How sharp is the knife sharpened by CATRA?

[SHARPCO]

http://www.catra.org//pages/products/sha...asharp.htm

There are several knife sharpeners made by CATRA.
(CATRASHARP, Model i100, M140, U200)

Has anyone checked with BESS tester how sharp the knife sharpened with this sharpener is?

[EOU]

We haven't. Anyone else?

[Mark Reich]

Why on earth wouldn't CATRA back up their sharpening machine's credentials with some CATRA sharpness testing numbers? As the preeminent sharpness measuring company in the world at this moment, it's a glaring omision.

A few of their silly, common, ambiguous claims;
- Consistent very high sharpness level achieved on every knife, with every user
- Resulting cutting edge lasts up to 50% longer than with many other sharpeners
- Uses the unique CATRA "Gothic Arch" spiral grinding technique

I only had to google it, but as expected, "the unique CATRA Gothic Arch".... means, precisely, "normal convex edge".

That particularly fries my grits. I'm astonished CATRA would insult the knowledge and intelligence of their customers to such degree.

The more I read their own literature, the less respect I held for CATRA.

[grepper]

They should have called a normal convex edge the unique "CGA Technology".

"Resulting cutting edge lasts up to 50% longer than with many other sharpeners"

Wow!  That's quite a claim.  I wonder how SET tests would pan out for the Gothic Arch.

[EOU]

We won't try to comment on their edge retention claims or "gothic arches" but with respect to the question "Why on earth wouldn't CATRA back up their sharpening machine's credentials with some CATRA sharpness testing numbers?" we'd offer this defense on CATRA's behalf. "How would they present these sharpness test results in an easily understandable and concise way?" Some peaky little graph that runs between this number and that number means nothing to most people. It might mean something to a CATRA technician but not to most people. The only way to give the test numbers relativity would be to compare this sharpened edge to another sharpened edge but we still wouldn't know what that comparison really meant. Could be comparing a 500 edge to a 600 edge or a 125 edge to a 175 edge. We just wouldn't know without a fair amount of explanation.

Let's be thankful for CATRA. They plowed a lot of virgin territory in this industry.

[grepper]

I suppose that there are some folks who would understand the CATRA result data set if it was presented, however I agree that most people would not. 
 
Years ago I went in search of edge sharpness/testing equipment.  The CATRA equipment was the first, and really only product that I found.  At the time I thought they were about the only game in town as far as sharpness testing went.  When I researched it, it didn’t take very long to realize that the cost was totally prohibitive for me and due to the size and complexity of the equipment it was clearly targeting the industrial market and not home users like me.
 
The same is true for the CATRA knife sharpener.  In the CATRA store they say, “One of the best commercial sharpener for butchers, restaurants and small food processors/ factories…”.  Again, clearly not aimed at the home user.  The thing looks like it is built like a tank and would probably survive well in commercial environments with heavy everyday use.  It carries an $1100.00+ price tag which, like their sharpness tester, puts it out of reach for anyone other than the most serious home user.  In some ways it reminds me of the Tormek. 
 
The marketing problem with knife sharpeners is that most people are not into knives and so they have no understanding.  So how to describe sharpness and sharpening to the uninformed masses?  If we were talking to Exchange members we could talk about BESS numbers, toothy, polished, bevel angles, etc.  But mention that stuff to someone who is not into knives and generally the reaction is a dumbfounded stare and the sound of crickets because you are talking about the deeply mysterious world of knife sharpening.
 
When marketing this stuff there are really two options; educate folks (who probably don’t care and wouldn’t take the time to learn it anyway), all about edges from scratch so they can make a really informed purchase decision, or resort to terms like scary sharp, Gothic arch, wicked sharp or hair splitting sharp, etc. 
 
All that said, I suspect the CATRA folks really aren't that concerned with marketing lingo and don't need to be. They have been around for a long time and still are.  Apparently what they are doing works well for their target industrial/commercial market, and all they really need to say is, "One of the best commercial sharpener for butchers, restaurants and small food processors/ factories… "

[Jan]

Catra has own sharpness tester and many other useful products for edge testing. Catra uses rubber or silicon rubber test media. Typical Catra sharpness of a razor blade is some 30 to 40 gf.
http://www.catra.org/pages/products/kniveslevel1/st.htm

Jan
P.S.: My Lego education sharpness tester used rubber ring also.

   

[Mike Brubacher]

I remember that picture Jan! I still have to admit, your device does demonstrate the underlying principle quite successfully. Manufacturing is a problem though because only 8-10 year olds can assemble Lego's efficiently and that's a bit under the bar for most countries labor laws. 

[Jan]

Thanks for your recognition, Mike.  

I have five grandchildren and four of them are capable to measure the BESS score thanks to your tester. The youngest grandson, who is 2 years old, has not been allowed so far.


Jan

[Mike Brubacher]

My apologies to your 2 year-old grandson Jan. It's my fault. If we had printed the PT50 Series operators manual in the Czech language he'd be taking BESS measurements by now. If we don't provide him with a Czech translation he'll likely have to wait until he's 4 before he can interpret our English version.