Knife Sharpening Angle..

[Texas-Hunter]

With all the excellent discussion about sharpeners I thought I would ask this since the new KO Work Sharp has adjustable angles and never really new till I started looking in the last two days that there is a lot of debate on what is the best angle.. I see 10, 15, 20, 22, 30 and so on.. Can we get some clarification on what IS a good sharpening angle?? Or we could just muddy the waters more..

I was only taught one way since I was 5 years old when my dad gave me my first knife and I really never gave it any thought as long as it was sharp enough for me to field whittle when I was young and feild dress my game as I grew older..

[dsgarner06]

My Shun knife is 16 degrees. I tend to sharpen all of my knifes similar to the Shun as I like the edge that it gets.

[Charcuteryan]

Heres some mud:

[Ozric]

I just got my KO and have yet to play with different angles. To start with, for kitchen knives, I think I'm going to go with 18° to 20°. I've got Henkel Zwillinge and Messermeister knives. I don't think either are quite as hard as a Shun, so I'm going with a little more angle.

I've got 8 H.Z. steak knives. I may do 4 at 18° and 4 at 20° to see if I can notice any performance difference. If not, I'll stick with 20°.

The KO manual lists the following for kitchen knives:

Western: 20°
Asian: 16°
Paring: 20°
Cleaver: 30°
Bread: X (flat side only)

For outdoor knives:

Pocket: 25°
Hunting: 25°
Fillet: 20°
Serrated: X
Gut Hook: X

When taking kitchen knives all the way to "shiny sharp" (after "toothy sharp" and "shaving sharp"):

Kitchen: 17.5°
Outdoor: 22.5°

[Richtee]

In general... for the filet/fine slicing it's a smaller angle(s) you want. Larger as you go thru chopping/cleaving and wood cutting I guess I don't concern myself with the exact numbers, just that rule.

[Slanted88]

sorta follow this Cat...and a strop is nice to have...blade angle is important. you can get crap knives sharp...i also if i want it bad sharp run it acroos 600 - 1200 sandpaper...i get the omg from Louie when i pull blades out to sharpen. carry a sharp knife, i have rescued a British fighter pilot & Canadian with me old folding Buck Knife cutting straps loose in crash/fire situations
http://www.homestead.org/DougSmith/S...or%27sEdge.htm

[Abelman]

Here's my honest answer.....I have never figured it out.

Back when I was kid, not long ago...., I was into knifes. I always had Bucks. Problem was, I could never properly sharpen them. Even took some lessons at a knife store with some stones and oil.....I still can't get the angle right

So at my age, I just bought an electric and it does a great job and even I can't mess it up. Best money I ever spent

I use it on all of our kitchen knives, even my K-Bar and it works great. It's fast, efficient and easy so, it's just my speed .

[dcarch]

"------that there is a lot of debate on what is the best angle..-----"

It's like what's the best seasoning for pork. It depends.

One basic thing, as I understand it, is the more acute the angle, the sharper the knife, and the sharper the knife, the easier to get the edge damaged.

Unless you make a lot of sushi, I don't know if you need a scary sharp knife.

It depends on the metal also and your cutting habits.

If you have a tendency to chop, and have a tough cutting board, then you should not have a sharp knife with hard brittle metal.


dcarch

[Richtee]

"------that there is a lot of debate on what is the best angle..-----"

It's like what's the best seasoning for pork. It depends.

One basic thing, as I understand it, is the more acute the angle, the sharper the knife, and the sharper the knife, the easier to get the edge damaged.

Unless you make a lot of sushi, I don't know if you need a scary sharp knife.

It depends on the metal also and your cutting habits.

If you have a tendency to chop, and have a tough cutting board, then you should not have a sharp knife with hard brittle metal.

Pretty much my take. The angle of the dangle...

[SMOKE FREAK]

I have to sharpen my knives?

[Richtee]

I have to sharpen my knives?

Oh shut up. No..cut those reapers with a dull blade and spew juice everywhere...

[SMOKE FREAK]

Oh shut up. No..cut those reapers with a dull blade and spew juice everywhere...

Oh.............That could suck.......some......

[HawgHeaven]

I have to sharpen my knives?

Stop being so dull Craig...

[SMOKE FREAK]

Stop being so dull Craig...

Why change now...

[HawgHeaven]

Why change now...

Yer pretty sharp, for being dull...