Factory Edge

[Trout Hound]

I was really impressed with the factory edge on my Delica 4. It required absolutely no attention from me, which was a welcome change for a production knife. Out of the box, it shaved a patch on my arm really bald, really fast.

I ordered a pink Squeak for my wife for Christmas. I had shown it to her in the catalog a few months back and she really liked it. It came in the other day, and I went ahead and unboxed it to check it out. The edge on it is still shaving sharp, but is much rougher, with a significant burr. Now, it's not really a big deal; I've still seen other knives with much worse edges from the factory (some of which cost considerably more than this one), and it's going to get introduced to my Japanese waterstones tomorrow while she's at work, so, by the time she unwraps it, it will be well up to par.

I know that there is a human factor in all this, and I'm really not complaining. I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed this discrepancy. The two knives in question were made in Japan and Italy, respectively, so that could make a difference. Just wondering.

[kbuzbee]

Factory sharpening seems hit or miss to me. A few have been terrific. Most were very good. A couple (literally 2) I had to sharpen right off the bat.

I don't usually find factory edges to hold up very long so my expectations are that I will need to rework the edge between 0-3 carries. Once reset, they seem to last much longer.

Personally, I haven't noticed a difference between manufacturing facilities.

Ken

[bearfacedkiller]

I have got knives that were atom splitting sharp and I have got knives that were too dull to do anything. My swick3 struggled to cut printer paper and the edge was clearly not apexed. My cricket was so sharp it was scary to even touch it. Most were extremely sharp. I have not noticed a difference between manufacturing facilities but feel I do notice a difference in steels. Every vg10 knife I have received was scary sharp but neither of my s110v knives were that sharp and that pattern holds true throughout the spectrum. I figure it has to do with grindability and some steels are just easier to get very sharp.

I also find edge retention gets better once you get into the steel a little and I quite often sharpen them right out of the box anyway.

I can also get a knife sharper than I have ever seen a knife come from the factory so factory sharpness means nothing more to me than that it is a sign of attention to detail.

[v8r]

I don't think I have ever received a knife that was dull per say, but have had a few that were ground at a fairly wide angle at the edge. They still cut, but wouldnt be up to the level of sharpness I have grown accustomed to. Spyderco does a pretty good job of spoiling us most of the time. I have handled some "top of the line" knives that were no where near as sharp as most of my Spyderco's have been out of the box.
The sharpest knives I have ever had out of the box were my Chinook 2, Forager, and my Yojimbo 2
All three at a nasty level of sharpness.

[Jazz]

They vary. 95% are sharp, some not so sharp, some, I have to thin the edge. I love it when a knife comes just right - I dislike shallow edges and sharpening.

[The Mastiff]

When I don't use a system that's guided like Lansky, Wicked edge, etc. I have differences in edges from knife to knife, even from side to side in a small way. I've been freehand sharpening for over 40 years. Put a master knifemaker at a factory sharpening one knife after another and there will be a difference from knife to knife, much less different guy at different factory.

Hand sharpened edges used to be a selling point. Check out some old catalogs people have online from the 30's, 40's, etc. They called it "hand honed" , or "hand edged". Now I suppose people are used to more precise things because more things are cast, extruded, and machine ground computer controlled.

Makers that do it by hand will never get the same results as a CNC. I personally don't mind as I redo edges how I want them when I get a knife. As long as it's not way too thick I don't mind.

joe

[3rdGenRigger]

It would be an issue if the knife never needed to be sharpened. I own 42 Spydercos, have sold/traded a half dozen (Maybe a few more), and bought another 6-8 as gifts over the years, and I've had 2 that I thought weren't very sharp. Most were very sharp, but one or two were superbly sharp. My CruWear Millie came sharper than any of my others, and even after being sharpened numerous times by me is still my sharpest knife...I love sharpening CruWear. It can be scary to feel the edge for sharpness, and from both sides so it's not just a burr either, and it easily shaves from both directions. That said, due to being ground on a belt, the heat treat is most affected at the apex of the factory edge, so you should notice some performance increase in most any knife once it's been sharpened a few times, as as a user knife a semi-dull edge isn't that big of a deal to me. If it's only going to be used to open letters and is ZDP and will take a while to sharpen I could see it being more annoying. If it's a knife that's going to be sharpened tens, hundreds, etc. of times it becomes less of an issue to me (Especially if it's something like SuperBlue that sharpens so readily).

[RanCoWeAla]

What system does Spyderco use to put edges on their knives. I can't believe some companies use a free hand belt sander type setup. However on most Spyderco, Bench made and others the edge looks perfectly uniform from side to side so they must be using a system that sharpens both edges at once

[3rdGenRigger]

I believe all Spydercos are hand sharpened on a belt sander.

[Cliff Stamp]

I can't believe some companies use a free hand belt sander type setup.

The vast majority of manufacturers and even makers do that, there is a weird kind of anti-jig bias as if it gives a "lesser" edge. However a bit of realism is also needed, a guy sharpening knives in a shop has to be able to get blades out and fast. Spyderco in general is better than most from what I have seen, but even they have knives which occasionally are fairly sub-par. But the question is - how much are you willing to pay?

Some manufacturers/makers have started selling extra services, but would you pay 15-$20 to ensure your Spyderco came with an even/ultra-sharp edge?

[The Mastiff]

Some manufacturers/makers have started selling extra services, but would you pay 15-$20 to ensure your Spyderco came with an even/ultra-sharp edge?

Cliff, I'd guess your idea of sharp differs from mine. From the pictures you have taken on the microscope I know you sharpen both thinner and more precisely than I do.

Would I pay extra for sharper edges than what Spyderco currently has? Probably not. I think it's pretty sharp for most users and for guys like me it's a starting point for me to personalize the edge to my needs.

I don't doubt there are some who would go for higher finishes on the edges even if it cost more than $10 extra.

Would it be in Spyderco's best interests? I sure don't know.

Joe

[Jazz]

While we're on the topic, I wish (whoever does it at the factory) would quit grinding so much blade away whilst sharpening. A couple of my Enduras look like I've been using and sharpening for years – literally. It really, really bugs me. I just want to throw them out.

[Evil D]

I've had them all across the board from so sharp they made me question my own sharpening skills, to so dull they wouldn't slice printer paper out of the box. Like you said, human element. I got into the habit years ago of sharpening them right out of the box regardless, so any belt sander burned edge is removed before I start using it.

[Blerv]

I've never had a problem with a factory edge. They have all been out of the box functionally sharp to extremely sharp (my Squeak was crazy) and moderately symmetrical to very symmetrical. Most of the less than ideal ones can be fixed with stones.

If I was bothered by the random nature I would prob buy multiples and sell/return the less ideal one. Since I treat Spyderco knives as tools first and jewelry second it's just not something I worry about. I always have a Serge knife on me to fondle and not cut with :p.

[Cliff Stamp]

While we're on the topic, I wish (whoever does it at the factory) would quit grinding so much blade away whilst sharpening.

The unfortunate part about belt sharpening without jigs is that you are going to make a mistake at some point, the only way for someone to fix that is to grind away more steel.

[Evil D]

While we're on the topic, I wish (whoever does it at the factory) would quit grinding so much blade away whilst sharpening. A couple of my Enduras look like I've been using and sharpening for years – literally. It really, really bugs me. I just want to throw them out.

I'm not a fan of the recent trend of leaving 1/16 or so of edge completely unsharpened at the tang end of the blade. It's rather unsightly IMO.

[Ankerson]

The factory edges are fine IMO, close enough that it doesn't normally take all that long to get them to what I want them to be as far as DPS goes. :)

[On Edge]

Just got an Air in hand last night ... most definitely not the sharpest Spyderco I have gotten, which kinda surprised me. It's got a fair enough 'working edge', but with the blade profile and steel it sports, I guess I expected it to be much more on the "scary" end of the scale ...

Do I have my hands full trying to bring M4 up to snuff? I am no master sharpener by any stretch of the imagination - just a guy with a SM ... any advice would be welcome.

~ edge

[Ankerson]

Just got an Air in hand last night ... most definitely not the sharpest Spyderco I have gotten, which kinda surprised me. It's got a fair enough 'working edge', but with the blade profile and steel it sports, I guess I expected it to be much more on the "scary" end of the scale ...

Do I have my hands full trying to bring M4 up to snuff? I am no master sharpener by any stretch of the imagination - just a guy with a SM ... any advice would be welcome.

~ edge

Set the SM to 40 Degrees and do a few light passes on each side with the fine rods.

A few is like 2 or 3.

[Trout Hound]

I introduced Mrs. Squeak to Mr. Waterstone the other day. Did as much deburring as I could on the 1000 grit stone, then set about putting on a 20 dps microbevel. There was one little factory burr that was really stubborn, but I finally got it all smoothed out, and she is now slicing newsprint quite nicely, and ready to meet her new owner tomorrow.