"Tim" > wrote in message
...
> I have been sharpening my knives recently but am wondering just how
> sharp I have made them. My cook knife still need a small forward/back
> motion before it glides through the a grape. I was hoping it might
> just drop through the grape skin almost under its own weight but this
> doesn't happen. Is my knife edge still dull ?

Yes, I would say that it is still a bit dull. In dentistry, the way we test
the sharpness of scaling instrument is to LIGHTLY test them on our
fingernails. You gently, and at a shallow angle, test the knife on your
nail with the blade towards you. That is how I test my kitchen knives when
I sharpen them. After agonizing for years over the best method of
sharpening my knives, wishing I had a fancy motorized hone, I realized that
I could just use a whetstone like I use on instruments. It is quick, easy,
and inexpensive - and it works.