Is your knife sharp?

[pjrocco]

I was just curious how some of you test to make sure you knife is sharp enough?

I always go by the paper test..and...if it can shave my arm and/or leg... It's sharp enough.. :)

Problem with my test is that I'm going bald on my left arm and right leg.. :p

[silverback]

I always go by the paper test..and...if it can shave my arm and/or leg... It's sharp enough.. :)

Problem with my test is that I'm going bald on my left arm and right leg.. :p
The dreaded knife nut mange strikes again.
Exactly how I test my knives. :D

[JD Spydo]

There is a very flimsy paper that they used to type with call "onion skin". It is a very flimsy paper that does not cut very easily. I use it sometimes. Also there are cigarette rolling papers that go by the Zig Zag brand. They are made of paper similar to the "onion skin" variety. If you can get a blade to where it shears off that type of paper you know you got a sharp blade.

There is a book on sharpening called the Razor Edge Book of Sharpening by a guy name John Juranitch. There are methods in that book that describe the 2 stage method of sharpening.

I also like to get a knife sharp enough to pop whiskers off of your face without the aid of shaving creme. It can be done with the aid of an Arkansas Blue-Black stone. JD :spyder: O

[Zwaplat]

Pop off a few hairs on the arm, good enough. Can't go much sharper with my current equipment, and a sharper edge wouldn't last on AUS6 very long anyway.

[The Deacon]

I use the thumbnail test, if the blade grabs when raised just slightly, its plenty sharp for my purposes.

[vampyrewolf]

Either shaving hairs off my legs(had to clean the arms up from monkey-mange about 3-4 weeks ago, usually have pants on though), or grabbing a layer or 2 of skin on my thumb(yes, I run my thumb down the edge).

should see what my thumb print is gonna look like if they ever need one. :cool: :D

[Gerard Breuker]

In general use I want my knives to be able to slice through the plastic covers of magazines etc. without any real pressure. If the edge starts gliding over them the knives need sharpening.

[WOTANSON1]

I use the thumb method, if the blade grabs the rings of my skin..it's sharp!
Rob

[severedthumbs]

not sharp until you can cut holes in toilet paper without it tearing.

[Chucula]

i normally jsut swipe the blade through the air a few times. if start to smell ozone (02+0) i consider it sharp enough


paper test for me

[Simon G]

I have just had this sort of question with philuk44 when we met up yesterday. :cool: In a roundabout way he asked me this as an introduction to a conversation about his Sharpmaker.

To tell you the truth, I'd never considered it as I believed my knives were sharp and not used to excess! Wow, how wrong was I!!! From his pocket he produced his Military and I had a new out the box, cut next to nothing, Almite Walker. After I tried cutting his lottery ticket, we weren't sure but hopefully not a winning ticket :eek: , like he did with his Millie, it was almost like I tried cutting using the spine!! :o I just knew mine wouldn't shave my arm like his did!

So when my Sharpmaker turns up, I'll let you know how I test!! (Thanks for getting me to spend more money Phil! :rolleyes: )

[HoB]

i normally jsut swipe the blade through the air a few times. if start to smell ozone (02+0) i consider it sharp enough


I have to try that sometime, for me I slice my blades through water,...if I get an explosion from the recombination of the Hydrogen and the Oxygen, I am satisfied. :D

No seriously. Shaving armhair, cutting freestanding advertisement-flyer-paper, and cutting free hanging paper towles are pretty much my standart techniques. Cutting thread under a certain weight I do occasionally aswell. But most of the time I simply "feel" the edge by guiding 3 fingers along the edge. If I don't dare to move my fingers, I am happy.

[HoB]

(Thanks for getting me to spend more money Phil! :rolleyes: )

Phil, we are proud of you, that you are spreading the gospel :D!

[philuk44]

Simon
If I ever meet your wife I hope she won't be carrying any of your Spydies or I'm in serious trouble!! :eek:

Anyway lad, you should really tell the whole story. OK, I might take the blame for you buying a Sharpmaker but I'm not being held responsible for your cowboy boots....................

And by the way, it really was a pleasure getting together yesterday. Hope you enjoyed your shooting. Get some practice in with that .44" Marlin and we'll have you back on the ranges for the May meeting

Phil

[gordonk]

I do pretty well the same as the rest. Copier paper to start, then something a bit thinner like a receipt. Some arm hair when it grows back from the previous "testing" :D Another one that I try occasionally is to take a paper towel, hold it by a corner (free hanging at this point) stick in the tip and do a push cut. If there's any hint of a wire edge left, it will tear. If all is good, it should have a nice clean cut :) News print is always fun as well.
On push cuts, I try to cut with the whole blade edge.

- gord

[ghostrider]

I do the arm hair, but have noticed that the hair on the inside of my forearm is finer than the hair on my forearm or leg. Often a knife will be sharp enough to shave hair off of my outer forearm but, not off of my inner forearm.

[BBRex]

I just got my sharpmaker, and I'm still trying to get the hang of it. I've mostly been practicing with an old Buck folder with 422V stamped on the blade. It's definitely sharper than it was, but still not as sharp as I would expect (or like). I've run the Cara Cara on it, too, with the same results -- sharper than before, but not as sharp as I think it should be. I guess I need more practice.

[Stormdrane]

I use the thumb method, if the blade grabs the rings of my skin..it's sharp!
Rob

That's also what I do. :cool:

[Damage1978]

I do the arm hair, but have noticed that the hair on the inside of my forearm is finer than the hair on my forearm or leg. Often a knife will be sharp enough to shave hair off of my outer forearm but, not off of my inner forearm.

I've noticed that too, if a :spyder: can't take the hairs from my inner arm it gets sharpened.