"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Toughts on sharp: At times the edge can be too sharp. It all depends on the angle of the edge versus the direction of cutting. Are you slicing, are you sawing or is the edge perpendicular to the direction of the movement. E.G. end grain will certainly be better cut when using a skewed blade. I also do not want to cut fresh bread with a knife that is like a razor blade.
Marinus,
Often bread knives will have a serrated edge so the bread can be sawn. Like a dull saw, a dull bread knife can make the work difficult.
There have been more problems for me trying to cut bread with a dull knife than one sharp "like a razor."
For buttering said piece of bread, a non-sharp knife is preferred.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Similarly to the bread knife, a saw would not be much good it it had a straight edge, it needs to be serrated.
In a number of knife forums there is a definite aversion to making a knife edge too much of a razor finish, it is better to have a "microscopically serrated edge" for lack of a better description. This is normally achieved by grinding only to a coarser grit and no stropping. A knife sharpened as such appears to perform better and appears to "stay sharp" longer in slaughtering an animal.
Yet if you look at a saw blade a rip saw is sharpened to have offset rows of tiny chisels. A crosscut saw has rows of tiny knives. The "straight edges" are just tiny and oriented at an angle to the line of the saw plate.
Delving into the area of edges honed for a specific purpose a hunter needs a different edge than a barber. The edge a barber uses would dull rapidly if used to dress a deer. A barber wouldn't likely have many repeat customers if he shaved clients with an edge akin to a hunters knife.
My edges are pretty much honed for three specific purposes, woodworking, gardening and use in the kitchen.
For my kitchen knives the 'test' is being able to cut a ripe tomato without making a mess of it.
My straight knife seems to work fine when a loaf of bread needs cutting.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)