the cutting part is more a function of good geometry than a screaming sharp edge
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Well, sharp they are, but a shave wouldn't be very comfortable nor practical.
Like Stefan says, cutting ability is more than just sharp.
The angles on a e.g. Gyoto is far too steep to be able to shave comfortably with it, even if it is polished to a pretty decent bevel.
But for veggies and meat, yes, a truly sharp edge is definitely a plus in my book:)
I've always used a wooden board and never had any........gibber gibber twitch drool twitch gibber.....where was I; ohh yes wooden boards, never had any I'll effects from them :)
As far as blunting a knife goes, any knife will dull over time that's why we sharpen them :D providing you don't use one of those ghastly glass ones or the like (which will wreck a good knife) a chopping board will have no I'll effect on a knife. At the end of the day its what they are designed to do !
The only time you will have issues is if you have put too steep an angle on the edge, then they will roll or chip. I've found if you put too steep an angle on western knifes the edges tend to roll and you end up with what looks like a long chip. The Japanese stuff (stainless) which tend to use harder steel just chip and you end up with an edge that looks like a saw. At least that's my experience anyway. For western stuff that use the x50crmov15 steel I stick an inclusive edge on in the 30-35° range, the Japanese VG10 (and its variants) I use a 25-30° edge and don't run into any real problems :)
How did the 5k edge go ?