Ok this kind of came up in another three but I did not go into depth B/C it would have been to far off topic there, this thread is more the place for such talk.
1st I would say most non knife nuts would like the way a very toothy edge cuts, I'd say a 220 grit edge. They just feel it's sharper do to how aggressive it cuts.
2nd for me I'm a big believer in sharpness + edge retention makes a great edge, nether is more important. The trouble with toothy edges it the little teeth bend and brake under normal kitchen use and a very fine edge bends and rolls over under that same stress, fine edge also is to smooth a cut for most kitchen use. Thing is there are a lot of different surfaces cut in a kitchen. Hard on the out side soft on the inside, soft and squishy, slick, rough and abrasive, soft outside hard inside, the list goes on and on.
"What's sharp enough, that is the question"
For me if the knife cuts basil that stays green for a day it's sharp enough. So what I try to do is get a knife that will
1) have a aggressive cutting feel to it
2) last for days ++ of hard use knocking on a cutting board.
3) keep shaved basil green all day
What I have come up with so far.
I polish a toothy edge. Rather then take a knife threw a long progression of stones refining the edge down to a micron.
Hers what I have tried out and had results I like.
King 800 followed by soft fast cutting J-nat ( around 6k grit) then strop on felt and diamond.
Bester 500 to a aoto to felt strop or bester 500 to a power leather strop. Side note I want to try Jon's Gesshin 400 Grit Stone here but he's always sold out of it
:bat:
500 grit 3M silicon carbide belt then leather belt.
Naniwa 600 diamond stone then aoto then felt diamond or skip aoto and power belt it