
Originally Posted by
JBroida
all things aside, the "sharpest" edge would come from the finest grained steel, with high enough hardness to hold the most acute angle, as thin behind the edge as possible, and sharpened to the highest grit possible. In reality, sharpness is only part of getting a good kitchen knife. There will always be a need for balance... balance in edge retention relative to ease of sharpening... balance of hardness relative to brittleness... balance of need for "bite" on the edge relative to the need for a smooth cut. When it comes to steel types, you need to figure out what is important to you. If you like ease of sharpening and a really keen edge, look at something like the white steels. If you prefer a bit more edge retention at the cost of ease of sharpening and maximum potential sharpness, pick something like the blue steels. If the ultimate in edge retention is important to you, pick something like blue super (but understand there will be costs... it tends to be more brittle, more difficult to sharpen, and doesnt have as fine of a grain structure).
(*i only covered carbon steel in my statements, but the gist of it is figure out more about what you value and then pick a steel/makers heat treatment to match)
With regard to sharpening, you will need to asses how much bite you like relative to how smooth of a cutting feel you like. Also, you will need to pick a bevel angle that is sharp enough for you, but still holds up to the kind of abuse you expect to put it through. Likewise, you can decide if you want a convex edge, microbevel, compound edge, hollow grind, etc.
Anyways, the main point is that searching for the "sharpest" edge isnt that important when trying to find a good knife. Look for a good balance of the qualities/values that are important to you (and, yes, there will always be a need for balance as opposed to extremes)