The Sharpest Knife In The World

While knives traditionally only serve one main focus, to cut things, some are better than others at what they do. One of the main defining characteristics that determine a good knife is its sharpness as it affects its ability to chop things up which varies depending on the knife’s purpose. For example, a butter knife will be considerably duller than a Stanley knife.

With so many variants of knives to choose from nowadays due to advancements in technology and the ability to control tougher materials, it does raise the question: what is the sharpest knife in the world right now? Well, today we find the answer.

Materials

In order to look for the sharpest knife in the world, we must first find out what the sharpest material is that can be crafted into a knife.

Steel

Steel is the traditional material choice for knife craftsmanship. Not only it is easily pliable but it is also made for hardness and durability. Steel knives are made with the intention to be used a lot and for a long time both domestically and professionally. With its natural properties, it is resistant to corrosion and will not be easily broken.

The main downfall with steel though is the lack of sharpness which is caused by the inability to stay sharp for a long time. Steel knives will have to be sharpened regularly in order to stay in the best condition.

Carbon Steel

Unlike regular steel, carbon steel blades are considered some of the sharpest in the world. This is due to the added materials that go into these kinds of knife blades which makes them even more durable and stay considerably sharper for longer.

Carbon steel was the most popular material choice for knife makers at one point, however, you will now find the material mostly used for survival knife types. The change was made once people realised how much easier it is to clean a pure steel blade, making steel the more popular choice for food-related work.

Ceramic

When thinking of blade materials, ceramic may not be the obvious choice. However, it can be found it both kitchen and pocket knives due to its lack of a metal compound making it less susceptible to corrosion and can, therefore, hold its sharpness for a considerable amount of time.

Of course, the main downfall with a ceramic blade is its fragile quality. If you accidentally drop this kind of knife then it will break or develop cracks making it unusable. Not only that but due to the lack of metal in the blade, it makes it harder to sharpen when it does eventually become dull.

Obsidian

When it comes to answering the question of what material makes up the sharpest knife in the world, the answer lays with obsidian. This material is very organic and has similar qualities to that of glass due to being formed via a volcano.

Because of their glass-like quality, obsidian blades can be just as fragile as ceramic blades. However, when it comes to sharpness, the way that the obsidian is used makes its knives the sharpest in the world.

Why Are Obsidian Knives So Sharp?

Obsidian knives take the title as being the sharpest in the world for a number of reasons. The main one being that obsidian as a materially is just naturally sharp.

Another one of the key features that when observed under a microscope, you will notice how smooth the blade is compared to the jagged edge of a kitchen knife.  It is this smoothness that allows the obsidian blade to be worked so thin and the thinner the blade, the sharper the knife. In fact, these blades can be as thin as only 3 nanometers wide which is 10 times thinner than any other knife on the market which makes it 10 times sharper as well.

Surgeons are arguing that obsidian blades should be used in human medical practises as the extreme sharpness of the blade leaves little trauma to the body and therefore offers less scarring. In fact, it is so sharp that if you were to cut your finger on it, you may not even feel the cut happen as the blade is so naturally smooth that there is no trauma.

The issue with obsidian knives is that even though they are 10 times sharper, they are also very brittle and so are not entirely useful when it comes to practicalities. In fact, even though these kind of knives are considered sharp enough to be used surgically, the chance of the knife getting damage and sharp obsidian being left in the body is too dangerous for surgeons to use. That being said, researches are using obsidian scalpels on animals.

Will Obsidian Blades Stay Sharp?

While obsidian blades maybe a little for the fragile side, there is no denying the blade’s durability if not dropped or mistreated. Because obsidian is essentially glass, you will not have to sharpen the blade as much. Granted, the glass may lose its shine after a while but it does not have the same natural qualities as metal, meaning you can still proudly say that you have the sharpest knife in the world.