How “sharp” is a sharp knife really?

Every person perceives the sharpness of a knife blade a little differently. But what is the actual standard for sharpness, and who defines it?

We want to bring more clarity to this topic, which is why we have divided our knives and blades into four different categories.

We have assigned a sharpness level to the steels in our shop. Of course, you can use any steel with other sharpness levels as well, but based on our experience, the respective steels are particularly well suited for the sharpness levels indicated.

Sharpness Category A

Watch the Category A video on YouTube

• Very thinly ground
• Effortlessly shaves arm hair without any resistance
• Sharpening angle: under 25° (less than 12.5° per side)
• The thin edge is relatively delicate and suitable only for soft cutting tasks (*) with low load (**)!

Sharpness Category B

• Relatively thinly ground
• Shaves arm hair, but requires a little effort
• Sharpening angle: under 35° (less than 17.5° per side)
• The edge is a good all-rounder and suitable for soft + medium-hard cutting tasks (*) under medium load (**).

Sharpness Category C

• Relatively robust grind
• Shaves hair only with effort
• Sharpening angle: under 45° (less than 22.5° per side)
• The edge is a good all-rounder and suitable for soft + medium-hard cutting tasks (*) under medium load (**).
• Also suitable for hard cutting tasks (*) and heavy load (**), but small chips may occur on the edge if overstrained.

Sharpness Category D

• Very robust grind
• No longer really shaves arm hair
• Sharpening angle: over 45° (more than 22.5° per side)
• The edge is built like a tank and cuts through almost anything! Suitable for hard cutting tasks and heavy load. Even shock loads (***) are no problem.