A sharpness tester for testing the sharpness of a blade. The tester has a blade holder 19 and a mounting arrangement 21, 22 for mounting a cuttable material 20. The blade holder 19 is mounted by a carriage 18 which is moveable on a track 14 so that the blade can move relative to the material 20 and contact the material. A linear distance measuring device and a force measuring device 21 enable the tester to determine the force required by part of the blade B to cut the material 20.