Keeping a reference of your angle?

[KennyB]

I have problems keeping a reference of my angle. I don't mean actually keeping a consistent angle when making your strokes ( like wobbling ), but more so actually setting your blade at the right angle after examining your blade. For some reason the visual queues that I use just aren't accurate and I tend to get it "close", but have to rock the bevel up or down mid stroke to get it right. Another example is if I'm just trying to sharpen a knife and I find the angle with a magic marker, as soon as I lift the knife up to see how much marker I wiped off, it doesn't matter because I won't be able to set it back down at that angle... Just close enough to feel it out with the bevel.

Is this just the way it's done, and maybe I need some more practice? Or are their better "angle references" I'm not using? I generally go by the distance from the spine to the stone or the size of the shadow that it casts, but I think this probably varies too much with my point of view.

Anyway, not sure what other kind of reference I could keep. Putting my thumb between the knife and the stone kind of helps, but I wind up abrading my thumb--ouch. Otherwise I've just used things like pennies at the edge of the stone, and set the spine of the knife on the edge of the pennies for each stroke, or between each "scrubbing" (multiple strokes). I saw this on a Korin sharpening video and it works very well, but I tend to feel like the pennies are cumbersome, because you have to find the right amount to match specific angles, and have to do some math to figure out the angle.

So what do you guys use to keep a reference of your angle?

 

[kelbro]

Try moving the stone further away from you or closer to you to see if it helps you to keep your stroke consistent. Also try different heights. It can make a difference in your consistency.

 

[KennyB]

Try moving the stone further away from you or closer to you to see if it helps you to keep your stroke consistent. Also try different heights. It can make a difference in your consistency.

"I don't mean actually keeping a consistent angle when making your strokes ( like wobbling ), but more so actually setting your blade at the right angle after examining your blade."

Sorry, should have emphasized that point more clearly.

 

[stitchawl]

"I don't mean actually keeping a consistent angle when making your strokes ( like wobbling ), but more so actually setting your blade at the right angle after examining your blade."

Sorry, should have emphasized that point more clearly.

Without using some sort of guided system, the only way is through constant practice. If you sharpen a couple of hours every day, you should have it down in a few weeks. Of course, if you stop sharpening for a week or so, you may lose it entirely. I do. Then it takes me a few hours of practice to get it back again. It's like any skill. It takes a lot of practice, and more practice. Daily practice. There is no magic formula for it. It's muscle memory. That's why I prefer guided systems. I 'can' free hand,' but I can do a better job guided.


Stitchawl

 

[KennyB]

Without using some sort of guided system, the only way is through constant practice. If you sharpen a couple of hours every day, you should have it down in a few weeks. Of course, if you stop sharpening for a week or so, you may lose it entirely. I do. Then it takes me a few hours of practice to get it back again. It's like any skill. It takes a lot of practice, and more practice. Daily practice. There is no magic formula for it. It's muscle memory. That's why I prefer guided systems. I 'can' free hand,' but I can do a better job guided.


Stitchawl

I feel like I'm being misunderstood again. Just to emphasize: I'm not actually talking about when one passes the edge along the stone. I am talking about setting the edge at the exact angle you already had it after removing the edge from the stone to examine it, or moving on to a different grit, etc. I can see how your statement could apply to both so I just thought I should say that for clarity's sake.

Anyway, I have used guided systems in the past and I get much the same results but for different reasons. I mean, with a guided system like the aligner I cannot set the blade at the actual angle I need, just "close to it" so it's just as cumbersome as the pennies are. Then not to mention getting the same angle after I've sharpened once is about impossible. So I'm usually left re profiling to some degree and I don't like that, because then I either have to grind out the entire old bevel face or have a multifaceted bevel face.

 

[kelbro]

I think we understood you. I believe that what both of us were saying is work on your form to maintain consistency. It only comes with practice and muscle memory.

 

[KennyB]

I think we understood you. I believe that what both of us were saying is work on your form to maintain consistency. It only comes with practice and muscle memory.

All right, sorry then. Got confused since the advice is so similar for that given when people do ask about not wobbling through the stroke.

I was wondering though, what I found helps me to not wobble is to use my shoulders and hip to move the stone rather than my wrists, so I think maybe if I just try to hold my wrists in the same position when I lift up the knife to examine it, I could probably get back into the same position. It's when I wind up holding the knife and looking down it like it was a gun barrel that I get out of whack.

 

[Jason B.]

The only way is to feel it out. When the bevel makes correct contact if feels exactly like two flat surfaces have been put together. This is the bevel "locking" to the stone...... think of it like a scandi grind but much smaller.

Pressure points like described in "the first sharpening" and as seen in So-lo's recent videos are the basic keys to keeping the angle. And combined with feel will allow you to repeat it in every step.

 

[Blue Sky]

...So what do you guys use to keep a reference of your angle?

I've had a similar problem free-handing and what I've done is cut the angle I want into a wooden block and keep the block near the stone. Then I'll just lay the blade into the notch so I can get a visual and lock my wrist at the right position before moving it to the stone. It works real well, and is also good when you want to use different angles for different blades.

 

[THG]

The way I do it is:

1. Put the blade to the stone so that it looks like you're almost at the correct angle.
2. Begin your pass and start raising the angle (into the edge).

When you finally hit the edge, the pass should start to feel different. It will feel like there is some resistance, and you can't push into the edge anymore.

It does take quite ambit of practice to develop that feel.