Why We Sharpen Our Knives With a Working Edge

Sharpening isn’t simple. There are different types of edges and angles that serve different purposes, all of which greatly affect the degree to which a blade can be sharpened.

But more than that, sharpness is an incomplete measure of the usefulness of a knife. Here at MKC, we measure sharpness a bit differently.

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[kieran]

The "burr" created by pushing a knife blade across a sharpener (like a whetstone) needs to be removed (generally happens when a knife is stropped) to stabalise the knife edge after sharpening. His comcept of aggressive is more to do with the grit level of the whetstone or sharpening system used to finish the sharpening process not the burr.

[TheDecoyDude]

I really wish this was advertised more. When I received my knife a few days ago I presumed I had a lemon because it would not slice paper. After messing with it I now have it razor sharp but for $300 was not expecting a rough “toothy” edge. I get the idea but I wish I knew that before. All the reviews said how MKC sells the sharpest knives ever etc so I was expecting a laser not a hacksaw. I guess I can send it back in a year and get the factory “working edge” back again.

[quebirt]

Always a little hesitant to disagree with someone who has far more experience in most ways than I do, but technically I'M not. Technically a master wood carver, whose book I just read is, and I've felt the results since I implemented his (won't name him) sharpening method. Specifically, I'm disagreeing with the idea of stopping at 600 grit.
For wood carving, that "bite" that we're talking about here is VERY important, and so is edge retention.
Master wood carvers, who tend to get asked a lot how they got their knife so sharp, will polish the * out of the edge.
I've also never seen the knife that needed something as low as 120 grit. Even completely re-shaping the grind I only ever go as low as 400.
Generally, we will sharpen on a stone very very infrequently because we keep the edge in shape, but with a new knife or one that has been badly mistreated or a bad grind, we are going to sharpen up to about 1000 grit on stones.

Then we're going to strop, which is generally considered to be around 1200. We DO run the blade backward, but that won't give it "bite."
We get the "bite" or "teeth" during the last step, and that is with very fine ceramic. I use a porcelain coffee cup I got from ebay. I'm pretty sure its "grit" would be well over 10, 000.
I don't understand how it gives the edge teeth, but I can feel a definitive difference before and after the ceramic when it comes to grabbing and biting on slice cuts.
Again, this isn't my method or my knowledge. It's from someone who is world renowned in wood carving circles and I can only speak for how much it has changed my experience following his instructions.
Sorry for the length of this, but one of my biggest pet peeves is how mystical crazy * gets started and lingers and becomes "common knowledge" when it comes to knives, steel, and sharpening. It isn't magic, and it's very well understood, and there is good information out there. Just have to weed out all the bad information.

[scottbrossmann]

Awesome ... Sounds like I've been doing too much work with my wicked edge ... maybe I'll try stropping after I get done with the 600 stone 🙌🏼 ... Oh & I'd love ya to post to Australia (I drop that on most of ya handles 😬)

[tubagod]

My wife hopefully got me a speedgoat for Christmas 👀 super excited

[Canadaman]

What do you feel is the best angle for sharpening a skinning knife? 18-21 ???

[Canadaman]

That’s been my own experience I’m finding that the 600 to 800 grit far out performs up to a 1200 yes 1200 it’s razor sharp but it doesn’t hold it for long. I find at the higher bevel it slips too much and dulls too fast. You can go down a rabbit hole with sharpening spent a fortune on stones I could’ve stopped at 600 grit and saved a lot of money

[nono]

Is there a specific reason why you pull the knife instead of pushing the knife? I always thought you push to sharpen and pull to strop

[jeffhicks]

You mis-used almost ever buzzword you used in this video. You clearly don't know the difference between cut initiation and cutting ability or sharpness... or keenness.. or what makes what what. The radius of the apex... the smaller it is, the more acute, the keener the edge, the higher the cut initiation. it doesn't matter one bit if it has "teeth" aka course edge or not. Bite is just a rube/common way of describing cut initiation which just another way of describing edge keenness, which in physical terms is just a measure of the radius of the apex. The only difference between a course edge and a polished edge is that a true course edge will cut longer but be more prone to damage, whereas a polished edge wont cut quite as long but is more resistant to forming chips. When I say course I'm talking about a 120 grit edge, will score about 50% higher on a CATRA test than a polished edge. Once you get to 400 grit the difference is not very noteworthy at all. I digress. Cut initiation and cutting ability are not the same thing. If your knives can't still make cuts with a dull edge, then you have poorly designed knives with geometry more suitable to an axe. Which to be frank is the standard within the EDC knife bro world. Shit geometry and shitty cutting ability, basically zero cutting ability once that edge is gone. That's one reason there's all this focus on gimmicky steels, the other reason is the end users are morons that don't know how to actually use or maintain a knife and are afraid to try to sharpen one because they might "ruin it" so they're always looking for "magical" steels that don't go dull. This is because they don't actually understand how knives work, much less how to actually use or maintain one.

[pmpwtlt]

The fact you say its a edge with a burr makes me wonder if you actually know anything about what makes a edge sharp...not to mention some wrong and debunked things and terms used

[Invictusvid]

Disputable terminology aside, you seem to be saying that properly apexed general purpose knife edges should be slightly toothy. If that is what you mean, I agree.

[montanatacticalhomesteader]

I came to these same conclusions on sharpness. So what is a good test for work sharpness? Dragging across the thumbnail?

[jeffhicks]

really? which knife steel doesn't harden? please link me to a knife made of steel that doesn't harden. thanks. that's the "high bar" you seek to beat? Wow you chose a steel that actually hardens, like every single other knife on the planet? Wow. Bravo. 1 minute 30 second in is all I need to see. Knife bros are such a joke.

[joshmajor]

I forgot how HORRIBLE the audio used to be Haha Nonexistent really! Lol

[wadetaylor]

Why the history/theory lesson??? Just skip and get the point!!!!

[CD]

Pretty sad this guy is making million selling knives with burrs on them to people who want to feel cool 😂