Sharpening angle for Spyderco knives?

T

txgolfer45

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Aug 29, 2002
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I have a variety of Spyderco knives with different steels. My Work Sharp Ken Onion quick guide says 25 degrees and the user manual says 25 degrees. Some youtube videos suggest 17 to 20 degrees. What angle do you use? Does it vary by steel type? I have VG10, S30V, S45VN. I also have a D2, S30V and 440C steel in my Benchmade knives
 
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I use 30 degrees inclusive, 15 degrees per side. It's definitely steel/knife specific but I think 30 degrees is a great spot to be with spyderco knives. Your gonna take advantage of their expertise in heat treatment and get the most out of your steel/knife possible. I personally would to 22 or 24 degrees inclusive but my sharpener doesn't go that low.

20 dps is not horrible but not going to cut as well as a lower angle, but 25 dps is really obtuse In my opinion. That's like gas station knife territory to me.

I say go as acute as possible, and if you get chipping or rolling alot go a little more obtuse until it stops.

Be sure you have no burr! I once got frustrated at 30 degrees and thought the angle was too low, took it to 40 kept having edge rolling, figured out it was actually a burr causing my rolling, then took that knife back to 30 with no issues.
 
I assume you are referring to degrees per side?

16 DPS is what I do on first sharpening as a general rule. Sometimes add a bit of a microbevel a few degrees more obtuse if I can’t get sharp enough for my liking. I assume, in these cases, I am probably fixing something I did wrong (as in a burr removal or not fully apexing on the first go).
 
20 DPS (degrees per side) on my hard use pocket folder. 15 DPS for my Japanese kitchen knives.
 
I use a guided system, marking the edge with a sharpie. Most of what I have are 18/19 degrees per side. The Police is 23 dps. I try to keep with the factory edges in order to keep from taking too much steel off.
 
I have a guided system and use this to set my angles:

NvAECmol.jpg
 
I would try to match the original angle on the blade first with a Sharpie marker. If it is a high performance steel then lower the angle if you want to improve cutting performance and it can tolerate the lower angle (not chip).
 
I use 20 on each side in general. I am debating if I should go lower though.
 
Sal has said a time or ten that any of their steels can handle a 30° inclusive edge, although 8Cr13MoV does better with a 40° microbevel. 30° inclusive (15° per side) has been their target angle from the factory for many years. It used to vary a little when they hand sharpened, but the robot doesn't get tired or bored.
 
All my spydercos have been right in the ballpark of 30 degrees from the factory. I much appreciate not having to reprofile every knife i have
 
I am probably around 15dps on my Spydercos but I almost always thin them down first so the thickness behind the edge is less.
 
Generally between 12-15°ps and it depends on the steel and intended use; the higher/larger the carbides the more obtuse, and the finer the carbides the less obtuse. All are micro bevels; the secondary bevel has been reduced to ~6-8°ps. S110V, Maxamet, Rex121, etc I keep at ~15-17°ps.
52100 I can get away with a 12°ps or less micro bevel on ~6°ps on the secondary.

I balance the geometry for the steel so there’s no one size fits all.
 
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