Originally Posted by
Guarnera
I probably get a lot of of grief for saying this, but temper and hardness really doesn't have a lot to do with sharpness. But it has everything to do with edge holding. As far as I can see, you should be able to get a piece soft steel as sharp as a hardened piece of steel. Its the same stuff. But if its not heat treated it will get dull the first time it's used. People have passed the ABS cutting tests with unhardened knives just to see if it could be done and they did. I don't see why if using gentle strokes you couldn't get the soft steel as sharp as the hardened. It just wom't hold that edge. O.K. you can all bash me now.:mace: