The two most innovative features of GLOBAL knives are their edge and the way they are balanced. The most important feature of any knife is its edge, and the GLOBAL edge is truly its signature. The majority of the GLOBAL knives are sharpened or ground on both sides of the blade, just like Western style knives. However, their edges are ground steeply to a point as illustrated in Fig. 1, and to an acute angle. This is in contrast to Western or European knives that use a beveled edge, Fig. 2. The straight edge results in a dramatically sharper knife which stays sharper longer. The edge on a GLOBAL knife is so large and prominent that it is easily seen with the naked eye and extends a quarter of an inch or more up from the tip of the knife. It is often asked why GLOBAL knives stay sharp so long without sharpening. The combination of the elements molybdenum and vanadium is one reason, but also refer back to the diagrams above of the straight edge vs. the beveled edge.