Knife Review: Extrema Ratio TASK J

[subwoofer]

Interesting knife subwoofer and thanks for letting us know about it. Of course we're always going to zero in on the BESS numbers. We think it likely that many of your review readers would expect to have to sharpen this knife (or any other knife that you might review) upon receipt but we're assuming that a fair number would expect it to already be quite sharp when they receive it. Can you quantify those knife purchasers sharpness expectations for us subwoofer?

Factory edges are a source of contention in terms of what we can expect and should expect. Depending on the way the factory sharpens the knife it can also suffer from other issues including chipping or rolling which don't occur once sharpened 'properly' and with care. Of course, they are only the 'first tank of fuel' for the car analogy of a knife, and unless you can afford to use proper knives like disposable utility knife blades, you will always need to sharpen the knife.

Sharpening is a skill, and a skill many people struggle with, even after years of trying. So what sharpness will the average person be able to bring their knife to? What technique and equipment will they use?

Honestly, my first really sharp edge was produced by a guided Lansky kit, not by hand sharpening - is that skill, or just turning the handle of the machine? Subsequently I've got pretty good hand sharpening, but based on lots of practice and good stones.

So although you should not be considering the factory edge to be the most important factor of a new knife, surely the customer deserves to have a knife (which is for cutting things) to come with a good edge on it? Morakniv manage it, razor blade and scalpel blade manufacturers manage it, shouldn't all knife makers give you an edge that will slide through paper?

Now, this is only a personal opinion, but I think for blades under 6" it would be reasonable to expect a BESS of 250-300 as a maximum for a factory edge, a lower score is always welcome, but 250-300 should slice 80gsm paper well.

However, for something like a Rockstead, you might, justifiably, expect more.