What do you consider dull?

If I can touch the edge without requiring stitches it's too dull.

If the blade can't split a log in two with nothing but the weight of the blade. It's too dull.

If I waive it through the air without nuclear fission happening, it's too dull.

I can drop it on the floor without tearinf a hole in the fabric of the universe, it's too dull.


Unfortunately, all of my knives are dull.
 
No offense intended, but at first I thought all the talk of smokeless tobacco was off-topic. Then I realized that many of us do indeed find this to be a dull topic. :)

Terry M. said:
Long cut mint Copenhagen here. Just switched from Skoal
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When it slides on my fingernail.

I have stones at work and at home, just some swipes at the stones keeps them sharp for about a week of normal use.
 
rje58 said:
No offense intended, but at first I thought all the talk of smokeless tobacco was off-topic. Then I realized that many of us do indeed find this to be a dull topic. :)
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I gotta admit, that’s funny stuff right there.
 
JokersFaceLifter said:
unfortunately, "dull" has become ad muddied as " blade play" --- what may be dull to someone, is sharp to someone else, same is said for blade play, so i will answer your question with my own opinion, if your knife has lost its workable edge, meaning, you can comfortably run your finger along the edge without fear of it it cutting your skin, then its pretty dull --- hope this helps a little
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That's what made me ask the question. I was just curious how other people viewed the topic of a dull edge. Just like with edge retention people either notice a difference or they don't and some people claim steel A gets dull after cutting one sheet of paper and others claim that same steel will cut 5280 ft of cardboard before it needs to be sharpened....

Thanks for all the replies so far. And leave the tobacco for another thread...
 
i can
ktataragasi said:
That's what made me ask the question. I was just curious how other people viewed the topic of a dull edge. Just like with edge retention people either notice a difference or they don't and some people claim steel A gets dull after cutting one sheet of paper and others claim that same steel will cut 5280 ft of cardboard before it needs to be sharpened....

Thanks for all the replies so far. And leave the tobacco for another thread...
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i can't stand paper cutting test, it dulls the blade silly, i think a coarse toothy edge is perfect for a knife user, for a collector, it doesn't matter :thumbsup:
 
JokersFaceLifter said:
i can


i can't stand paper cutting test, it dulls the blade silly, i think a coarse toothy edge is perfect for a knife user, for a collector, it doesn't matter :thumbsup:
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if a blade dulls after one slice in paper then that blade had a hell of a wire edge. I can slice paper all day and have no problems.
 
Tearing paper is bad, shaving sharp is ideal... but not being able to open Amazon packages is a definite DULL! :cool::thumbsdown:
 
I use a Sharpmaker for most of my maintenance sharpening. If a blade won’t shave hair it’s time for a touch up.
 
If a blade gets sluggish at cutting the intended media, it needs a touch up. It is not dull but it's getting boring. Example : a long, thin, meat / fish knife. If it doesn't cut the meat in one, single, clean cut, it needs a stropping. You can, of course, labour on for days with more and more sawing motion, but this is boring. And silly, because all that is needed is a quick polish on the finest belt or on the 10000 wet stone. Interestingly, the cooks I sharpen knives for didn't fall for my reasoning. I could do it at almost no expense (just a polish up...) but no, most of them prefer to wait until their knives are totally dull and need a reprofiling. Pay more, at longer intervals... Whatever floats their boat.
 
i have a stick out in the back that has remained my "sharp testing stick" for a time, but usually i just apex the edge and brush my thumb over it to feel fresh teeth, and maybe if i want, i strop it on my leather belt a couple passes to work out the coarse burs, and its decent for a bit, never saw a need to make it razor sharp --- different strokes i guess [heh heh]
 
My serious answer is - "tomato sharp".
If the blade can slice a tomato, without having to start the cut via the point of the blade, it's not dull.
If the blade slides over the surface, then it needs a whisk on the sharpmaker.
 
If it won't whittle a frog hair , time for the strop. :)
Funny-Frog-Picture-1-of-22.jpg
 
@marthinus that is a good time constraint for cooking knives.

It depends on the knife. My Cold Steel Voyager has a more obtuse edge and higher tolerance for dullness. If it will easily cut soda bottle ring holders, that's good enough. My reground Delica gets sharpened more frequently. Its a thinner more dedicated cutter. Scrape shaving my arm is acceptable, but I usually sharpen it before that point. The sharp blade on my stockman or the only blade on a Victorinox Classic gets sharpened if it won't shave easily. I normally designate the sheepsfoot as the sharp blade on a stockman. The spey blade is left with a more obtuse angle and a very small flat on the edge and will likely only need sharpening very rarely. The clip blade has an everyday edge similar to the Voyager, but with a lower edge angle. Kitchen knives get sharpened about once a month or so. The edge corrodes off the carbon steel ones before they dull from use.

For large choppers that will get used with a chopping block, a relatively acute angle, polished edge bevels and finished with a couple light passes into a 4000 grit water stone is effective and long lasting based on my recent experiments. For its purpose, I think it would get damaged and dented long before it got too dull to make smooth cuts. It is not good for light springy brush or briars.
 
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