I'm becoming rather confused and frustrated, maybe I just forgot how to read.
Okay, I'll try!
I have asked questions that aren't being answered, with each question there seems to be a different aspect of knives being brought into the conversation instead of an answer to the question.
From the reading you've suggested I have come to understand that knives aren't as simple as I thought, but I think the questions I have asked are valid and worthy of answers.
If the goal is to confuse, you're doing a very good job.
Here are the questions that haven't been answered:
Isn't it (the cheap knife you sharpened?) that sharp when I take it out of the package? You cut a strawberry, something I would think any knife should be able to do.
No, it isn't that sharp out of the package. It has what's called a utility edge, not a refined edge. The utility edge will cut, but the refined edge cuts far better and smoother
What's the difference between the knife when you started and what you ended up with? Aside from the edge looking very shiny, what did you accomplish. I recall you saying that it became dull when you cut a zucchini, again something I would think any knife could cut.
The difference is in the sharpness of the polished edge, and how clean of a cut you'll get. The polished, refined edge will last longer than
the utility edge, even on a cheap knife.
Locutus said that the cheap knife would become dull from cutting beef. Why would the knife become dull from cutting beef? What makes the knife get dull so quickly? I thought Beef or any meat for that matter was pretty easy to cut.*
Beef or pork, or etc is striated muscle tissue and is tough.
Tourist said that the edge bends which makes the knife seem dull. So. when I'm cutting meat, the edge is bending? How can that happen? Steel is very hard and meat is very soft, right?
I think that one was covered
JoeC said that European Knives use softer steel than the Japanese Knives. I did some of the reading that you recommended and I'm under the impression that knives are hard or soft because of heat treating. I have more questions about that as well but I'll ask them later because we haven't talked about that yet and I do have a question about the next thing JoeC said.
He said: “ Euro knives are also typically thicker, heavier and require a more obtuse angle on their blade or they will roll over if too thin. “
Is that rolling the same as the bending that Tourist was talking about?
Yes. Heat treating does indeed dertermine the hardness of a knife, but different steels are specifically made for certain "ranges" of hardness, and normally heat treated to that range. see the A.G. Russell steel guide I linked to.
Euro knives are usually specifically designed and heat treated to a lower hardness than Japanese kitchen knives. That makes them much more economical to produce, but much less able to maintain their sharpness for long periods of use. Japanese knives are normally laminated with soft steel on the outside for "toughness" and a hard core for edge retention. Again, this adds to the cost of manufacture. The Euro knife needs to be thicker due to the use of softer steel. (This doesn't make Euro knives "bad" just differently designed.)
If it is and if the Japanese knives have different angles, do they do that to prevent the bending and if so, why wouldn't Tourist have done that to the cheap knife to prevent the problem?
I'll leave that for Tourist.
Tourist has mentioned different angles on razors and on axes, I'm thinking that knives are somewhere in between, but that is a pretty big between. Why are the angles so different between knives. I'll probably ask the same question related to steel if you'll permit me to continue asking questions.