Sharpening angle on edgepro

[Knife11]

I've been using a sharpmaker at the standard 40 degree angle but I'll be using an edgepro from now on and I'm wondering what angle I should use to sharpen my knife since i now have a choice. Also what effect if any will changing the angle at which i sharpen have on the knife. Lastly I'm wondering if there is any way to figure out what angle my new (never sharpened) knives are sharpened at.



I use my knives mainly for cuting plastic wrap and boxes ect...So I won't be using it to shave any part of my anatomy.

 

[Crayola]

A few answers for ya:

thinning out your knife will improve it, for the most part. The advantage of the Edge Pro is its versatility. Keep thinning out your knife until in actual usage you get chipping, then thicken the sharpening angle a bit, so that you are as thin as you can go but as strong as you need to be for your usage. You'll probably find that the knife slices better, push cuts better, and stays sharp longer. A sharper edge uses less force to cut through stuff, so it stays sharp longer, typically.

If you want to match factory angles, paint the edge bevel with a magic marker, put on the fine stone, try to match the angle perfect by eye, and take a small swipe dry. If you hit the angle perfect, then the black will be removed evenly. If you are too shallow, the "top" of the edge bevel will have the black removed, but there will still be black on the "bottom" part of the edge. If you are too obtuse on your angles, then the "bottom" of the edge will be shiny (black removed), while the "top" of the edge will still be black.

Or, just say screw it and reprofile all of your knives. It helps to keep a small notepad with your Edge Pro to mark where you sharpen your knvies at. That way when your EDC needs a touch-up, you can look it up and see that you sharpened at green and put a microbevel on the next notch up.

One thing you might want to try is using the Edge Pro to put a main bevel of less than 15 degrees per side, and then put on a microbevel and maintain it using the sharpmaker at the 15 degree setting.

 

[Knife11]

One thing you might want to try is using the Edge Pro to put a main bevel of less than 15 degrees per side, and then put on a microbevel and maintain it using the sharpmaker at the 15 degree setting.

Hate to sound stupid but I don't get this part...Do what with the what for what???

Thanks!

 

[Dcon67]

Hate to sound stupid but I don't get this part...Do what with the what for what???

He's trying to explain how to set up your edge so it can be maintained with your sharpmaker. Lets face it, as great as the edge pro is, its a pain to set up and messy. I only set mine up when I have multiple knives to sharpen, or if I need to reprofile one. So what you do, is set the angle slightly less than that of the sharpmaker, so you can use the sharpmaker for quick touchups.

Personally I would think you would want your final edge to be just under 20 degrees, since you stated you cut plastic and cardboard primarily. Here's what I would do....set you back bevel at 15 degrees, and your primary bevel at 18. Then when it needs a touch up, you can use your sharpmaker at the 20 degree setting and be guaranteed to sharpening just the edge, you should get a burr in just a couple of passes.

 

[Knife11]

Thanks for clearing that up for me... the only thing I still don't get is that the sharpmaker only has a 30 degree back bevel or the 40 degree edge. Am I to understand that those angles are in reality 15 degree back bevel per side and 20 degree edge per side???

I think I just figured that out while posting but please confirm.

Thanks again!

I know a lot about knives but virtually nothing about sharpening. Kind of make me feel like a lunk head

 

[Dcon67]

Thats correct, the 30 degree setting on the Sharpmaker is inclusive, 15 degrees per side.

 

[HoB]

I have tried around with angles for a while, but I find that what Crayola suggested works by far the best for me. I grind with a corse and medium stones at 30 degrees and put a microbevel on it at 40 degrees by a couple of passes on the medium and then polishing on fine and ultrafine (do everything by hand). This way you can make sure that all your polishing time goes were it is supposed to: on the the edge. To measure the angle of the edge, I let the knife glide along the edge of faily stiff paper (24 oz) that I let protrude just a little bit over the side of a table and increase the angle until it catches. Then I measure the angle with a ruler and a protractor. The repeatability is sub 1 degree, which is more than sufficient to me. It also helps me to check how consistent I am sharpening free hand.