First sharpening of Izula-II, what angle(s) do folks use?

R

rfguy

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Jan 20, 2011
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I have been using my Izula-II and loving it. Now it is time to sharpen it. Despite the advertised 40 degrees inclusive it arrived at about 24 degrees inclusive. That edge did not last long so here we are ready to sharpen.

Part of me says do the 40 degrees like advertised as that ought to be strong, sharp and last.

Part of me says go with the 30/40 degrees like the SharpMaker does although I am going to use the Edge Pro Pro for this one.

What angle do people use for sharpening this bade and why?
 
i'd stay at 40, i have quite a lot of slicers and the izula isn't one of them (no ofense, great blade it cuts well enough but still a thick grind). it's one of my small but stout fixed blades i always have on me to use for things that could damage thinner blade. that's why i don't want a thin edge on it. even if you put a 30°inc. edge on it it won't be a very good slicer and you'll be compromising some strenght ...

just my thoughts on it.
 
pwet said:
i'd stay at 40, i have quite a lot of slicers and the izula isn't one of them (no ofense, great blade it cuts well enough but still a thick grind). it's one of my small but stout fixed blades i always have on me to use for things that could damage thinner blade. that's why i don't want a thin edge on it. even if you put a 30°inc. edge on it it won't be a very good slicer and you'll be compromising some strenght ...

just my thoughts on it.
Click to expand...

I kind of go the opposite way on that

With the full flat grind and .160" at the spine, the Izula will have a lot more behind the edge at 30* inclusive than a thinner knife would, so realistically you would be taking advantage of the thicker grind by putting a thinner edge on it. I think the Izula ( same blade as the Izula II ) is a much better slicer at 30* inclusive than at 40*. I had mine set at 40* for quite a while and I don't think that it really offers anymore strength or toughness, but personally I don't do a lot of wood-processing with it. It might be a little better for wear-resistance, but if you roll the edge at 30* it will probably roll at 40* too. With the 1095 though its easier to keep touching the edge up, and in turn with a 30* edge it will be easier to keep it sharp so that's why I like it. I just don't really see any advantage in having it wider than 30*, and personally I think it's a pretty wicked slicer, I don't have many knives that contend with it.

At the very least I think a 30* edge with a 40* microbevel would be a good compromise between the two, but I suppose it all comes down to what you want to use it for. I think as an EDC, 30* inclusive makes a good stout blade and a decent slicer, but if you don't want to sharpen it so much and you're just going to be driving it through wood you might want to keep it at 40*.
 
15 per side. ESEE 1095 is very good so unless you go extreme like 24 inclusive it will be plenty strong and sharp.
 
i sharpen a lot of knives for forum members and quite a few are izulas. biggest part of the members who send me a knife want it convexed including the izulas. a convex edge will hold up a lot better and cut longer than a v edge.

here is a thread with a picture of an izula i convexed for revdevil. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...get-a-knife-so-sharp-you-don-t-want-to-use-it

here is a post you might find interesting. the blade is not an izula but its a blade i convexed. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9207988&postcount=710
 
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Lots of good advice here. I think that I will start with 15 on each side and see how it holds up. As that wears I may add the 20 per side micro-bevel to see how that compares.

The convexed stuff sounds great but I am not there yet. For now I am trying a mix of methods depending on the given knife. I have been using Edge Pro, DMT DuoSharp 10" and DMT 3"x8" diamond plates. The DuoSharps have been great for doing a quick job on the kitchen knives by using the DMT Guide. I am working on freehand with the DMT plates but that is coming along slowly so sometimes I cheat and use the guide to help get me on track.
 
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