New high end cutlery edges?

[SHARPCO]

I think cutlery also includes chef knives. But the new chef knife can be as sharp as 120 BESS. If so, shouldn't we modify the "new high end cutlery edges" in the attached image?

[EOU]

Thank you SHARPCO for having a look at this. The BESS C chart is only a general reference and not intended to be absolute. This is obvious in that a given manufacturer's chef knife might measure 100 or it could measure 500 and we have no control over the sharpening process utilized.  In our experience the chart is, generally representative of kitchen cutlery sharpness levels and seems to have served its informational purpose to date. If the requirements of your marketplace are different then, by all means, feel free to modify the chart in order to make it  better fit the knives found in your market.

[SHARPCO]

Thank you SHARPCO for having a look at this. The BESS C chart is only a general reference and not intended to be absolute. This is obvious in that a given manufacturer's chef knife might measure 100 or it could measure 500 and we have no control over the sharpening process utilized.  In our experience the chart is, generally representative of kitchen cutlery sharpness levels and seems to have served its informational purpose to date. If the requirements of your marketplace are different then, by all means, feel free to modify the chart in order to make it  better fit the knives found in your market.

Thank you. 

I modified it for our market.

[Ken S]

Sharpco,

There is an English idiom, "in the ballpark". I believe it orininated with baseball and means that something is reasonably close instead of exact. This lower level of precision does not mean that something is not useful. I think of the BESS charts this way. We have two well defined edge parameters. In the middle area there are many variables, many of which we can not control. The charts give us a starting point to develop our own skilled judgement. One of your customers might be perfectly satisfied with a new knife reading 350 BESS, until you resharpened that knife to a considerably sharper level. BESS readings which you thought were fine a year ago, might seem only acceptable to you today, and probably unacceptable to you next year. 

Growth is good, and the BESS tables serve us as a general guide.

Ken

[SHARPCO]

Sharpco,

There is an English idiom, "in the ballpark". I believe it orininated with baseball and means that something is reasonably close instead of exact. This lower level of precision does not mean that something is not useful. I think of the BESS charts this way. We have two well defined edge parameters. In the middle area there are many variables, many of which we can not control. The charts give us a starting point to develop our own skilled judgement. One of your customers might be perfectly satisfied with a new knife reading 350 BESS, until you resharpened that knife to a considerably sharper level. BESS readings which you thought were fine a year ago, might seem only acceptable to you today, and probably unacceptable to you next year. 

Growth is good, and the BESS tables serve us as a general guide.

Ken

You're right. But I think "new high-end cutlery edges" is a too accurate expression. And there are many affordable kitchen knives(new) in this area.

[Ken S]

I purchased a set of Henckel Four Star kitchen knives twenty eight years ago. I have always considered them high end cutlery, not the most expensive, but still a quality product. I have no complaints with them.

In the past few years, I also purchased a few inexpensive kitchen knives for sharpening work. These are grocery store knives in the $10 to $15 US price range. A couple of these have migrated to the kitchen and are now on regular duty. To my surprise, they have performed well.

If I was buying kitchen knives today, I do not think I would opt for the expensive bolster pattern Henckels. Unless my budget was very tight, I would not choose the grocery store knives. I think I would choose knives in the $30 range, like the Victorinox line, quality at a budget price. These are probably overkill for my simple home kitchen, however, I enjoy using good tools.

I agree, "new high-end cutlery" may be too accurate a term, however, it is just a guide.

Ken