How sharp should a paring knife be? Recent bought a chef's knive and a paring knife,  both are high carbon stainless steel. The chef's knife is quite sharp and can cut a piece of butcher's twine just by touching it, with little or no pressure. The paring knife cannot. In fact, I can even grip the blade quite hard and it doesn't cut me. Should I have it sharpened?
All cutting (slicing, chopping) knives should be as sharp as you can get them, really. A dull knife is much more likely to cause an accident and cut you. Dull knives are more difficult to use properly and any knife used improperly is likely to lead to accidents. The duller the knife the more pressure you need to apply in order to cut your food, leading to a higher chance of slipping and hurting yourself