Pros/cons of a polished blade?

[mille162]

Cosmetics aside, what are the pro’s and cons of having a mirror polished blade?

Is there an ideal finish for the entire blade surface? Does that change for different uses?

I would initially guess a mirror polish would have better food release and be easier to clean.

But then, I thought it might be too smooth and not able to hold the blade oil after wipedown as much as a more matte finish, and maybe it would then be more prone to surface rust?

I’m sure I’m way overthinking this, but why not obsess over every detail of the knife lol...whats the consensus on levels of polish?

 

[nutmeg]

Mirror doesn't rust as quick or take patina etc..
But one little scratch or a thining and your finish is gone. On a matte surface you wouldn't see this scratch so easily.

 

[GoodMagic]

Pros: it looks good, until you use it

cons: your always chasing appearances. You don’t use it. It bothers you when you ruin the appearance, etc.

 

[milkbaby]

It's less prone to surface rust because the scratches are much less deep so less surface area to oxidize. Higher polish feels like food sticks a lot more to the blade. And as mentioned, it is pretty but you get scratches and they stand out like a sore thumb.

 

[andrewlefilms]

In my experimentation mirror polishing a blade makes food release worse, because if we're getting technical the surface is smoother and makes it so wet product especially like onions or potatoes have more surface to adhere to it and stick. It is kind of satisfying feeling the smooth blade face on your non cutting finger though.

 

[The Edge]

Pros: Looks great, and better resisting to rust.

Cons: Worse food release, and performance (friction goes up the smoother it gets, as more surface area is in contact with your product).

 

[panda]

pros: way less reactive
cons: everything sticks to it!! so annoying, i hate mirror polish for this reason

 

[JaVa]

Yeah, rusts less and pretty are the pros.
Sticking, drag and the pretty looks go with use are cons. Not a fan.

Takayuki Shibata wrote somewhere about his Shibata Kotetsu knives that the grit grade of the scratch pattern in his knives is chosen and designed to brake the tension of water to help with food release. I have no idea if that claim holds any water ( ) in science perspective, but in practice I notice clear differences in food release depending in the coarsnes of the scratch pattern.

 

[Eloh]

Performancewise I think a medium belt grinder finish is actually the best. It's cheap and doesn't look super attractive though.

 

[captaincaed]

I'm partway through re-finishing a honyaki. A 1500 grit finish seems to shed food a bit better than the mirror.
All this is w/o patina.

A mirror-polished honyaki with a patina is a much better performer on semi-wet foods. The patina texture is not the same as the mirror. Turned one knife I had from a suction cup into an amazing work-pony after carving a single roast. I was stunned with the difference. Very wet foods and proteins seem to slide off a mirror pretty well.

 

[Henry]

Does the patina on a mirror finish differ? In my limited experience, the higher the grit polish on a reactive steel, the more blue to purple end of the colour spectrum the patina seemed to get.

 

[milas555]

The polished blade holds the edge much longer because you use the knife less often ;-)
My polished honyaki are definitely kings of drawers, and Takeda and Munetoshi KU (look like shoemaker's knives) in constant use and constantly invariably beautiful (and on stones you can put them without stress even after a bottle of wine ;-))

 

[milkbaby]

I wanted to add that IMO a good user finish is lengthwise sanding pattern of around 400 to 600 grit (USA sandpaper). It looks nice when done well, and extra scratches don't stand out as much as compared to high polish or mirror knives.