New Edges on New Knives

[Porthos]

I'm just curious. Whenever I get a new knife, new out of the box, the first thing I do to it is pull out my trusty EdgePro Apex and put a new edge on it.

 

Is there anyone else out there who does this?

[gfron1]

oh hell no! I don't know what knives you're getting but mine are so razor sharp that I will never get them that sharp again...even with my EdgePro.

[scubadoo97]

I have. Japanese knives come in sharp but they assume the end user will refine them further. My last knife purchase was a carbon Tojiro that was very sharp OTB but with a little refinement passed the tomato fall through test with ease.

[daveb]

I just ordered a new stainless Gyuto to replace a lost one that I'm still mourning.  I will use it for large amounts of veg prep - tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, scallions, etc.  I want the edge to be sharp but robust enough to maintain the sharpness.  

 

My vendor of choice will put that type of edge on it before shipping.  It will be up to me to maintain it as best I can.

 

But I've also received knives, new and used, that needed a trip to the stones right now.  Some were not particularly sharp, others were fatties.   They're usually sharper when I'm done than when I started. 

[paulraphael]

I've never had a knife that was sharp from the factory. German knives are often as sharp as I'll expect them to be, but not really sharp. Japanese knives range from decent to dull. Like Skubadoo said, the assumption with these knives is that the user knows exactly what kind of edge they want and knows how to get it. 

 

Some consumer-oriented Japanese knives come with a pretty good edge (Shun, etc.) and maybe some pro brands do too, but nothing I've owned.

[Alex]

oh hell no! I don't know what knives you're getting but mine are so razor sharp that I will never get them that sharp again...even with my EdgePro.

 

That's great! What brand/maker do you use?

[gfron1]

That's great! What brand/maker do you use?

Most of mine are Fujiwaras, but I have a Carter and some other nice ones.

[Porthos]

I see one difference between you, Rob, and myself. I'm a cheap ba**ard and buy workaday knives, Forschners and such. To the best of my memory I have never spent over $45.00 for a knife. I put an 18/18 degree edge on all of my knives. That seems to work well for me and my volunteer crews.

[paulraphael]

... I have a Carter and some other nice ones.

 

I can imagine Carter's knives are sharp as hell out of the box. He's a reputed master sharpener, so it's probably expected that some of the many dollars one sends to him goes toward that ...

[rotuts]

I used to always EP a new knive

 

" to get to know it "

 

but I have so many knives I might not ever get to do that again.

 

but yes

 

EP your new knives  because It a good way to get the feel of them , no matter what.

[Bernoulli]

I do not expect a good factory edge.  I use paper wheels to sharpen my knives and always use a steel.