Knives with the factory bevel lopsided by 20% or more

Another Shepherd

Another Shepherd

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Aug 9, 2021
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I posted some data on factory bevel angles of 141 knives over at https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/factory-bevel-angles-on-a-bunch-of-knives.1948177/ , where you can find further explanations of the data.

If you are sharpening a knife, you might be interested in how lopsided the angles are. Using the marker method to set the sharpening angle on a knife you have never sharpened before, the safest thing to do is to estimate the angle on both side of the blade, because those angles may be quite different. Even highly regarded manufacturers may sometimes have very lopsided bevels. Of course, your knife and my knife will not be exactly the same, so take these data as suggestive of what might happen.

The column headed "Lop" is the difference between the angles as a percentage of the smaller angle. I have listed knives with a lopsidedness of 20% or more.

Code: 
Make            Steel       Model                             Left     Right    Lop graph

SOG             Cryo D2     Aegis AT                          (22,40)  17       135 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Kershaw         14C28N      Knockout                          17       (23,39)  129            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Spyderco        VG-10       Stretch 2XL LW                    (16,38)  (13,17)  123  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
MKM             M390        Edge Slip Joint                   25       12       108        <<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>             
Chinese         440         Flipper                           20       40       100           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Spyderco        LC200N      Pacific Salt 2                    (11,38)  (14,19)  100  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
Gerber          7Cr17MoV    Covert                            (17      (13,33)   94            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   
Case            Tru-Sharp   Tribal Lock                       (19,22)  (26,40+)  81          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Marbles         440A        Large Lockback MR565              15       27        80             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>     
Kizer           N690        Vanguard Mike Vagnino Zipslip     20       (23,35)   75           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
Cold Steel      CPM-S35VN   Recon 1                           19       11        72           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>             
Cold Steel      AUS-8A      Tuff Lite                         (16,19)  11        72           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>             
Cold Steel      CPM-S35VN   Ultimate Hunter                   19       11        72           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>             
Kizer           N690        Vanguard Swaggs Sway Back Flipper 14       24        71              <<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>       
Off-Grid        14C28N      Rapid Fire Rescue                 17       (21,29)   70            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>     
SOG             Cryo D2     Flash AT                          (24,40)  24        66 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>       
Buck            420HC       110FG Hunter                      11       18        63               <<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
CRKT            8Cr13MoV    Folts S.P.I.T. Reverse Tanto      26       16        62        <<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>           
Gerber          7Cr17MoV    Highbrow                          11       17        54               <<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Benchmade       CPM-S30V    Emissary 3.5 Assisted 477-1       26       17        52        <<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Cold Steel      CPM-S35VN   Recon 1                           24       16        50         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>           
SOG             AUS-8       Flash                             18       12        50            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>             
CRKT            8Cr13MoV    Folts S.P.I.T. Reverse Tanto      22       15        46          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>           
Civivi          Damascus    Appalachian Drifter               26       18        44        <<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Artisan Cutlery VG-10       Small Archaeo Flipper             16       23        43             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>       
Buck            420HC       Spitfire                          (9,28)   (22,40+)  42       <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Benchmade       D2          Claymore Auto                     21       (17,30)   42          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>     
Benchmade       154CM       AFO II Auto @B                    14       20        42              <<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
SOG             AUS-8       Flash II                          22       16        37          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>           
SOG             AUS-8       Trident                           22       16        37          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>           
SOG             AUS-8       Flash II @B                       23       17        35         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Benchmade       CPM-CruWear Mini Adamas                       15       20        33             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
Spyderco        CPM-S110V   Para 3                            15       20        33             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
Gerber          420HC       Strongarm                         19       25        31           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>       
Spyderco        VG-10       Endura Thin Red Line              (27,45)  (19,35)   28 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
Benchmade       154CM       Ball Flipper 300S-1               23       18        27         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Benchmade       M390        Barrage 581 Assisted              18       (18,23)   27            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>       
Frost           ?           Fire Fighter                      33       26        26    <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>       
Cold Steel      AUS-10A     XL Voyager Clip Point             19       15        26           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>           
Spyderco        CPM-S90V    Paramilitary 2                    15       19        26             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
Spyderco        CPM-SPY27   Para 3 LW                         15       19        26             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
Miguel Nieto    AN-58       Campaña 0100 Aluminium            20       25        25           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>       
Benchmade       M390        Nakamura @A                       16       20        25             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
Cold Steel      8Cr13MoV    Mini Tac Bowie                    16       20        25             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
Benchmade       CPM-S30V    Casbah Auto 4400-1                21       17        23          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Benchmade       M390        Nakamura @B                       17       21        23            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>         
Opinel          12C27       #8 Outdoor Folder                 21       17        23          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Benchmade       154CM       Ball Flipper 300-1                22       18        22          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Chinese         ?           Auto FingerHole Panther           18       22        22            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>         
Kizer           N690        Vanguard Mike Vagnino Zipslip     18       22        22            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>         
SOG             AUS-8       Flash II @A                       22       18        22          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Gerber          3Cr15MoV    Haul                              (14,33)  (18,40+)  21    <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
SOG             Cryo D2     Terminus XR                       (21,33)  (17,40)   21    <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
James Brand     Magnacut    Kline                             (19,29)  (17,24)   20      <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>       
Civivi          14C28N      Cogent                            24       20        20         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
Vosteed         Nitro-V     Valkyrie                          20       24        20           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>       
Zero Tolerence  CPM-20CV    Martin Flipper 0609               24       20        20         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>         
Benchmade       CPM-S30V    Boost Assisted                    15       18        20             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>           
Spyderco        CPM-S90V    Paramilitary 2                    15       18        20             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>
 
Oh yeah ! Centering !
How well the edge is centered !
Also depends on the initial grind as well .
Hence I use the letters F U B A R a lot ..
Some times it's just a dogs breakfast , and who ever did the sharpening forgot to look at what they were doing ( or they might be legally blind - Coke bottle glasses left at home )
 
Another Shepherd said:
I posted some data on factory bevel angles of 141 knives over at https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/factory-bevel-angles-on-a-bunch-of-knives.1948177/ , where you can find further explanations of the data.

If you are sharpening a knife, you might be interested in how lopsided the angles are. Using the marker method to set the sharpening angle on a knife you have never sharpened before, the safest thing to do is to estimate the angle on both side of the blade, because those angles may be quite different. Even highly regarded manufacturers may sometimes have very lopsided bevels. Of course, your knife and my knife will not be exactly the same, so take these data as suggestive of what might happen.

The column headed "Lop" is the difference between the angles as a percentage of the smaller angle. I have listed knives with a lopsidedness of 20% or more.

Code: 
Make            Steel       Model                             Left     Right    Lop graph

SOG             Cryo D2     Aegis AT                          (22,40)  17       135 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Kershaw         14C28N      Knockout                          17       (23,39)  129            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Spyderco        VG-10       Stretch 2XL LW                    (16,38)  (13,17)  123  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
MKM             M390        Edge Slip Joint                   25       12       108        <<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>            
Chinese         440         Flipper                           20       40       100           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Spyderco        LC200N      Pacific Salt 2                    (11,38)  (14,19)  100  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
Gerber          7Cr17MoV    Covert                            (17      (13,33)   94            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
Case            Tru-Sharp   Tribal Lock                       (19,22)  (26,40+)  81          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Marbles         440A        Large Lockback MR565              15       27        80             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>    
Kizer           N690        Vanguard Mike Vagnino Zipslip     20       (23,35)   75           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cold Steel      CPM-S35VN   Recon 1                           19       11        72           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>            
Cold Steel      AUS-8A      Tuff Lite                         (16,19)  11        72           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>            
Cold Steel      CPM-S35VN   Ultimate Hunter                   19       11        72           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>            
Kizer           N690        Vanguard Swaggs Sway Back Flipper 14       24        71              <<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>      
Off-Grid        14C28N      Rapid Fire Rescue                 17       (21,29)   70            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>    
SOG             Cryo D2     Flash AT                          (24,40)  24        66 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>      
Buck            420HC       110FG Hunter                      11       18        63               <<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
CRKT            8Cr13MoV    Folts S.P.I.T. Reverse Tanto      26       16        62        <<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>          
Gerber          7Cr17MoV    Highbrow                          11       17        54               <<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Benchmade       CPM-S30V    Emissary 3.5 Assisted 477-1       26       17        52        <<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Cold Steel      CPM-S35VN   Recon 1                           24       16        50         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>          
SOG             AUS-8       Flash                             18       12        50            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>            
CRKT            8Cr13MoV    Folts S.P.I.T. Reverse Tanto      22       15        46          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>          
Civivi          Damascus    Appalachian Drifter               26       18        44        <<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Artisan Cutlery VG-10       Small Archaeo Flipper             16       23        43             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>      
Buck            420HC       Spitfire                          (9,28)   (22,40+)  42       <<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Benchmade       D2          Claymore Auto                     21       (17,30)   42          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>    
Benchmade       154CM       AFO II Auto @B                    14       20        42              <<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
SOG             AUS-8       Flash II                          22       16        37          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>          
SOG             AUS-8       Trident                           22       16        37          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>          
SOG             AUS-8       Flash II @B                       23       17        35         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Benchmade       CPM-CruWear Mini Adamas                       15       20        33             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
Spyderco        CPM-S110V   Para 3                            15       20        33             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
Gerber          420HC       Strongarm                         19       25        31           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>      
Spyderco        VG-10       Endura Thin Red Line              (27,45)  (19,35)   28 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Benchmade       154CM       Ball Flipper 300S-1               23       18        27         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Benchmade       M390        Barrage 581 Assisted              18       (18,23)   27            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>      
Frost           ?           Fire Fighter                      33       26        26    <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>      
Cold Steel      AUS-10A     XL Voyager Clip Point             19       15        26           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>          
Spyderco        CPM-S90V    Paramilitary 2                    15       19        26             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
Spyderco        CPM-SPY27   Para 3 LW                         15       19        26             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
Miguel Nieto    AN-58       Campaña 0100 Aluminium            20       25        25           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>      
Benchmade       M390        Nakamura @A                       16       20        25             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
Cold Steel      8Cr13MoV    Mini Tac Bowie                    16       20        25             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
Benchmade       CPM-S30V    Casbah Auto 4400-1                21       17        23          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Benchmade       M390        Nakamura @B                       17       21        23            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>        
Opinel          12C27       #8 Outdoor Folder                 21       17        23          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Benchmade       154CM       Ball Flipper 300-1                22       18        22          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Chinese         ?           Auto FingerHole Panther           18       22        22            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>        
Kizer           N690        Vanguard Mike Vagnino Zipslip     18       22        22            <<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>        
SOG             AUS-8       Flash II @A                       22       18        22          <<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Gerber          3Cr15MoV    Haul                              (14,33)  (18,40+)  21    <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
SOG             Cryo D2     Terminus XR                       (21,33)  (17,40)   21    <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
James Brand     Magnacut    Kline                             (19,29)  (17,24)   20      <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>      
Civivi          14C28N      Cogent                            24       20        20         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
Vosteed         Nitro-V     Valkyrie                          20       24        20           <<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>>>      
Zero Tolerence  CPM-20CV    Martin Flipper 0609               24       20        20         <<<<<<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>>        
Benchmade       CPM-S30V    Boost Assisted                    15       18        20             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>          
Spyderco        CPM-S90V    Paramilitary 2                    15       18        20             <<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>>>
Click to expand...

Interesting results.

Another reason I free hand sharpen a lazy wristed convex on all of my edges. The only thing I'm concerned about is thinning/blending the shoulders and forming that apex.
 
I have seen this on more than one occasion. That being said, on edc knives I know what angle works best for me, and when it’s time to sharpen, I. set both sides the same regardless of what factory angle was set at. So if they were uneven, they won’t be for long!
 
With knives I’m collecting, I usually don’t sharpen, maybe strop, but leave them alone otherwise.
 
sickpuppy1 said:
... when it’s time to sharpen, I. set both sides the same regardless of what factory angle was set at. So if they were uneven, they won’t be for long!
Click to expand...
True, but if one side is, say, 12 degrees, and the other is 25, and the steel is M390, it may take a while to get them even. Of course, someone with your experience can figure this out without a goniometer, but a beginner might be perplexed why one side was easy to sharpen and the other side took hours.
 
I just use my angle cube , set it for the angle I’m trying to achieve and have at it.
 
Another Shepherd said:
Level of what?

A laser goniometer measures only bevel angles. It will measure both bevels if the blade has primary and secondary bevels.
Click to expand...
I obviously don't know how it works, do you have a link or something that demonstrates it so I can see how it works?
 
I'm guessing that most factories use some type of a robotic system for sharpening knives, these days, but I really don't know. There is a video put out by Zwilling JA Henkels, showing how their knives are made/sharpened, and they do use a robot for some knives, but seemed to sharpen others by hand. They were then checked with a goniometer for accuracy.

Anyway, I have to wonder if most (or all) factories check the bevel angles after sharpening, and what kind of tolerance levels they have. Not too big of a deal for me, as eventually all of my knives get sharpened, anyway. But still.

Thanks for taking the time to post all of this information.
 
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