Do you care about a knife's out of box sharpness?

[jzmtl]

So I see people talking about out of box sharpness of a knife and use it to judge how good a knife is. I've never really cared about it to be honest, if a knife has good material and good construction that's good enough for me. The first thing I do to all my knives is to reprofile/sharpen it anyway, so factory edge will be gone anyway.

[Spoonrobot]

Not particularly. New knives should be sharp because that quality is integral to the function of the knife but I personally don't really care so long as the edge bevels are ground fairly thin. I'm a firm believer that the mass-production method of sharpening (i.e. high-speed belts) heats up the last fraction of the edge too much and weakens the steel to the point that chipping occurs more often than is usual for that given steel.

Knowing this I usually use up the factory edge by breaking down a bunch of cardboard and then sharpen by hand, I've noticed that the edge retention and degradation (the steel tends to roll instead of chip and at a slower rate) usually improve significantly after the first few sharpening sessions.

Of course, this isn't really based on any proper scientific analysis or anything, just my mildly informed opinion and observations of the years.  

[ringzero]

I'm a firm believer that the mass-production method of sharpening (i.e. high-speed belts) heats up the last fraction of the edge too much and weakens the steel to the point that chipping occurs more often than is usual for that given steel.
...
Of course, this isn't really based on any proper scientific analysis or anything, just my mildly informed opinion and observations of the years.  

My grandfather believed that and I tend to believe he knew what he was talking about.  He had many years of practical experience sharpening all sorts of knives and farm implements, like sickles, scythes, etc.

.

[Anthony]

I'll say yes, but based on price mainly.

If I spend $20 on a knife, a decent edge would be a plus, but not expected.  If I spend $50, $60, $100 on a knife, I should be able to carry and use it straight out of the box.  Not that I would necessarily, I always touch up the edges of new knives.

[PyroJames]

I'll say yes, but based on price mainly.

If I spend $20 on a knife, a decent edge would be a plus, but not expected.  If I spend $50, $60, $100 on a knife, I should be able to carry and use it straight out of the box.  Not that I would necessarily, I always touch up the edges of new knives.

Well said.  With cheapie knives, I don't care if it's sharp out of the box (it would be nice if it was) but for premium knives that have large price tags, it should have a razor sharp factory edge.  The quality of a knife (straight out of the box) defines the quality of the company that makes the knife.

[Freudian Frog]

Yes, but I won't judge the quality of the knife because of it. I simply expect a company to sell a tool that can be used to its full form and intention out of the box/store/clamshell.

I am not buying a DIY kit, so why should they expect me to put work into it?

EDIT: So, with cheapo beaters I don't expect them to shave hair, but have a usable edge. So on and so forth.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I'd prefer them to have a decent edge (Like the Swiss manage to put on all there tool's) but as long as the bevels are right, it's not the end of the world to me if it's blunt

[Benner]

I do.  It says a lot of about a knife company if they can't even send their cutting tool without a decent cutting edge on it.  It should be spot on sharp as it is made to be sharp.

[heavy handed]

i agree with PJ and corrugated on this one. 

[Tinnie]

Mostly agree what has been said...

Cheap knives = normally touch up...bonus if it comes out sharp
Expensive knives = should be sharp imho

[Gareth]

I expect it to be sharp.  The one thing knives should be able to do is cut, if it can't do that then can you really sell it as a knife?  Until it's sharp it's just a knife shaped bit of steel.  Dinner knives and letter openers excepted obviously.

[Benner]

I expect it to be sharp.  The one thing knives should be able to do is cut, if it can't do that then can you really sell it as a knife?  Until it's sharp it's just a knife shaped bit of steel.  Dinner knives and letter openers excepted obviously.

Exactly. 

[Styerman]

If it's a properly crafted knife ( I don't buy crap ) , problem is pretty easy to fix . I will sometimes use dullness as a talking point to try and beat down price .

Chris

[Swiss Man]

I read in a book years ago that knife manf. knew how to make knives but not sharpen them.
So this book suggested that every new knife should be sharpened.

I understand that there are some people out there, that want a different angle on theirs so they "correct" it for themselves.

But I believe that a majority of knife buyers really don't care about 15 degrees vs 20 and so on.

I feel that when you get a knife SHARP out of box that two things occur.  

1) It is ready to use.
2) It shows the company's commitment to making a good knife.

[Craig]

If somethings blunt out of the box I get suspicious that it's because the steel's colourful enuciation and won't take an edge (like those cheap pencils that come unsharpened and the wood spilts and the lead shatters into a million pieces as soon as you try to put a point on one of them ). It's less of a factor when I buy brands I trust.

[Magic Bus]

I voted yes, but it's not the end of the world if a new knife isn't as sharp as I want it. I have the means to put that right these days  It mattered more when I was a teenager with no access to proper sharpening equipment eg. I bought a Puma Bowie with money from my summer job. That knife was pretty blunt from new and stayed that way 

[David]

I voted no. It is nice to have a sharp knife out of the box but since I know how to sharpen a knife it is not nessesary. Back in the day few knives came out of the box sharp and needed to be reprofiled to have a proper edge. So it is not something I expect when buying a knife.

[crls1]

Since i tend to convex the micro bevel of all my knives, i don't care if it comes sharp. At the end, all my knives will be as sharp as possible.

Carlos

[Benner]

But don't you guys think that the tool you are buying to cut should do so when it arrives?

I'm surprised at how many aren't bothered as a knife has 1 function and that is to cut and if I buy it and it can't even do that that is a shoddy display.

[sappyg]

out of the box sharpness is another indication of quality to me. most of us here can't resist the temptation to sharpen a new blade to our liking so we don't mind as much i suppose.
i completely expect a new knife to be sharp. if it's not then it's not finished. 

[Nutznboltz]

Yes, even though I know how to sharpen and reprofile it is important especially cause I'm paying hard earned money for it. There shouldn't be any reason why a knife comes less than razor sharp out of the box.
Cost of the knife shouldn't matter, I've purchased $30 knives (buck,kershaw) that were sharper than $100 knives (benchmade).  I think it shows how committed the company is to thier product and to the customers.  I've always been satisfied with every Spyderco and CS, if they can get it right everytime there's no reason other companies can't. 

[ducktapehero]

Yes. When I buy a new car I expect to drive it off the lot. When I buy a TV I expect it to work right out of the box. When I buy a new gun I expect it to work. If I'm buying a knife I want a knife, not an unsharpened metal stick.