- Joined
- May 25, 2013
- Messages
- 3,700
If mine can chop a doodle bug in half on the concrete, I say she's good to go!
Hehe. With the grain or against??
If mine can chop a doodle bug in half on the concrete, I say she's good to go!
I asked a similar question a while ago http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1080339-What-s-your-sharpness-test
Now I like to test by the sound the knife makes while push cutting engineering paper. It's pretty much just like regular paper...but I have dozens of pads around so I know it's always the same material.
Hehe. With the grain or against??
Your fingers are the best testers of sharpness. They will tell you more than any cut test.
What do you guys use for a microscope? I have a 10x loupe but I would like to see more
I've tried the 3 finger test a number of times, but my results aren't consistent. When I sharpen to a middle grit edge (1000 JIS or Spyderco medium) the blade seems a bit sticky. I can watch my finger pads move with blade. But when I go any higher (or with a dull knife), it just seems to glide over my fingers.
This is a weird thing because psychology plays a role. I don't want to slice my fingers open, so I'm not pressing with any more than just tiny pressure. Murray says really weird things about this test like, (paraphrasing) "buffers make a blade dull like a ballpoint pen and fail the 3 finger test. They will shave and slice paper, but they aren't sharp."
Frankly that seems like complete BS to me. I think he's just going for a toothy edge that bites skin. OTOH, he's the "expert" and he should know, right? My blades that glide over my skin do shave and easily slice phonebook paper. Am I missing something that he is able to do that I can't? Or is a finer edge just not able to bite into skin and "stick" with the 3 finger test?
This has been on my mind for many, many months now, so I'm very glad someone brought it up.
If a finer edge isn't sticky, how do you (Jason, knifenut) use it to appraise finer ground edges? I'm asking Jason, but I'm also asking anyone else with experience in this.
Thanks guys,
Brian.