What’s the sharpest knife in the world? (2024)

FAQs

What is the sharpest knife in the world? ›

What is the sharpest knife material? Knives with an Obsidian blade are considered the sharpest in the world, but this material is not fit for making kitchen knives as they're extremely coarse and brittle.

Obsidian knife blades: overkill for slicing your sandwich. The thinnest blades are three nanometres wide at the edge – 10 times sharper than a razor blade. These are made by flaking a long, thin sliver from a core of obsidian (volcanic glass).

Chef's knives with a higher carbon content, like carbon steel knives, generally stay sharp for a longer period of time than their regular stainless steel counterparts. Carbon steel blades are harder than regular stainless steel, which helps them retain their edge for longer and requires less frequent sharpening.

And that tip is, wait for it, just one atom wide. You cannot get any tinier than that! It's because of this ridiculously small radius that the Guinness Book of World Records declared the tungsten nanoneedle the sharpest human-made object in the world.

May be used for content concerning cooking and food preparation, but often represents various senses of cutting and stabbing.

The sharpest blades are made of finely knapped obsidian. Made the way “cavemen” made them before written history. A contemporary anthropologist made surgical instruments of obsidian for use on his own surgery. They were examined under an electron microscope and were indeed sharper than any steel blade.

Ceramic Knives

Their edge can hold for virtually an infinite amount of time — given proper treatment, never rusts and remains stain-resistant.

Carbon steel blades are also well-known for having high wear resistance, which enables them to keep their edges sharp for longer than stainless.

The essence of the sharpest materials

In many ways obsidian, or as they often say volcanic glass, is made of silicon. According to some reports, the thinnest blade was created from obsidian flakes 3 nanometres thick, equal to 0.003 microns. Such a thin and sharp blade is beyond imagination.

The sharpest object ever made is a tungsten needle that tapers down to the thickness of a single atom.

Do obsidian knives break easily? ›

Obsidian is able to be made extremely sharp. That's fine, if it's the best material you have to work with, to make weapons and tools. But obsidian is brittle and tends to chip very easily, which means it's just not very durable.

With our definitions of Keen and Sharp we can see that all blades have similar keenness, but the razor blades are sharper than the scalpel and utility blades.

No question – in terms of sharpness, damascus knives play in the professional kitchen league. The extreme and long-lasting sharpness, as well as the exceptional layers, look make the heart of every knife lover beat faster.

Obsidian blades, made from volcanic glass, hold the title for the sharpest cutting edges.