I'm new to sharpening

B

betty blue

Joined
Nov 27, 2008
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I'm new to sharpening and was wondering what everyone's opinion the sharpening angles here? which angle is most widely used here on the forum? if my factory edges are already taking the hair off my arm what angles should i use to keep that "hair shaving sharp" edge??

Thank guys,

Erik
 
Im still new to sharpening also, only got about 20 years or so under my belt. So to answer your question, if you find the bevels that came with the knife are good enough for you, then keep them. On the other hand most knives will respond very well to a bit of a thinning out.
 
I just find an angle that I can consistently hold while going both directions on my stone. It is pretty close to the factory edge and has worked for me.
 
depends on the steel used and how the knife will be used. harder steels and lighter use can stand up to a much thinner edge. for general use, anything from 15-20* per side is fairly common and will hold up well
 
I like to apply the angle that works best with the blade geometry.
 
I have an Opinel with 0.067" spine that I use for food prep - e.g. slicing tomatoes.
I have an HI Khukuri with a spine that is about 0.425" near the handle and about 0.375" near the middle - I use that for chopping and batoning.

It should be pretty obvious that I wont be able to name an angle that works for me - any angle on one of those knives will be absolutely ridiculous on the other.

Tell us the knife and the type of use and I'm sure someone can suggest an appropriate angle or at least a range of angles that are appropriate.
 
I have cut some wedges at 12 degrees and hold my blade horizontal as I sharpen, so my inclusive is 24 degree approx. I am really liking this on my Griptilian, I am also going to set some 10 and 15 wedges as well. My paramilitary has a more obtuse angle, closer to 30 or so, and I am not thinking about reprofiling a D2 blade steel right now, so I want to keep that as is. I like to expirement with different angles on my knives that I do not mind embellishing. The true answer to your question is; "It depends on the knife, the blade steel, the hardness, and what you are using it for."
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. The knives in question are a ZT350 in S30V and a rat izula. They're my edc, so they're my primary concern.
 
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