There is a lot of old traditional knifes out there - and each one of them are designed out of needs and out of use. The fact that one of the oldest knifes we find here in Scandinavia is razors tells that other knifes shall not be as sharp as razors... When a knife become as sharp as a razor - it have become a razor.
City people work in hard dry materials as dry wood, plastic, nylon, cardboard, paper and so on - and they need edges that hold for this type of materials. In the same time, they are romantik and longing for outdoor life, and some days, or weekends, per year, they take their city edged knife and whittle a barberque stick or two, make up fire, baton som firewood - and feel like old trappers that survive for years in Rocky Mountains...
The fact that 90% of humans in the industrial world today lives in citys - and that city knifes have developed edges around 40 degrees to hold for hard dry materials - are not so known... Most City people belive that all knifes hold angles on 40 degrees and that is a normal edge angle on all knifes, world wide.
It is not. Most edges on knifes in the world hold around 18-26 degrees.
In the same time...modern steel are made harder and harder = modern steel is brittle, and today edges chip, before they could role, they never chip. So, to make this hard brittle steel work - edges must be around 40 degrees... That means that they penetrate material badly - compare to edges adound 18-26 degrees.
Traditionals talk about that they wish that their edge shall hold for skin and butcher both a moose and her calf. What can city people meassure their edges with? How many meter cardboard it can cut? How much plastic it can cut?
In my mind, they can only measure sharpness becouse it can not really be meassured by most people - so they slice paper of different kind, they whittle in hair, and ao on - showing how good they can sharpen their edge - in the same time, they have not a clue about how many degrees their edge have...
For me - this tells that the only thing they can perform is that they are good to get the edges two sides to meet properly in a low angle and that they have understand that fine sharpeners gives sharper edges. For me, this is not really sharpening, it is misstreatning a knife = they make all their knifes to razors.
For me, a knife shall only be as sharp it need to be for its purpouse - this becouse that sharpness must allways be balanced against retention. This becouse the edge shall hold as long rime as possible in real use. This becouse of that is the reason to have a functional knife in first place...
Hard words - but I write with a smile and with love.
In Scandinavia we use flat edges in total 18 degrees, singel bevel, for whittling in wet fresh soft wood. If the wood is dry we use higher angle, is it real dry we use a veey thin micro bevel on the cutting edge and try to keep a thin edge so that the edge still penetrate the wood good, ans the micro bevel make that the edge hold for the work.
It can also be balanced with the grit on the last sharpener last in use. Or - balanced by first making a smooth edge - and then make a tothy cutting edge by make teath with a lower grit, or example, sharpen an edge in 10 micron and then make teath with a 30 or 40 micron sharpener with only one passing on the edge in a slightly higher angle.
The three most important things with a edge is: edge angle, edge angle and edge angle. Still - most people have not a clue what edge angle they have on their knifes - and on all forums yiu can read that people write that the angle is not ao important, the important thing is that the knfe works for you...and, of cause, people that sharpen their own knifes are proude of what they have done - and, of cause, the edge they have done work perfect for them.
This is a bad circle. A very bad circle. They can only make the two sides to meet eachother. Nothing more. They do not know in what edge angle. They can not compare two edges with eachother becouse they have different, unknown edge angles. So, what can be learned from not knowing what they just have done to the edge? What can be learn when working with a knife with a unknown edge angle in wood?
The answer is: nothing can be learn. And - they will allways start from scratch everyting they sharpen a knife.
What can be learn when using a knife with a edge angle in total 18 degrees whittling in dry wood? A lot of things can be learned, how a edge in 18 degrees work for just you - and how long this edge holds its sharpness. Then can this edge be sharpened in 20 degrees and you can learn how this edge works for you compared with the edge in 18 degrees - and how much more force you need to use, and how much longer this edge abgle holds for you - and NOW you starts to understand the Basic knowledge of sharpening, different edge angles - and what you have learn now you will allways carry with you for the rest of your life - and you will never more start from scratch again. You will learn new things every time you sharpen your knife with a known new edge angle.
You will also learn how hard different types of wood are, if there is sand in the wood, and so on. After a rather short time you WILL understand what to do to the edge to reach the result you need to have - and you WILL know the result of the change of the edge allready before you have make the change - and for me - THIS is sharpening knowledge.
So, the answer is to understand how edges in different degrees works in different materials - and to use the correct knife with the correct edge angle for the job.
Its alo means that you shall never chop with a knife. If you need to chop, use a axe. Axes are designd for chopping = use your knife to what they are designed for to do.
City people work in hard dry materials as dry wood, plastic, nylon, cardboard, paper and so on - and they need edges that hold for this type of materials. In the same time, they are romantik and longing for outdoor life, and some days, or weekends, per year, they take their city edged knife and whittle a barberque stick or two, make up fire, baton som firewood - and feel like old trappers that survive for years in Rocky Mountains...
The fact that 90% of humans in the industrial world today lives in citys - and that city knifes have developed edges around 40 degrees to hold for hard dry materials - are not so known... Most City people belive that all knifes hold angles on 40 degrees and that is a normal edge angle on all knifes, world wide.
It is not. Most edges on knifes in the world hold around 18-26 degrees.
In the same time...modern steel are made harder and harder = modern steel is brittle, and today edges chip, before they could role, they never chip. So, to make this hard brittle steel work - edges must be around 40 degrees... That means that they penetrate material badly - compare to edges adound 18-26 degrees.
Traditionals talk about that they wish that their edge shall hold for skin and butcher both a moose and her calf. What can city people meassure their edges with? How many meter cardboard it can cut? How much plastic it can cut?
In my mind, they can only measure sharpness becouse it can not really be meassured by most people - so they slice paper of different kind, they whittle in hair, and ao on - showing how good they can sharpen their edge - in the same time, they have not a clue about how many degrees their edge have...
For me - this tells that the only thing they can perform is that they are good to get the edges two sides to meet properly in a low angle and that they have understand that fine sharpeners gives sharper edges. For me, this is not really sharpening, it is misstreatning a knife = they make all their knifes to razors.
For me, a knife shall only be as sharp it need to be for its purpouse - this becouse that sharpness must allways be balanced against retention. This becouse the edge shall hold as long rime as possible in real use. This becouse of that is the reason to have a functional knife in first place...
Hard words - but I write with a smile and with love.
In Scandinavia we use flat edges in total 18 degrees, singel bevel, for whittling in wet fresh soft wood. If the wood is dry we use higher angle, is it real dry we use a veey thin micro bevel on the cutting edge and try to keep a thin edge so that the edge still penetrate the wood good, ans the micro bevel make that the edge hold for the work.
It can also be balanced with the grit on the last sharpener last in use. Or - balanced by first making a smooth edge - and then make a tothy cutting edge by make teath with a lower grit, or example, sharpen an edge in 10 micron and then make teath with a 30 or 40 micron sharpener with only one passing on the edge in a slightly higher angle.
The three most important things with a edge is: edge angle, edge angle and edge angle. Still - most people have not a clue what edge angle they have on their knifes - and on all forums yiu can read that people write that the angle is not ao important, the important thing is that the knfe works for you...and, of cause, people that sharpen their own knifes are proude of what they have done - and, of cause, the edge they have done work perfect for them.
This is a bad circle. A very bad circle. They can only make the two sides to meet eachother. Nothing more. They do not know in what edge angle. They can not compare two edges with eachother becouse they have different, unknown edge angles. So, what can be learned from not knowing what they just have done to the edge? What can be learn when working with a knife with a unknown edge angle in wood?
The answer is: nothing can be learn. And - they will allways start from scratch everyting they sharpen a knife.
What can be learn when using a knife with a edge angle in total 18 degrees whittling in dry wood? A lot of things can be learned, how a edge in 18 degrees work for just you - and how long this edge holds its sharpness. Then can this edge be sharpened in 20 degrees and you can learn how this edge works for you compared with the edge in 18 degrees - and how much more force you need to use, and how much longer this edge abgle holds for you - and NOW you starts to understand the Basic knowledge of sharpening, different edge angles - and what you have learn now you will allways carry with you for the rest of your life - and you will never more start from scratch again. You will learn new things every time you sharpen your knife with a known new edge angle.
You will also learn how hard different types of wood are, if there is sand in the wood, and so on. After a rather short time you WILL understand what to do to the edge to reach the result you need to have - and you WILL know the result of the change of the edge allready before you have make the change - and for me - THIS is sharpening knowledge.
So, the answer is to understand how edges in different degrees works in different materials - and to use the correct knife with the correct edge angle for the job.
Its alo means that you shall never chop with a knife. If you need to chop, use a axe. Axes are designd for chopping = use your knife to what they are designed for to do.