Good edge angle for Ritter Mini Grip?

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benh

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Sep 29, 2005
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I'm fixing to sharpen my Ritter Mini Grip with my Lanksy sharpener and was interested in opinions on a good edge angle to go with. What's the factory angle?

I've been doing a lot of reading about different steels and how better steels can handle a more acute edge than lesser steels. So I suppose I'm looking for the collective wisdom on what edge angle will result in maximum sharpness and maximum edge retention in S30V, specifically the S30V as heat treated in the Ritter Mini Grip.

I sharpened my Spyderco Delica (VG-10) using the 25 degree angle on the Lansky (which I guess is 50 degrees inclusive?) and that seemed to result in a nice keen edge, but edge holding wasn't always so great. Probably was leaving a burr the times it wasn't so great.

I was thinking about using the 20 degree angle on the Ritter. Thoughts?
 
Welcome to the blade forums.

Generally folding knives are fine anywhere from 21 all the way to 24 degrees.

Being that some S30V has been having edge chipping problems I'd probably opt for a bit of a thicker edge on that one myself. If it is too thin you may be making it more prone to some chipping becoming evident over time. I'd say a secondary bevel would probably be a good idea also as this may help to make the edge a bit stronger.

STR
 
Thanks for the welcome.

All this stuff I've been reading about angles has me a bit turned around. Would that be 21-24 degrees inclusive or per side?

So perhaps a 25 degree (50 inclusive) edge with a 20 degree back bevel?
 
It's pretty much my EDC knife. Opening boxes, stripping wire (I know, I know), cutting ty-raps, occasional whittling, mostly. So, opening mail, some cardboard cutting, some ty-rap cutting, a bit of pine wood cutting.
 
Stripping wire generally isn't that demanding, and unless you are going a lot of it on a regular basis I would not factor that into the edge profiling. Cutting through wire can be fairly difficult, even something like regular tv cable requires about a 15 degree bevel to be cut without damage. If the Ritter can't hold a 15/20 bevel for those tasks it is defective, in fact it should handle 10/15 unless you are really aggressive with the wire stripping.

-Cliff
 
Thanks for the feedback.

Based on your comments, I think I'll give the 20 degree (per side) bevel a try, and if I get ambitious, I'll try for a 15 degree back bevel as well.
 
I haven't needed to sharpen my min-RSK yet, but when I sharpened my full-sized RSK, it seemed to have an 18 degree edge which I stayed with - no problems so far.
 
Well, took about an hour, but I have what appears to be a scary sharp edge on this guy. I took it from the extra coarse hone down to the last but one (red) hone. No apparent burr left.

It looks like this knife had about a 20 degree (per side) edge from the factory, though it's a bit more even now.

We'll see how the edge holds up.
 
"30 degree plain edge, 6.9 degree bevel" according to Ritter's own specs.

If I understand that right (and I have no idea if I do), does that mean it comes to a 30 degree angle (inclusive) at the cuting surface and is then lowered to 13.8 degrees inclusive back to the spine?
 
Isn't the back bevel typically at a more acute angle than the primary?

I'm probably missing something obvious, but when I think of a typical knife blade profile, the primary edge seems like it is at a more obtuse angle than the back bevel.
 
Some people refer to the main bevel you see as the primary and the part which is actually honed as the secondary or micro-bevel. Some people reverse it and call the micro-bevel the primary.

-Cliff
 
I use a Sharpmaker on mine. 40 degrees (combined) for the edge. I haven't had to back bevel yet, but when I do I'll use the 30 degree Sharpmaker setting.

Works great for me.
 
For the curious, I ended up with a 20 degree (per side) angle on the edge, haven't yet put a back bevel on it.

It's damned sharp. Not hair popping sharp, but it'll shave just fine. I suspect that if I took it all the way down to the ultra fine hone and then did some work with some high grit sandpaper, ending with some 10 micron polishing film I have, it'd be truly scary sharp. MIght do that at some point just for the sake of it, but don't have time right now.

It's seen a fair amount of use over the past few days, from cutting ty-raps to stripping sheathing off of spiral wound bicycle brake housing to cutting cardboard. The edge is holding up very well, much better than the edge did on my VG10 Delica.

Last night, I took a block of 1x2 poplar and whittled a point on it. It took very little time and the edge doesn't appear to be appreciably duller for the work. No apparent edge rolling, chipping, etc.

I was a bit apprehensive about the edge after reading some threads on S30V chipping, but thus far that doesn't seem to be a problem here.
 
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