 1966 at the tender age of 11). Yep, the sharper the blade is, the better. My hidden release Boker, D2 steel, Cobra-tec auto is "scary sharp" and I like it that way. I keep my tools in "service ready" condition so that I can rely upon them as needed. A dull knife is dangerous and not with a "tinker's dam".

Enough said.