"SP" == Simon Plouffe <simon.plouffe@gmail.com> writes:
SP> the question being : can we arrange some lasers SP> this way to actualy sharpen a knife 'perfectly' ? SP> the thing is : what would be the perfect geometrical SP> shape of a steel blade for example that would be perfect SP> for cutting let's say vegetables or meat ? Is there a SP> known geometry for what would be the perfect blade ? The profile of the katana's blade os of two round curves meeting at a sharp point. This differs from the typical euro blade which was sharpened to a 90 degree corner. The round profile is said to keep the edge from blunting in use. I have no idea what curve best matches the best-sharpened katana. I beleive there are only one or two families left passing down the sharpening technique. (The above data was all learned from documentaries, most recently including episodes of Modern Marvels and How Its Made. One hopes that they were reasonably accurate.) -JimC -- James Cloos <cloos@jhcloos.com> OpenPGP: 1024D/ED7DAEA6