Thread: How sharp should a knife be?

Originally Posted by mimms2

Massive thread revival!

Knives should be sharp enough to shave. All of em. All the time. Blunt knives are dangerous.

I can cut fresh white bread with my chefs knife. That's about how sharp.

you are right the sharper the knife the better blunt ones tend to cut you or stab because you are forcing them

I only purchase quality knives that are capable of taking and holding a SHARP edge and my way of thinking was SHARP was the only way to go..

After effortlessly slicing off the tip of my finger along with the fingernail last week (due to a slight distraction) I now believe a knife can be far too sharp for purpose.

If the blade is of good quality and it grips on the finger nail she'll be good for two - three deer and you will cut anything in the kitchen than needs cutting!

Anything sharper than that it only takes one slight mistake and the cut will be straight down to the bone, you'll need stitches and you'll get the shits every time the wife uses it!

And stay away from heavy stainless blades.

invest in a steel mesh glove for the offside hand....man Im sick of poking/slicing bits off mine....the last poke cost dose of antibiotics and the plurry finger still stiff and semi locks up at times.always when Im in a hurry or doing something with knife I shouldnt be doing.

First off, anyone wants a knife sharpened I do it, I can match or set any angle , take out chips, and regrind tips or angles, doesn’t matter what steel, I also do scissors, chisels, planes and axes, but I do charge.

Diamonds are the bees knees, I use a variety of medium but for true gross removal speed a diamond is hard to beat, unless yiu go electric, a diamond will also leave a beautiful polished edge better than any waterstone or oilstone, my diamond goes to 60000 grit but I know some that go to 250000, not stone will match that.

Different tasks require different edges and sharpness levels, a kitchen knife should be super sharp as you want to avoid cell crushing, hence food lasts longer without spoiling (if you can cut down through a tomato without having to push or pull and not crush it then it’s sharp), but a knife that’s cutting through pig hide should be toothier or it will take damage, as for wood the sharper the better, a good carpenter will resharpen their plane edges multiple times during the course of the day, but an axe that’s a splitter does not need to be sharp at all.

So yes different strokes for different tasks, but if yiu ever need a hand, have a knife that’s damaged or just want something sharpened properly give me a yell, 021727546