How Sharp Does A Knife Have To Be For Outdoor Use?

Verdict:
If you want to cut cardboard, clothing & paper easily go for a razor edge.
If you want to do outdoor woodwork a completely damaged edge can still do it.

So the question you have to ask yourself is where in between you want for which knife? R you going to carry only one knife or more & have each with a different purpose in mind?

Point is is it worth it spending all your time sharpening & maintaining to keep a razor edge?
In the end I think a person should look at what STEEL the knife is because a soft steel outdoors won't keep a razor edge well.
second they should consider the knife's design & blade shape's purpose cause if the knife is meant for light EDC then a sharp edge is better suited.
Lastly what role are you giving your knife.

For me personally my outdoor knives have high angles on the cutting edges & I don't try to remove chips because I want to minimize the damage if the knife falls & also I don't want to keep grinding out the chips just to have a perfect edge because I want to use the steel not sharpen a lot away just to remove a chip.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• sharp
• outdoor
• survival
• how
• need
• type
• edge
• cut
• cutting
• test

[ArtistBlade1972]

Well I'd say they're both pretty dull.

[NeptuneKnives]

@ArtistBlade1972 ur welcome to do a similiar test then with two of the same knives. Preferably Spyderco Sages so we can compare :)

[ArtistBlade1972]

@NeptuneKnives There is no need for me to do a test to know your knives in the video are dull. Neither will cleanly slice paper...

[NeptuneKnives]

@ArtistBlade1972 Ok well tell it to Spyderco cuz I barely tinkered with the Sage 3 which in the vid did slice paper (magazine which is harder to do) it's basically a factory edge. Besides uh what's your point on the whole paper slicing edge? There are edges that knifemakers prefer like toothy ones w 800 grit over paper slicing. I'm not slicing paper in the test I'm testing wood & the concept of how dull for a knife to still work in that I think I got my point across IMO what's paper to do w it?

[alxra]

ha ha.

Like many people like iphones or RC planes i realize you like knives . But you never really learned how to use one. Go look at bindlestitch1. he knows what he's doing. You could learn something from him and others.

[NeptuneKnives]

@alxra LOL I know man I suubed that guy will check it out but in my defense i was just cutttinglike a mall ninja here for the sake of it. I didn't have any goals in mnd just CUT CUT CUT LOL it was just for learning,showing &testing the performance for us both

[Maurice1469]

Unless I had no other choice and I found a folder, I wouldn't ever think about using it outdoors. I understand the vid wasn't about practicality, now if you want to do a vid on something, do one on how easy it is to get a razor finish on a cardon steel blade compared to how much of a pain in the ass it is to the same on a stainless blade

[ArtistBlade1972]

@NeptuneKnives You were using the paper as a point of comparison. Both knives tore the paper more than cut it. A knife is made to cut. The sharper it is the better it performs that intended function. I've never seen a production knife with a factory edge that was very sharp. Most will not even shave arm hair out of the box. I understand what you are trying to say in the video, but it's very easy to sharpen your knives and decrease the work you are having to do...

[Bladedude92]

@NeptuneKnives I understand completely. I go ultra lite backpacking a lot and I love to have small light weight stuff but if its winter I'm bringing a 10 inch blade or axe for fire wood. When I chop I use lanyards and it really helps especially if you wrap it around your hand to add security. I've personally never lost control of a blade and it fall out of my hand and cut me. I understand about the wife safety thing and how you want her to be safe. You should check out the Bacho Laplander saw.

[NeptuneKnives]

@Bladedude92 I like your methods but for Me & Mel we like compact & lightweight. That's always been a goal for us. I feel personally more comfortble with a smaller 4-5inch fixed blade & batoning everything. Just my preference ya know? Warren Thomas told me once a knife broke loose & cut him & even Jankerson has had it happen so I'd rather not. Just like motorcycle stories I don't want my wife to get hurt even if so.