On 7 Dec 2004 14:17:38 -0800, wrote:

I watched a show on the tube where they were sharpening knives and then
using the fleshy parts of their thumbs and fingers to test for
sharpness. My Dad could somehow make anything sharp enough to shave
with, and taught me to drag the end of my fingernail lightly along the
edge, a slight resistance meaning scary sharp.

The sharper the steel the more effort it takes to cut meat. this seems weird but
you need bigger teeth on the edge to grab meat and such. I had learned this when
I got my first handmade Japanese kitchen knife. I sharpened it to 8000 and it
was sharp. it fell through a spud but you had to saw meat with it. took it down
to 1000 grit and man it cut meat like crazy.
running a finger over the edge of a woodworking tool works well. You look for
a slippery or oily feeling edge. the sharper it is the oiler it feels. I like
this method because you can find any bad spots or missed burr's I have never cut
myself doing this. it takes some force to do so. but don't do it on a kitchen
knife (G)

--
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