Testing Knife Sharpness - What's the best way to test for a razor sharp knife

How sharp is sharp? We took five of the exact same knives and sharpened them all differently. Two were sharpened on the Knife and Tool Sharpener Mk.2 and three were sharpened on the Precision adjust.
The difference in the two sharpened on the Mk.2 was the amount of time spent refining the edge on the 6000 grit micromesh belt. Knife two had more passes and lighter pressure with each pass.
Knife three was sharpened on the Precision Adjust and after sharpening on the 320 grit coarse abrasive we moved on to the ceramic hone to leave a sharp but "toothy" edge.
Knife four was sharpened through all three abrasives and knife five was sharpened the same way the only difference being it was stropped on leather after sharpening.
Results were surprising in some tests and we will let the video tell that part of the story.
KTS Mk.2 Product Page - www.worksharptools.com/shop/s...
Learn more about sharpening at www.worksharptools.com/education
#worksharp #testingsharp #workshop #sharpmatters
0:00 Intro
0:38 How the knives were sharpened
3:22 Push Cut Paper
5:04 Sponge Cut
7:14 Pipe Insulation Cut
8:33 Tomato Drop and Cut
11:03 Paper Towel Cut
13:22 BONUS Baloon Drop and Cut
16:23 Score and Recap
18:51 Final Score
19:30 Send Off

[@lyalsandry6051]

Just picked up the WS Elite and absolutely love it. These videos are just proof of what this system can do. Keep it up guys.

[@wilmerkluever7379]

the anticipation at 14:12 made me rapidly blink lmao

[@allbunsglazing]

How does this translate to the real world? Now let's cut some baloons 🤣🤣 love your vids, guys

[@romeotango5597]

I can’t believe this video only has 13 comments. Y’all’s brand deserves more attention for sure lol I also like how this shows in a way the fact that “sharp” isn’t always the best, and glad to see folks who know that from the start. Great video!

[@danielwilson6260]

Would love to see you guys have a crack at a "dual grit" sharpening method, affectionately called 'The Gabe Method' by some, as it is demonstrated by Gabe himself on his channel 'The Home Slice'. Basically, you only sharpen to a low grit on one side say about 220, but sharpen high on the other to 3000 or so, and it gives you awesome edge retention and crazy cutting still! Look him up!!!

[@strikenryken]

I’ve also done toothy at the back half and smooth at the front to simulate serrations.

[@jtjemt]

Great, it’s good to see ‘real world’ (sorta) uses vs. the scientific numbers. Do more of these, please.

[@danreed2189]

Loved the video guys. I am always looking for the best way to test sharpness. I have the Ken Onion Sharpener and have experimented with putting polishing pastes on the fine band as well as on the extra fine band (that is already at 6000 grit). I've also tried them on a leather strop with polishing paste and that really works well also. Lastly, I do the paper towel test 2 different ways. One is like you did (which is harder), but another way is to hold the paper towel in one hand creating tension on the paper towel where the knife is going to cut. You squeeze with you pointing finger and middle finger at one point and with your thumb and ring finger at the other point. The trick (not hard) is to carefully put your knife between the two holding points. A fat knife may be difficult because there is not a lot of space. A knife that is not very sharp will just tear the paper towel, but a sharp knife will glide through for a good distance. You can get a pretty good idea about how sharp your knife is with this test. Anyway, my 2 cents. Thanks for the vid.

[@royniederhiser9894]

Bess says that the only way to get accurate and consistent readings is to keep the point resting on the post and then lowering the blade slowly enough to watch the digital readout increment at a rate that you can make out each number.

[@daniel.rosina]

Very cool tests, guys!

[@billmanning8806]

Yes...I want to see more stuff like this. Love it!

[@tidge879]

The only meaningful tomato test for sharpness is, can you finely dice the tomato without mashing any of it? And I toothier edge is actually much better in the kitchen for almost all situations. Put a polished edge on a kitchen knife and it'll dice one tomato beautiful, and start mashing the second. A toothy edge won't be as amazing at first, but it'll stay consistent. At work, I use a toothy edge and a honing steel all day, at home I have polished edges and a strop.

[@chamy1521]

Great video and I totally agreed with the way you rated the knives.

[@nathandaniel5451]

A highly refined edge can cut paper towel better than a toothy edge BUT it has to be really keen. (Meaning a very thin edge, basically the measurement of how thin the apex is) I find off the 500 grit is plenty to cut paper towel, but going up to 8k on the stones then 0.1 micron on the strops you can get a stupid sharp edge that cut tissue paper without tearing. (Sub 100 bess)

[@drewbee2024]

I sharpen knives and I kid you not yesterday I finally got one sharp enough to cut paper towels and even napkins cleanly. It’s taken a lot of practice

[@drewbee2024]

It was finished on 0.5 micron. I don’t have 0.1 yet :(

[@nathandaniel5451]

@@drewbee2024 oh hell yeah! It takes a lot of practice. What's your deburring process?

[@lightspeedlaserengraving6048]

That was fun. Let’s do it again!

[@Al-ds3sw]

Love it keep it coming

[@jorgefernandez6407]

Really GREAT video!!!

[@Tusk2001]

Thx for keeping it fun!

[@ShelleyRaskin]

I’m going to try the paper towel test on my knives!

[@AYellowPepper]

Awesome! You should do more in this vein! Maybe different blade types on their respective materials! (Pocket knives and cardboard/zipties or Big Choppers and Rope/Wood)

[@robertdewalt8711]

Parchment paper cutting would be interesting to see how edge cuts with different BESS C g.

[@violetviolet888]

Tissue paper is more of a test.

[@stefanlechleitner5402]

i am a chef and love to test my knives after sharpening on my shapton glass stones on some paper but this standing paper test is crazy like OP , waiting on my ken onion sharpener and wachting your videos , greetings from austria

[@dionpage7948]

Killer vid. I have the WorkSharp Precision sharpener&absofrickinlutly love it so any tips ya can give on how to get the most pristine apex on an edge would always be appreciated. I would like to see a attachment that would except thicker steel&maybe a longer guide rod for chefs&butcher blades.

[@mossmanguitarpickergs8383]

Yes! More!

[@chefjeff7735]

Good stuff guys!

[@rwstubbz]

Will you test the sharpness after all tests again if you still have the knives around unused? The cutting board will be more rough on the 15 degree edge than the more stable 20 degree edge not sure it would make a difference, but maybe

[@bobbydragulescu8914]

I guess one thing I learned is that there's sharpness, and then there's raggedness/toothiness of the edge. Both contribute to the tests in different ways.

[@Rancherinaz]

Yeah you guys rock

[@blubyu1100]

Great video. Like the way you think.

[@stephendufort4154]

COOL, but it was not clear to me during the entire video , exactly what u used to sharpen each knife, what's the best system?

[@CitizenKate]

Okay, so playing the "devil's advocate"... using your knife sharpening products (I just picked up one of your Precision adjust sharpening systems, and so far I like it a lot), how would I get a knife edge that scores a 3 on slicing tomatoes?

[@ApexNick]

What is the difference between knives 4 & 5... They both say PA15.

[@corismsyn]

Edge angle should've been kept the same as that's a variable in itself and only change the edge finish i.e. coarse, less coarse, fine, extra fine, mirror polished.

[@muhammedk470]

Moral of the story - paper test works the best

[@gspam154]

These are great videos. I'm sure your testing procedures will get refined. I would like to see you use Balloon Institute Certified Sharpness Balloons in the test. They cost a bit more, but give more repeatable results. :)

[@user-ty9wd3ee3h]

I can not get one to do a push cut on paper

[@advskr]

More please!

[@WorkSharpOutdoor]

Check out our latest video with Lucas Burnley! We put more "work" in to test for sharp. lol

[@DanielJohnson-ec8rk]

I use 20 on mine and my EDC is scary sharp

[@sinepari9160]

What this told me is. a working edge is a working edge, just touch it up. Grinds aren't especially shown as useful in this test because you're not slicing a hard(er) material for an extended period.

[@phillo1818]

Fun vid guys! How about the same type of knife, two of the same, in a shiny sharp convex verses flat grind campsite and kitchen dual?

[@JJ-qi9zn]

Cash register receipt paper is much harder to push cut through and even razors fail it but my sharpening on a good steel easily performs up to the task.

[@violetviolet888]

Tissue paper also.

[@markyoung5495]

What if you put like a 30 degree angle go down to a 20 degree angle 17 degree angle or wherever you think you want your sharpness at will this make your knife live longer or what or take a 17 degree angle pushing away like you would normally cut something and put like a 20 or 30 on the other side what is the best and what would be the best stone to use to do something like this let me know whether doing a high angle and a low angle hey high-angle armed away from you and a low angle

[@Owieczkin]

Dude, your punctuation marks are missing. Generally you want a stable blade that's thin behind the edge, so you probably want to get 17 degree per side grind, and then 25 degree per side microbevel made with a fine hone. Try it 👍

[@mikedixon3292]

I want to see you sharpen a 7 inch fillet knife at a 17 degree angle or lower. I can’t do this with my lanskey. The stone hits the blade holder. Do this and I’ll commit and buy.

[@crbulldog5638]

How sharp is a sharp knife …Sharp!!! How sharp is a razor sharp knife …Razor Sharp!!! Thanks for watching hit that like and subscribe button.

[@MrMZaccone]

So you've established the fact that the best way to test for a razor-sharp knife is a BESS tester. Good job, Guys. The fact that we already knew that is, I suppose, irrelevant.

[@donnaslevin2969]

What did we learn ? The better the performance the HIGHER the score. They had to think in reverse, you could hear it. Aaaa 3. I mean 1

[@codyjohnson3893]

13:22 muh anxiety 😖

[@AdiGV]

A bit more brainstorming about testing methods would make it relevant to real world use.

[@garyjohnson3081]

Not nearly enough to choose from.

[@malbig2344]

toe-mahhh-toe..... not toe-MAE-toes.

[@jimjoe9945]

1 to 3 scale not very revealing.

[@1947froggy]

Can't even watch this guys, exposure level set too low, reedit. :)

[@shakeswigglez3746]

Too much talking gentlemen, let's get to the cutting!.

[@webincomeincome8767]

Emmm. Shave your arm?

[@sk83rbouys]

Theres no consistency in any of these tests lol

[@markyoung5495]

More on shaping with a rock and getting a slavery heavy or light slavery even on a shaping stones heavy slavery or light

[@magnumtrooper17]

The thumbnail encourages unsafe behavior, especially if a kid saw it. I know clickbait is hard, but seriously you guys wtf. You know what else kids like? Bright colored balloons.

[@JohnDoeTheTroll]

These tests are super flawed... You guys shouldn't know which knife you're testing until AFTER you tested it. If your expectations are for it to be sharp because you looked and know what you think you should expect, then that's exactly what you will think...

[@JohnDoeTheTroll]

I would also like to see you guys test it with the Precision Adjust sharpener. I got mine in the mail last week, but haven't used it yet.

[@JohnDoeTheTroll]

OK, I just saw the Putting Sharp to the Test 2 where you told how the knives were sharpened, so disregard my previous comment about the Precision Adjust lol...

[@jrpark22000]

confirmation bias, google it. FFS.