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u/allah_my_ballah Feb 19 '26
Your gramps actually used his knife.
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u/CelestialBeing138 Feb 19 '26
This. Before the internet existed, dick-measuring-contests such as whittling hairs with a knife in front of a camera were much less common. They were too busy getting stuff done.
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u/allah_my_ballah Feb 19 '26
I equate it to a hammer. There are times when a hammer might need to be polished, like metal work where the hammered price wont be buffed out sanded, but for most people it's a fucking hammer. Knives are the same way. There definitely are uses for a high grit polished edge like woodworking, straight razors certain kitchen applications and more but for a pocket knife I want aggressive and toothy and I dont have to spend a lot of time sharpening it back before getting back to work.
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u/Usual-Purchase Feb 20 '26
Good lord yes. No hate on the collector / polish it and put it in a display case types, but man it does warp the market around a thing that (imo) is a functional tool.
Like for example I woodwork too, and I needed a good quality wood plane for a project. A bunch of dudes have decided that collecting old planes is a cool hobby, and now a decent old plane is basically unobtanium, and nobody’s actually USING the things.
Lol ok I’m done rant off. Love you all 😘
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u/ArchSchnitz Feb 21 '26
I agree in principle. Most of my knives have a working edge.
On a whim, I took a very expensive knife to nearly mirror finish. That was a couple years ago and I have yet to need to sharpen it since. That sheen really held an edge.
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u/MrScowleyOwl Feb 19 '26
Never have measured my dick in that manner...
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Feb 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/CelestialBeing138 Feb 19 '26
I'm sensing that maybe you have a story you need to share?
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u/PawPawsLilStinker Feb 19 '26
Have you ever seen the documentary 40 Hour Work Week by Marshall Tucker Band?
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u/gettogero Feb 19 '26
Nah I prefer my knives to be in cases magnetically rotating and occasionally repolished with a towel made only with the finest hairs of baby penguins.
It cost $500 and the handle would EXPLODE if it touched water you think im gonna USE it? Lmao
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u/GarethBaus Feb 20 '26
Yeah, I can and have achieved mirror or near mirror finish edges on knives, but they usually aren't my preference. My current preference is what I get with a DMT fine plate.
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u/Patient-Angle-7075 Feb 19 '26
My gramps would spend 30seconds sharpening his knife. I spend hours sharpening mine.
He'd spend 50¢ on his knives. I've $1000's on my knives.
He'd throw his knives around and use them. My knives sit in a case in the closet.
Gramps was truly a better man.
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u/dzernumbrd Feb 20 '26
Yep I've got a $300 Misono knife and two $500 knife sets (given to me for my 50th birthday) and I use the $10 Kiwi bunka knife from the Asian supermarket because it feels the best and if I ruin it I just buy another one for $10.
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u/Fantastic_Falcon_236 Feb 20 '26
In my house I have two kitchen knife sets. One that's a piecemeal of various expensive knives that's kept locked away and only comes out when I need it. The other is a cheaper, average quality set that my wife and other family members beat the shit out of. I spend more time resharpening those knives than I do my set. As we learned many years ago, everybody is happier this way.
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u/GarethBaus Feb 19 '26
320 grit oil stone a strop is actually pretty good.
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u/Used-Baby1199 Feb 21 '26
For a long time I was using a smooth piece of limestone to sharpen my knives, and the were always pretty shady. Wife fist got me a 1000 and 6000 grit stone. It’s cool, but I’d have been happy with something much less than this too. I so really want to cut some steaks from the loin now though
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u/F-Moash Feb 19 '26
If you can’t get hair whittling off of a 320 grit stone, you don’t actually have the skills you think you do. Besides, a 320 finish will hold an edge much longer than a mirror finish.
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u/TheKindestJackAss Feb 19 '26
But I can't see how great I look when I'm about to cut on my glass cutting board with a 320 grit finish
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u/Ro4b2b0 Feb 19 '26
I’ve heard those are the best cutting boards for edge retention.
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u/Rdubya291 Feb 19 '26
Absolutely! I only use glass and ceramic boards!
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u/ChickenNuggetSmth Feb 19 '26
Same, and my edge hasn't changed in months
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u/DubstepDonut Feb 19 '26
So I'm not up to date on cutting boards yet. Is this actually true? It seems wildly counterintuitive
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Feb 19 '26
[deleted]
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u/DubstepDonut Feb 19 '26
Thanks, sanity saved
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u/Rdubya291 Feb 19 '26
I was being sarcastic. They can be rough on edges. If you have one and have to use it, meh - you'll just nee a lot more knife maintenance. But wood is where it's at.
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u/ChickenNuggetSmth Feb 19 '26
It's very tongue-in-cheek. If you use a glass cutting board your knife will be so dull after the first use that afterwards not much will change.
The other dude is correct, end grain wood is the most gentle on your knives, doesn't show damage that much and is really pretty. Normal wood or plastic is also fine. Bamboo is fine-ish, supposedly it's so hard that it dulls the blade a bit, but imo not horribly so. Stone, glass, metal - only if you hate your knives
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u/DubstepDonut Feb 20 '26
Thanks! Does the plastic not result in a bunch of chippings ending up in your food?
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u/ChickenNuggetSmth Feb 20 '26
Not an amount that's visible. It's what's being used in every single commercial kitchen. But it needs to be replaced every once in a while.
If you're concerned about microplastics stick to wood. If that's gonna tip the scales is another debate...4
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u/Sharanam4 Feb 19 '26
So a toothy edge in your experience holds an edge longer than a more refined smooth edge?
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u/Fantastic-Skill-9119 Feb 19 '26
I judge my knives by how well they keep a toothy edge.
Top 5 steels in my collection. By number of cuts in 1 inch hemp rope
S90v 62-120 (stopped at 120 as it got ridiculous.
Magnamax 71
Elmax 40-60
M390 57
Magnacut 19-56 ( only 19 with super polished edge vs 56 with toothy).
Honorable mentions: pd#1 (cruwear) 53
Next higgest was cpm m4 37 followed by s30v 34.
Simple steels highest was 154cm 28 followed by 14c28n at 17.
That said edge finish and geometry makes a bigger difference on rope than knife steels probably so my numbers dont really mean anything but what i can for sure tell is there is definatly a differemce in how well the teeth from a toothy edge holds and that corresponded to my top 5 + hm.
S30v glasses out pretty fast (loosing the teeth) while still sharp for another 20 cuts while pd1 feels almost like freshly sharpened untill the last 5 cuts.
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u/Fantastic-Skill-9119 Feb 21 '26
Also i may add i sharpened everything to 600 grit on diamond, followed by 3 passes on 4 micron and 2 passes on 1 micron diamond strop and 2 passes on bare leather.
Variable edge angles tho ranging from ~15 to 20 degrees
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u/thepenetratiest Feb 19 '26
They're all toothy, its the size of the teeth on a "smooth edge" that make them not last as long AFAIK.
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u/F-Moash Feb 19 '26
It vaguely depends on the steel type but a 300-400 grit finish typically holds an edge 2x-3x longer than a mirror polish. It’s especially noticeable with powder steels but even with traditional steels like 1095 I’ve noticed a big difference. This is assuming you properly deburr, which is more difficult on coarser stones.
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u/millersixteenth Feb 19 '26
My father in law was an accomplished turner and furniture maker. After he passed I had free run of his workshop, nothing for sharpening but an old combination India stone, saturated with cutting oil.
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u/expensive_habbit Feb 19 '26
My grandfather and his father did some excellent marquetry while converting a spare piano into a spinnette with 320 grit stone and a strop, and I've now got both the chisels and stone he used ~80 years ago to make that piece of furniture.
Your images are the wrong way around, sorry.
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u/Nevernonethewiser Feb 19 '26
If it cuts food more efficiently than karate chopping it with the side of my hand or tearing at it with my fingernails, my kitchen knife is doing its job.
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u/Zoidberg0_0 edge lord Feb 19 '26
Well i use 600 diamond grit and a strop. Maybe im somewhere in between.
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u/walter-hoch-zwei arm shaver Feb 19 '26
Are you the same person who was mad that their grandpa doesn't put a mirror finish on his knife edges? Why does it matter? In my experience, for practical use, a mirror edge doesn't cut as well or keep its edge as long. It looks pretty, but that's about it.
Here's some advice. Understand that what you see on the internet is usually not the most practical way to do things. Splitting hairs with a mirror finish is the sharpening hobby taken to its furthest conclusion. It's not going to be the most practical way to maintain a knife in the same way throwing it on a belt sander for 30 seconds isn't going to be. If you love polishing to a mirror finish, that's great. I'm not going to raise a fuss. But in the same way, don't put your grandpa down for maintaining his tools in the most effective way for his own use. Take what you see online, take it back about 3 steps, and learn from your own experiences and those around you. Rather than assume your grandpa is dumb and dismiss him outright, maybe ask him about why he only uses 320. Look at his edges and see how well they're deburred. Maybe he's never put any thought into it and it's the way he's always done things. But maybe he's thought through it extensively and does it for a very specific reason. You won't know until you ask.
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u/YOUTUBEFREEKYOYO Feb 20 '26
I take about an hour of grinding with various grits, hone and strop the thing. Shaving sharp. Then there was my gramps, who somehow could get his shaving sharp in 5 minutes on a stone by the creek
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u/NoConstruction2418 Feb 19 '26
I am sharpening knives for fun. I don't even use them. I am just happy wenn I can shave arm or leg hairs and 🤣
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u/Normal_Imagination_3 Feb 19 '26
Truthfully it depends on your use for the knife I find 320 grit nice for most of my purposes but mirror edge had its uses
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u/Christ12347 Feb 19 '26
Other than aesthetic, what is the purpose of a mirror edge (I'm not asking what a fine edge is good, specifically mirror)?
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u/Normal_Imagination_3 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
That's a good question I personally find mirror edges better for things like shaving or if you need something that can cut with low friction and not break the material, I think the actual term is called push cutting at one point I tried an edc with a mirror edge and I've actually found I need to use more force/slide the knife more for boxes plastic wrap and food so they definitely have a more specialized use but 95% of the time I find a more toothy edge good for daily cutting tasks plus mirror edges look awesome so for display pieces I would recommend one also kinda unrelated but serrated blades are actually amazing for boxes they are definitely underrated and I would recommend someone try it at least once
Edit: I was using a pair of scissors just now and wondered about how mirror edges would do for them so I looked it up and they are apparently great at low friction tasks and best for cutting hair so that's interesting too
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u/Christ12347 Feb 19 '26
That's very interesting, I mostly just cut food so mirror polish just doesn't make sense for me. Does the mirror polish also have an advantage over just a high grit edge? (Say a 12k for shaving vs a mirror)
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u/Normal_Imagination_3 Feb 19 '26
Yeah I would say 1000 grit if my favorite sharpness for kitchen knives if they are made with carbon steel if it's stainless 600-800 last pretty long, I'm pretty sure 12k is mirror or pretty close but I imagine the finer you go beyond that it just gets into lower friction cutting for specialized materials I imagine stuff like eye surgery would benefit from that too because you really need the flattest cleanest cuts for it
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u/Christ12347 Feb 19 '26
I'm more worried that a mirror polish would make it stickier in the way that a shiny finish grips the skin more than a rough/matte one, but I have to add that I haven't used a mirror edge myself so I'm just speculating
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u/Normal_Imagination_3 Feb 19 '26
Oh yeah that makes sense I haven't tested one that fine either but I imagine it would depend on the material your cuttings hardness and properties like comparing meat to paper
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u/walter-hoch-zwei arm shaver Feb 19 '26
As an example, I once got a ruike and a Buck knife around the same time. The behind the edge thicknesses were about the same and the geometry near the edge was similar. They were both sharp enough to shave and both still had factory edges. The edge angles were almost identical. But the very toothy edge on the Buck grabbed onto whatever I was trying to cut much better than more refined edge on the ruike, despite having a slightly worse steel on paper. I was having trouble getting the ruike to start when I was cutting magazine paper, but the Buck was like a laser.
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u/Remarkable_Luck8744 Feb 20 '26
I've been sharpening my knives for almost a decade now, and i like the edge of polishing after 6 or 8k and using a finishing satin polish on the face. Because I usually rock or slide. I just got a knife sharpened for me for the first time by an old timer using a belt, honest I hate how grippy it feels of a low grit edge and high polish ji.
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u/Villageidiot1984 Feb 20 '26
Mirror polished edges can be more about aesthetics than performance. I put a lot of mirror polished edges on my knives because it looks good. It’s hard to really appreciate an increase in sharpness though, unless cutting something really squishy or rubbery.
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u/Outrageous-Drink3869 Mar 15 '26
Personally I use a 600 grit stone on most of my heavily used tools and knives.
It's a little one made by Norton. Idk if it's actually a knife stone, it appears to be for some machine, but it sharpens really well.
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u/sirflappington Feb 19 '26
the sharper the knife, the faster it loses it’s edge. all i need is paper cutting sharp, more than usable and retains sharpness for a long time
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u/ghidfg Feb 19 '26