Sounds like a dumb question, doesn't it? lol. I have the sneaky feeling that "dull" means different things to different people.

What/when is a blade "dull" to [b]you[/]?

What are your favorite sharp/dull "tests"?

Once it reaches your point of "dull", what do you do? (short answers like "sharpen it" and "throw it away", albeit witty, are not acceptable answers lol)

i.e. Talk to me Goose...what are your day-to-day, or month-to-month rituals for edge retention and when do you invoke them?

Thanks guys and gals!

[T]

There's a feeling when a knife's sharp. When it cuts through a piece of paper and it's right there's a sound it makes, and with noticeably less drag involved.

Pull out something like a ripe tomato and you'll be able to see the difference between sharp and dull.

Fortunately I have enough knives and many of these EDC's, where I don't let them go dull, but with the Edge Pro it's very easy to put the edge back on.

Again, once you know what to look for you'll know when the edge is dulling. If I have the EP setup, I'll take a few swipes with the 600 grit stone and one or two strokes with the 1200 grit rod.

Also for quick and dirty "moves" I have a leather strop compounded with liquid cleanser that will get a decent edge going.

Yah, if you ever decide to throw that knife away PLEASE let me know. We accept orphans around here.

If the knife doesn't draw blood from my finger.

quote:

Originally posted by joe_karp:
There's a feeling when a knife's sharp. When it cuts through a piece of paper and it's right there's a sound it makes, and with noticeably less drag involved.

Pull out something like a ripe tomato and you'll be able to see the difference between sharp and dull.

When a blade loses the ability to pop hairs, I wouldn't quite call it dull just then, but no longer consider it sharp. What Joe says above has a lot of merit. There is a sound that a dull knife makes when cutting paper that is caused by the micro-serrations - more of a tearing sound than a cutting sound. But there are a lot of people who actually sharpen to have those serrations, which can be an asset with many cutting tasks.

Cutting a ripe tomato, in fact, is a good task to have them for. They tend to help pierce the skin of the 'mater, allowing the blade to slice through that skin and allow it to slice the meat of the 'mater instead of crushing it with a blade that is too dull to get past the skin.

But the real test, for me, is to feel the edge with my finger. There's a look that most people get on their face when their finger touches a really sharp blade - kind of like they just bit into a lemon. This "look" is often accompanied by a brief shudder. If I touch a blade edge and it doesn't result in that look, or that shudder, it's dull.

quote:

Originally posted by TDOGG:
Sounds like a dumb question, doesn't it? lol.

What are your favorite sharp/dull "tests"?



[T]

I ask DJ his name... depending on if he gets it right I decide if he's sharp or Dull..

so far he's as sharp as Fairy floss/cotton candy..

I run my thumb along the blade and if it can remove a bit of skin them its good to go. As Joe said, also cutting paper, but it has got to make that certain sound.

For me, usually when the blade wont shave. Then I clean it up.

I'd like to give some of the answers I've seen here, but honestly, I get my Sharpmaker out once every 3-4 months. I've got a stable of ~100 perfectly fine carrying-type folders. I grab a random one in the morning. The first time I find one that doesn't allow me to feel each ridge on my thumbprint as I pass it over the blade edge, I pull out the Sharpmaker. I'll grab the 6-10 knives I know I've been carrying and whip them back into shape. I usually end the evening with little to no hair from halfway up my right forearm down to my wrist.

Alternatively, the first time someone hands my knife back to me and doesn't mention it being "scary sharp", I will get the Sharpmaker out and make it so.

When it doesn't cut the way a benchmade should.

I don't want to get to far off topic. But I see you guys talk a lot about the Edge Pro. What are some other good sharpeners. I only have the benchmade field sharpener, and from what I hear it's not a great choice.