I know very little about metallurgy so I appreciate and find the posts about it very interesting and informative.
That said, sometimes I wonder how really applicable it is to basic everyday using a knife. By that I mean for all intents and purposes in normal use a blade is going to dull and need maintenance. For the most part, there is little difference between blades as far as that is concerned. One blade may stay slightly sharper/more useful maybe 10%-20% longer, but for general use, to me, that is really not a big deal. Sooner or a little later it will require maintenance.
Mr. Jan, I found your last post enlightening. I had always learned that a smooth edge was stronger and more durable because, as you stated, the edge is fully supported along its entire length and "a steel object is stronger when force is evenly distributed over its area." To me that seemed to make perfect sense. A no-brainer. I mean, duh!
But after a while I got fed up with smooth edges. They work great right after being sharpened but degrade in usefulness very quickly. So, how can this be? Surely it makes perfect sense that a well supported smooth edge must be stronger than a toothy edge. How can those little unsupported "teeth" possible work so well and have superior edge retention from a metallurgic point of view?
Then you most perspicaciously uttered, "Because the failure does not occur, we are probably still below the fracture strength of the steel."
That makes sense! Thank you Mr. Jan! For some odd reason I had not thought of it that way. While a fully supported smooth edge may be stronger, in this case, for what a general purpose knife is used for, the steel is strong enough that any strength reduction of a toothy edge is not of practical consequence. A wax candle is not as strong as a steel rod, but it works great for sticking into the top of a birthday cake.
Finally I can stop endlessly worrying and get a good night's sleep, blissfully enjoying all the benefits of a wonderfully toothy edge.
(No doubt someone will come along and say, not so fast grepper! Have you considered... )
That said, sometimes I wonder how really applicable it is to basic everyday using a knife. By that I mean for all intents and purposes in normal use a blade is going to dull and need maintenance. For the most part, there is little difference between blades as far as that is concerned. One blade may stay slightly sharper/more useful maybe 10%-20% longer, but for general use, to me, that is really not a big deal. Sooner or a little later it will require maintenance.
Mr. Jan, I found your last post enlightening. I had always learned that a smooth edge was stronger and more durable because, as you stated, the edge is fully supported along its entire length and "a steel object is stronger when force is evenly distributed over its area." To me that seemed to make perfect sense. A no-brainer. I mean, duh!
But after a while I got fed up with smooth edges. They work great right after being sharpened but degrade in usefulness very quickly. So, how can this be? Surely it makes perfect sense that a well supported smooth edge must be stronger than a toothy edge. How can those little unsupported "teeth" possible work so well and have superior edge retention from a metallurgic point of view?
Then you most perspicaciously uttered, "Because the failure does not occur, we are probably still below the fracture strength of the steel."
That makes sense! Thank you Mr. Jan! For some odd reason I had not thought of it that way. While a fully supported smooth edge may be stronger, in this case, for what a general purpose knife is used for, the steel is strong enough that any strength reduction of a toothy edge is not of practical consequence. A wax candle is not as strong as a steel rod, but it works great for sticking into the top of a birthday cake.
Finally I can stop endlessly worrying and get a good night's sleep, blissfully enjoying all the benefits of a wonderfully toothy edge.
(No doubt someone will come along and say, not so fast grepper! Have you considered... )