On some other forums, some people have commented that their new knives are not very sharp when they arrive from the shop. I have gotten 4 knives and 2 have been extremely sharp (an 18 and a 23) while the other 2 arrived sharp but not razor sharp (Big Bear Bowie and Triathlete).

Are certain knives shipped less sharp than others?

Thanks!

Lee,

Are they stainless or O1?

The Big Bear and Triathlete are stainless...could that be the reason?

Just seems to me that O1 gets that scary sharp edge. Not putting down stainless by any means. Contact the shop if you feel otherwise. Just my opinion some may disagree.

Warren, I totally agree with you on the 01 Steel. BUT, I do have a Solingen Kit Stainless #15 with an original edge and in my opinion, if it's not the sharpest Randall I own it is definitely one of them.

The point of my question (and it might be answered by the kind of metal used) is if the shop sharpens the knives differently depending upon the steel and/or the knife model.

I don't think SS blades from Randall should/can be/are any less sharp than their carbon blades.....IMHO. Love my #8, #24, #28 & others. I have experience with only the few I've owned & used/sharpened for a few years. And the others (few) that still & will have the shop's edge. All can be sharper than razors. One frightening memory is of a guy at a gun-n-knife show who asked & received permission to hold my stag #12-8 Bear. AFTER having being told how to carefully & safely handle my knife the dude dropped it.....then tried to catch it, and in that split second I was so grateful that I'd also gotten the butt cap as it fell the short distance butt first, & I slid my boot toe under it to soften the impact.
He tried to catch it....by the blade....both hands....& cut beautiful, surgical slices on right-hand fingers & left palm.....thumb to pinkie pads, as it slid slickly through. Tossed him a gun cleaning rag to squeeze down on with both hands......AFTER I'd wiped down the blade, His buddies drove him to the ER....laughing.
Couldn't believe he'd dropped my Randall.

An O1 blade has smaller carbide formations than a blade made from 440b or 154, therefore O1will take a polished edge better than a stainless steel will, however a toothy edge, and stainless having larger carbides due to the amount of chromium has this type of edge (and under a microscope all edges are toothy) can also be very sharp, just cuts in a different way, more like a saw as it rips through the material as opposed to slices (which are also rips, just smaller and closer spaced).

So both get sharp, just different types of sharp, both will be sharper than a sugrigal blades as these are in fact not that sharp, just thin blades,

If your blade feels a little blunt try first making a slice through a bit of hard wood, then giving it a strop with some leather, what you may have is a very thin wire edge and the wood and leather will remove it giving you a pristine edge again.

I had 4 knives directly from Randall,
none was as sharp as a razor.
If I'm not mistaken, the sharpening in the store occurs
manually on the Norton 313 system
(if I remember correctly the photos that were
somewhere placed here).
They are just sharp enough to work.
Yes, I remember on the model the triathlete was not completely
removed burr.

Photos of the cutting edge, an increase of 70 times,
The first photo - the presence of a burr after India fine,
second photo after Washita,
the third photo after black Arkansas.
grinding time ~ 6 hours









To get a razor, it is necessary to sharpen carefully
on smaller and smallest stones (1~3 micrometer),
it takes a very long time.
Modern synthetic materials, by the way,
it is better to cut more roughly sharpened blades,
this was confirmed in the process of working with
electrical cables (cutting edge in winter, when the shell
of cable is frozen, glides).

I think that Randall is just making the sharpening,
which is equally suitable for both synthetic
and natural materials. Next, the user himself
sharpen knives for his needs.

I would compare the factory sharpening with
the tires of a car. When you buy a new car in the cabin,
you have a choice of tires, it is usually one
of several standard options, but often there is no choice
and there are only one types tires.
Next you have to buy those tires that you need.
If you drive on snow and ice, then you need tires
with spikes, if you drive through swamps, then you need
tires with powerful grippers and self-cleaning ones.

I would like to give interesting information about
sharpening, if there is no objection (if not, I will delete):
Sharpening_and_cutting_edge_types_Refinement_of_sharpening_by_the_knife_owner
This is not advertising, just the words of the master,
which coincide with my practice of use
(but he talks more professionally and accurately).

The knives are all sharpened the same, the difference is the grind... A model 14 is not ground the same as a model 25...they do not have the same purpose...therefore the grinds are left thicker or thinner depending on that purpose...do you plan on shaving that Bear before defending yourself against an attack?...a young triathlete just came to the shop today and remarked on how she wished she had one of our blades when she was knocked off her bike and had to fight off an attack from a dog in such close quarters...

We didn't just pull these names out of a hat, for the most part, the names refer to their actual purpose...now most can be used for various other duties needed, however; don't expect to use a model 21 for self defense or a model 1-8 for skinning a small critter without running into a obstacle or two... JMO