Sharpening Angles For.....

B

BostonBull

Joined
Dec 15, 2007
Messages
154
What angle would you sharpen the following knives to? And most importantly WHY that angle?

Calphalon Katana Chefs Knife VG-1 Steel
Wusthof Classic Chefs Knife X50CrMoV15 Steel
Wusthof Classic Paring Knife X50CrMoV15 Steel
 
IMO there is no right answer to that it all depends on how you use them. If you are using the knife's for light use and not being too rough on them I would go with something like a 20' angle simply because in my experiences any lower and even great steel likes to roll. If you are being harder on them and using them a lot I would bump that up to a 25' angle this will still allow sharpness but will increase the durability of the edge.

EDIT: I don't know kitchen cutlery forget I said this.
 
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FortyTwoBlades said:
10-12° per side. Culinary knives are usually subjected to pretty low strain, and thin cuts better.
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^This.

Thinner cuts BEAUTIFULLY in simple-use kitchen knives, on stuff like fruits/vegetables and meat/poultry (excluding bone-chopping). They're a joy to use at ~25° inclusive (12.5° per side) or lower, in particular. Use them on a non-wearing (to the edge) cutting board, like a poly board, for example, and they'll hold up pretty well. It's how I use mine, and I generally touch them up with a smooth (polished) chef's steel in the interim between sharpenings, which keeps the edges crisply aligned without removing much/any metal from the edge.


David
 
BostonBull said:
We don't eat meat at home, so no chance of bones ruining an edge.


We cut on either bamboo or teak cutting boards.
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I'd personally avoid bamboo. It's very trendy these days, I know. But it's also very abrasive on cutting edges. Not sure about teak; it might be OK (maybe not; see below). If you notice your edges are dulling pretty fast on it, you might give a poly board a go, instead. They're a whole lot more gentle on cutting edges.

Edited to add:
I'm reading right now, on the web, that teak also has a reputation for being very abrasive, like bamboo. Both have high silica content (the stuff sand is made of), and it's known for causing wear issues in tools used in cutting & shaping it.


David
 
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BostonBull said:
We're getting side tracked. :)
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I'll leave it alone beyond this, if you really don't want to discuss that aspect. If edge durability, either good or bad, isn't part of the 'Why that angle?' question and is of no concern, then I'd just go thinner with them in general. They'll at least cut much better while the edge is still sharp, and will still cut better to some degree after it dulls a little bit, than a thicker-edged blade (20°/side or higher) in minimally wear-resistant steel will be after the crisp apex is scrubbed off of it. How fast that happens is dependant on the abrasiveness of the cutting surface, among other things.


David
 
What everyone else already said. 10-12 and adjust with a micro to suit how you use plan to use the knives. My parers are always used in the hand. Their edges never see a cutting board so I have them at 8/10 more or less.
 
I am purposefully resurrecting this thread, hoping to avoid starting a new thread.

I have been using my knives at 16*ps and keeping them in good shape.

I use a Hapstone V7, but would love to learn how to freehand. Any members in the Boston, MA area willing to teach?!

My stones range from 120 up to 1k grit. All Gritomatic Silica Carbide stones.

How can I improve my knives utilizing the stones I have and Hapstone system?

What about my Spyderco Gayle Bradley with CPM-M4 steel? What do you recommend there?
 
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