Apart from the 3 finger test which is good it is good to test further.
I read on another forum a very sensible remark – you would not test a saw on paper so the best test of a blade is on the medium that it is going to be used for .
Often in the past I tested for sharpness on paper but then one day I tried to cut some processed ham in the form of a plastic sausage I add the knife failed it did cut through the plastic after a couple of goes but not first go .
I find now I look to see if there are any reflective spots on the edge then I check the blade with three fingers more than likely alternating between looking and three fingers and then test on the medium that it will be used on .
Totally agree…
Up to and including cutting the material the blade is designed for, I try nearly everything …. haven’t built my own hanging sharpness tester…. I’ve dissected a laser pointer; well on my way to making my own GONIOMETER!
I slide a cork under little more than its own weight over the length of the edge to see if it “grabs” the same along the length of the blade. I slide a paper towel down the length to see if the edge picks up fibers. I slide a cotton patch down the length for the same reason.
I’m not so good with the three finger test while the knife is still in the vice.
In Eugene a few weeks ago at the knife show, I bought a small bunch of stuff from Bob Nash and Oldawan. He gifted me with one of those pen/stylus sharpness tester. (Thanks, again, for everything, Bob.)
Not the end-all and be-all but it adds another test! It helped me find why a knife stopped slice cutting at a certain point — a micro-chip I could neither see nor feel any other way. Got it.
If my fingernails were longer they might serve the same purpose.
I also chase the magic marker until I remove that last little micro-dot of blue at the tip or the heel until I’m satisfied it’s no longer there.
About something else someone once told me, “If there’s a doubt; there is no doubt.” It applies, for me, to sharpness testing. After any and all tests, if there’s any doubt in my own mind and I’m not happy; then it’s not done.
I’ll stop… there’s so much more.
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For Now,
Gib
Φ
"Everyday edge for the bevel headed"
"Things work out best for those who make the best out of the way things work out."
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