Fixed blade angles

[rad148]

Just recieved the Bulldog (02) and it is a solid, well balanced knife. A bit of thumb pressure and it slides smoothly out of the kydex sheath. It was not very sharp apon arrival however. Question for those more knowledgable then myself...I would like to have it reground to a 20deg angle. Why?...I use the Tri-sharp for all of my knives and so far it has done well. I travel a lot and it is very convenient to pack and use. The edge on the knife as it comes appears to be about 25deg. Having both edges profiled to a 20deg angle is not something that I can do properly with the Tri-sharp and I would rather not buy the Edge-pro Apex if I can help it. I will probably take it to a professional to have it re-sharpened.
Is it advisable to stay with the larger angle with the 5" BG-42 steel or is it ok to go with a 20deg angle. I have a 6" Wally Hays BMFK in
0-1 coming soon, and a Broadwell MLR 7 1/2" on the way also and imagine I will have the same problem. Is it common for larger fixed blades to have a larger angle, and is it foolish of me to decrease the edge angle size just for conveniance? I have many folders, but as you may have surmised, this and the ones coming will be my first fixed blades.
Rad

 

[matthew rapaport]

There are lots of different opinions on this and you'll get lots of them I'm sure. Part of this depends on the steel and the over-all blade cross-section, hardness, the primary bevel (the bevel that leads up to the actual edge), how the knife was made (forged or stock removal - I'm told forged blades can hold smaller angles better), and what you intend to use it for.

Most of us like a somewhat finer edge than 20deg, say 15 (that would be a 30deg "included angle") which most modern knives made from good steels should take and hold very well unless you are doing a lot of chopping. If you are chopping, then 20deg (40deg included angle) will be better, and even 25deg is OK, if the knife is primarily a chopper.

 

[rad148]

Sorry, I guess I should have supplied more information. This particular knife is by Greg Lightfoot and is a double edge fighter style knife. It is BJ-42 steel 5" blade, full tang. It is wide and heavy enough for light chopping but with the false edge, is meant primarily as a fighting knife, although the angle of blade to the handle is not the best for this purpose. An example of the knife can be see at knifeart.
My question I guess, is will reducing the angle to 20deg negate the intended purpose and intent that Greg has designed it for, or is it up to me to decide, ie why did Greg use such a large angle to begin with, what was his purpose? I am just trying to understand a bit more than I don't allready know, no slights intended.
Chok Dee
Rad