How to determine what angle to use on Sharpmaker?

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drjones

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Sep 6, 2000
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Well, I just recieved the passaround Spyderco 204 sharpmaker and one of the things I do not like is that it doesn't really tell you what angle to use for what knife.

It hardly touches that subject in the manual, and is only given a passing mention in the video.

For example, I thought I'd learn on some of our kitchen knives. What is the best angle for those? I'd think the 30, since kitchen knives are so thin.

Any pointers please?

Thanks!
 
In the video he basically says to put a back bevel on with the 30 degree and then use 40 on the edge. Basically stating that the 40 degree edge (20 degree per side) is a good all around angle.

Now, some people like to be more extreme and go for an even thinner edge, so you could use the 30 degree angle all the way to the edge. This will be 15 degrees per side. Depending on the quality of the steel in your kitchen knives you might need to touch them up a lot more than if you had stuck with the 40 degree edge.
 
If a knife is going to get hard use, like cutting carpet or chopping wood, use the 40. Otherwise use the 30. Think about this: we buy all these knives for slicing and then put an obtuse "working" edge on them, and then hardly use them for much anyway!? Thirty degrees is fine for kitchen knives.

Camp knives, utility knives, OK, the 40 degree angle will last longer and probably cut as well as you need. The Sebenza, for example: CRK recommends that 40 degree edge, and you can set a 30 degree back bevel to keep the edge from thickening as you sharpen up the blade.

But it takes a long time to do that. Besides, what is the angle of the knife originally? Unless you get the Spyderco diamond rods, it can take a loooong time to reprofile.
 
Sorry to seem negative, but have you checked out the search function? This has been discussed before ,many times. Both the Spydeco and the strider aspect.
 
What would really be helpful, instead of the generic reference to the Search function, would be a Search that retrieved the information, showing what terms would bring up the requested information.

Search is not a magic wand. I just tried "Sharpmaker angle AND Strider" and haven't found an answer in any of the posts yet.
 
Search works, but it also can be cumbersome. You wind up presented with a sub-set of threads that you must search through to find your information. Example - out of many threads turned up, one could be a thread of many pages, but containing in it somewhere is the one word you put into your search, and even then, it's the word mentioned in passing and has no relevance to what you really want to find out.
 
I highly recommend the diamond hones for the Sharpmaker. The only problem with the 204 is that you have to make a decision--30 or 40 degrees. Once you get past that issue, the 204 is easy to use and to maintain your edges.

With a new blade, you essentially have no idea of the precise angle the edge was ground at. The 204 forces you to make a choice. The diamond hones get you to the precise angle(s) you need and from there, the ceramic hones will allow you to maintain the edges.

It may not be perfect, but there is definitely a reason why so many manufacturers and custom makers so highly recommend this system. It's basically fool-proof once you get to the preferred angle.
 
Here are my general guidelines: Unless the primary bevel is over 15 degrees I always do my primary sharpening on the 15 degrees setting on a Sharpmaker. The main variable on thin blades (like kitchen knives) or knives with accute primary bevels (like Spydercos) is how much of a 20 degree finish to put on them. If I want a specially fine edge for light to moderate duty I only use a few light strokes at 20 degrees to remove burrs and get the edge clean and even. This is how I get what I consider a 15 degree edge (even though I finished it with a touch of 20 degree). If I want a bit of a sturdier edge I just work a bit longer at the 20 degree setting.

If I have a knife with a primary bevel that is higher than 15 degrees I have to compromise and do all the work at 20 degrees. If I had doubts I would test the blade. I would coat the side of the blade with black felt tip marker ink. First I would lightly stroke the edge on a rod at the 20 degree setting. I would hope to see a shiny strip of clean metal at or very near the edge. If the clean strip is back significantly from the edge it means that the edge angle is pretty obtuse and I will only be able to profile the edge with the 20 degree rod.

If the clean strip seems to be close to the edge I also want to know how far back I will be removing material if I go to 15 degrees. Put the rod in at 15 degrees and do another couple light strokes. Look at how far back the new shiny strip is located. I would guesstimate that if you reprofile to 15 degrees all the way up to the edge that you will cut the surface of the knife about twice as wide as the distance from the edge to this shiny strip. If you don't like the look of this or it seems like too much work you will want to compromise on reprofiling all the way to the edge at 15 degrees. One compromise is simply to do all the sharpening at 20 degrees. The other is to work the blade at 15 degrees, but switch over to 20 degrees before your work takes you all the way to the edge. It helps to do this using the edges of the medium grit hones so that you can easily see where you are removing material. Stop at 15 degrees when your work takes you within about a sixteenth of an inch of the edge. Then finish at 20 degrees.
 
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