Why do OOTB edges normally suck?

[Godslayer]

Serious question I've been thinking on. I've recieved knives from 50+ makers over the years and only a handful of them came with truely sharp edges. Many of them went to world class sharpeners in Japan, so you'd think the 60+ year old man who has been doing this 50+ hours a week since before I was born could put an edge on there I could only dream of. Not sure if this will spawn much discussion but it's something I've been thinking about recently.

 

[Chef_NMiller]

It depends a lot on the smith / maker.

Many of them out not okay edges in them thinking the buyer will want to put his own edge on the knife.

I’ve had bad edges on big knives purchases as well.

 

[panda]

Because they're of the feeling if you can't put a good edge on yourself you have no business owning a higher end knife.

 

[LucasFur]

Seeing where the limits of the buyer?

I know with takamura first thing people say is that it's chippy out of the box but in reality it's a insanely refined and thin edge. I would say it's finished on chromium oxide.

 

[RDalman]

Isn't the sharpener in japan taking the forged blank and finish it from there? That means he's in western terms doing the grindwork, finishing, and then the cutting edge microbevel if any. That last step is really super fast/tiny it's very easy to get sloppy with. It happens to me as well sometimes I send out a sharp functional but underrefined edge. Many of the germans are big on their microscopes

 

[krx927]

I also read somewhere on KKF that they do not want to do real sharpening after the knife was finished to avoid any scratches.

 

[lemeneid]

I suspect its because the edge does dull over time, I've noticed that some of my knives which I've stored for long periods don't have that off the stones sharpness, and I do sharpen them before putting them into storage.

That said, I also do believe all knives are sharpened to a usable sharpness and good edge retention and not super sharp with little edge retention, so maybe somewhere like 4k or Aizu thereabouts. The knives are meant for cutting meat and veg, not shaving hair so anything higher isn't really necessary.

"Dullness/sharpness" is not necessarily a reflection of the sharpener's skill, but an exercise in practicality.

 

[Chef Doom]

Because they're of the feeling if you can't put a good edge on yourself you have no business owning a higher end knife.

[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] it's funny cause it's true. A test to see if you are worthy of th blade.

 

[Chef Doom]

What great joy to put a weak barely sharp edge only to have the foolish buyer claim 'RAZOR HAIR POPPING SHARP OOTB....BUT I THINK I CAN GET IT EVEN SHARPER.

 

[osakajoe]

Mostly comes down to the buyer. Most people do not know how to use a high carbon thinned knife. They chip it complain there’s a fault. So most new knives have a “safety” fat edge on them because of these dumb claims.

 

[Kippington]

There are a bunch of good reasons to not sharpen a knife before sending it.
The only time you would want it sharpened before receiving it is if you have no idea how to sharpen in the first place.

We tend to do it out of politeness and courtesy, but lets be honest... would anyone complain about how a pencil was sharpened instead of just fixing it themselves?

Actually forget what I said, someone out there would do exactly that.

 

[HRC_64]

The only time you would want it sharpened before receiving it is if you have no idea how to sharpen in the first place.

This is the most concise answer.