New Knife Sharpening?

[Dkeller717]

Is it best to always sharpen a new knife that was just purchased to get optimal blade performance?

[JRinFL]

Very skilled sharpeners will get a better edge than the factory edge, for the rest of us we use the factory edge until it needs sharpening.

[Dkeller717]

Very skilled sharpeners will get a better edge than the factory edge, for the rest of us we use the factory edge until it needs sharpening.

Thanks. That makes sense to me. I do a fairly decent job sharpening, especially with the SharpMaker. But I'll wait till it needs it first sharpening.

[TkoK83Spy]

That's one thing about Spyderco knives, they typically arrive to you pretty sharp. I've rarely had one show up that I felt I NEEDED to touch up. I use the factory edge most times and then knock off a couple degrees on my first sharpening.

[Wartstein]

Folks better than me at sharpening have already replied.. still my 2c:

- I've akways been happy with Spydercos factory edges, really plenty sharp!
- Some say that edge retention gets better on some knives after some sharpenings. No idea if true or not.
- And anyway it can't hurt to use (up) the factory edge first, right? If it turns out to be not how you like it you can still sharpen it yourself even before you'd need to.

[Mrchunkle]

I’ve never had a problem with the factory edge from Spyderco. Some other manufacturers I won’t name have burn the edges on knives, so you have to sharpen quite a lot to get rid of the spot where they ruined the temper. And sometimes still, I’ve had knives come with the edge completely rolled or a giant wire edge. Those are the ones they talk about when they recommend sharpening a brand new knife.

[Deadboxhero]

Is it best to always sharpen a new knife that was just purchased to get optimal blade performance?

Always, edges as they come are just place holders.

What if you want a more durable edge? Increase the angle.

What if you want more cutting edge retention? Drop the angle.

[vivi]

I always drop the edge angle and give it a coarser finish. The factory edges are very good for a factory edge, and it's good to know a brand new Spyderco can always be put to work right away. But I like my thin, coarse edges better.

[wrdwrght]

Spydies come extremely sharp.

Sometimes, however, what we detect as sharpness is actually a ”wire edge” or burr that a robotic sharpener has raised all along the edge. That uniform burr is quite fragile.

When it breaks off in tiny pieces, and it will during any kind of real work, you may (as I once did) imagine your edge has chipped, then swear you chose the wrong blade steel.

In general, a chipped edge is hardest to repair, but even a deteriorating burr is a PITA.

Save yourself the bother by checking for a burr when you first open the blade and remove what you find with a lightly-applied medium abrasive, whether a stone or a strip.

Finding a burr is a tactile thing for me. I place the edge of my thumbnail at the shoulder of the bevel and slowly push it directly to the apex. I repeat this motion all along the blade. If I encounter resistance on any outward push, I do the same motion at the same place on the blade’s other side. I should have no resistance and thus I’ve found a burr (if I find resistance there, too, then I have some actual damage, which certainly can occur in use but not out of the box).

If you don’t find a burr, simply use your new knife until it ceases to separate matter as it did at the beginning, then sharpen it.

Don’t confuse yourself here by listening to edge-junkies and ghost-hunters. Their goals are far more advanced than a person who would ask if a new Spydie should be sharpened.

[Eli Chaps]

Is it best to always sharpen a new knife that was just purchased to get optimal blade performance?

Yes.

If you want to use the factory edge early on to get a sense for what it feels like and how it performs as a frame of reference, fine. But always put your own edge on a knife before too long. With most of my knives these days I do it right away.

[JSumm]

Spydies come extremely sharp.

Sometimes, however, what we detect as sharpness is actually a ”wire edge” or burr that a robotic sharpener has raised all along the edge. That uniform burr is quite fragile.

When it breaks off in tiny pieces, and it will during any kind of real work, you may (as I once did) imagine your edge has chipped, then swear you chose the wrong blade steel.

In general, a chipped edge is hardest to repair, but even a deteriorating burr is a PITA.

Save yourself the bother by checking for a burr when you first open the blade and remove what you find with a lightly-applied medium abrasive, whether a stone or a strip.

Finding a burr is a tactile thing for me. I place the edge of my thumbnail at the shoulder of the bevel and slowly push it directly to the apex. I repeat this motion all along the blade. If I encounter resistance on any outward push, I do the same motion at the same place on the blade’s other side. I should have no resistance and thus I’ve found a burr (if I find resistance there, too, then I have some actual damage, which certainly can occur in use but not out of the box).

If you don’t find a burr, simply use your new knife until it ceases to separate matter as it did at the beginning, then sharpen it.

Don’t confuse yourself here by listening to edge-junkies and ghost-hunters. Their goals are far more advanced than a person who would ask if a new Spydie should be sharpened.

I think this is great advice for a potential new comer to hear. No reason to sharpen at first if you are not "chasing the ghost." Your comment on the potential burr is important too. I have learned not to judge a steel on the factory edge. Made that mistake with K390 and could have chalked it up to being too brittle, not strong enough, or chippy. I was wrong after multiple sharpenings.

As far as the OP question about "optimal" I would agree with others. If you are truly looking for your optimal then yes sharpen it. Or if you plan on using it, don't worry, it will need sharpening eventually.

[metaphoricalsimile]

I find that my spyderco knives in higher-edge-retention steels generally have a factory burr that I need to cut off with a stone to get good edge performance, whereas it's rarely a problem with VG-10 or S30V or H-1. With my M390/20cv/K390 spydercos this has been easy enough, but I recently got an M4 knife with a factory burr that I just could *not* remove free-hand, so I actually had to set it up in a sharpening rig to give it an entirely fresh edge.

[Soanso McMasters]

Great advice here from all perspectives. For me personally, I have been sharpening them right away. I’ve really grown to enjoy sharpening, both guided and freehand. Lately I’ve been putting freehand edges on all of my knives just because I’m proud of the progress I have made in doing so. It’s better than factory but not consistently better than a guided system by any stretch, although I did produce my first hair whittling edges freehand recently!

[The Mastiff]

As far as the OP question about "optimal" I would agree with others. If you are truly looking for your optimal then yes sharpen it. Or if you plan on using it, don't worry, it will need sharpening eventually.

I agree completely. Optimal varies for different users and for different jobs with the same user. For sure I sharpen my outdoors fixed blades differently from the way I sharpen my daily carry Endura. I used to put my edge on a new knife the first night but now I often wait until it gets dull as the Spydercos I have bought the last few years really haven't needed it. Some, like the PM 2's I bought that were sharpened by the robot arm will take my best efforts to better . Maybe I could get a technically sharper edge but I'm more inclined to try it out first.

[RustyIron]

Is it best to always sharpen a new knife that was just purchased to get optimal blade performance?

No, it's is not always best.

Do you want to do ocular surgery? Maybe you'll want to touch up your new blade.
Do you want to manscape? Maybe you'll want to touch up your new blade.

Do you want to do regular pocket-knife stuff? You're in luck because Spyderco has been figuring out what most people want for quite a while, and they've done a pretty good job at providing that. With every new knife I get, as soon as I take it out of the box, I put it under the microscope and take some pictures.

I just happen to have a new Spyderco right here, and I'll shoot a couple pics. See the attached images. They're of the same spot on each side of the blade. As far as I'm concerned, the edge looks pretty darned good. All my recent Spyderco's have looked similar.

Do I sharpen knives right away? Generally not. I like to use them a little so I can experience what the manufacturer intended. And then I put my own edge on the knife. It might be two days or two weeks, but pretty soon I'll want to see what I can do with the edge.

[jwbnyc]

I use a new knife right out of the box, and then I’ll strop it, because that is what I do, early and often, anyway. If there is a burr it will reveal itself by a build up of compound on the burr. A light pass on a fine ceramic once per side will remove it, generally. Spyderco factory edges are good. Very good.

[Bloke]

If a knife comes sharp out of box with a decent grind as Spyders generally do I just use it till it need sharpening and I seldom “touch” them up.

When the time comes I reprofile the primary bevel removing all sighs of the factory edge a few degrees under 30 degrees inclusive and from then I touch up the edge as required on the SharpMaker at 30 degrees and don’t use a micro bevel.

I’m also convinced how we sharpen impacts edge retention more than anything else.

[Evil D]

For me it's not so much about "sharpening" as it is changing the edge angle, the edge finish, or blending the serrations. Most of the time they're plenty sharp, and sometimes "sharpening" them will also result in changing the inclusive apex angle and that sometimes results in a more durable edge that's less likely to chip or roll. Most of my latest purchases were exceptionally sharp, so it's not done out of a need to make them sharper but for other performance preferences.

[kobold]

I paid for that factory edge, so I am going to use it. I am not going to waste my time and abrasives for no good reason. I will do my stuff only when it is needed, like knocking off the shoulders, micro-convexing and stropping.

[standy99]

Use the factory edge to dull, buy another Spyderco


This is what the wife thinks



Usually use it for a bit before I give it a touch up to my liking….. Rare I can control myself with a new blade.
PM2 crucarta came whilst I was in the US without a stone and it lasted the 2 weeks until I got home so was thrilled….