What angle should I use on my zt 0560?

jake9095

jake9095

Joined
Jan 28, 2013
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I have a zt 0560 I would like to sharpen on my lansky system, but I don't know what angle I should use... I tried the sharpie thing and it seems like even with a 30* edge on each side it still is gonna take some material removal to sharpen properly. Should I buy a new sharpening system or reprofile to a slimmer angle? I dont want to ruin my knife by taking off too much material.

Any Suggestions?

Thanks,
Jake
 
It might be that the edge is not even or at a perfect angle. If you have a good stone, maybe try the sharpie trick with it.
 
Reprofile to thinner edge! You won't ruin the knife, you'll make it much better.
 
yeah I would like to use a stone because there are on only a few little knicks in the blade but I don't have a stone. I might just end up reprofiling it to 25* each side so I can sharpen it on my lansky next time.
 
seems like a good plan. I use the 22* on my 154cm benchmades and find it to be a great edge for daily stuff (opening packages, cutting rope etc)
 
When I had a 0561 I reprofiled the bevel edge on a wicked edge. I believe 20 degrees or 22 per side. It was more obtuse than that and each side differed. It took a bit of time also with diamonds. I try to keep my edges close to what they are from the factory, much less work. You can take it down to 30 degrees inclusive, but it's a thick blade and will take some time and patients to get there. Also, depending on what you use your knife for might make a difference.
 
I use my knife for everyday stuff like opening packages and stuff... buts sometimes I use it for outdoor stuff.. woodwork.. hunting.. whittling.. and sometimes I abuse my knives and shotgun beers or open cans.... I'm just not sure.. I didn't really buy a zt to have a fine cutter
 
It's thick behind the edge and often ground like a axe from the factory. The lansky is going to take a long time because you have small stones trying to remove a lot of steel, full size stones would be a much better choice. Either way it takes a lot of grinding to get them to a good angle but once there it will perform much better.
 
I moved the edge to 30 DPS to 40, with an overall convex type edge. I really increased the slicing performance of the knife.
It took about 3 sessions of 1/2 hour with light work on a Coarse diamond. I never have the patience to reprofile in one sitting.
 
so is the general consensus that I should reprofile the blade to a smaller angle? because right now 30 each side still is gonna take some work... and I may even take it down to 25 each side. It shaves hair as of now though so I may just wait till it gets dulled to do all this... Thanks everybody for the input and feel free to keep posting your opinions or advice.
 
Anything over 20 degrees per side and your edge retention goes down hill.
 
No, thinner is always better. Exceeding 40 degrees inclusive starts to make your edge look like the corner of a wall and not a cutting edge.
 
Actually it does and has been proven by everyone from knife forum testers to major knife manufacturers. When the edge angle starts going over 40 degrees inclusive the ability for the edge to maintain sharpness decreases. The apex is a very small point and is the cutting force behind a edge, if you want it to keep cutting as it wears then everything behind that point needs to have minimal drag and thickness. Increasing either drag or thickness will decrease the ability for a edge to hold its edge.
 
jake9095 said:
I use my knife for everyday stuff like opening packages and stuff... buts sometimes I use it for outdoor stuff.. woodwork.. hunting.. whittling.. and sometimes I abuse my knives and shotgun beers or open cans.... I'm just not sure.. I didn't really buy a zt to have a fine cutter
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I've used S30V knives with 20 degree inclusive (10 degrees per side) bevels and 30 degree inclusive (15 degree per side) microbevels to open cans. It worked fine, though a can opener would be a better and safer tool to use. You will get edge damage though.

Thinner is better in the majority of cases. If you haven't tried doing all the things you listed with a ~$10 Opinel #8 then I think you might be surprised at what a thin blade with a thin grind can do.
 
My 0560 is sharpened at 15* per side. (30 inclusive) This has been a good compromise my knife. The blade hasn't chipped or rolled, but it cuts like a razor.
 
knifenut1013 said:
...Exceeding 40 degrees inclusive starts to make your edge look like the corner of a wall...
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I absolutely love this comment; funny and true.

I ground my ZT 0560 down to 30 degrees inclusive. The blade is overly thick, and will never be a great slicer, but 30 degrees helps a lot. Elmax is an excellent steel - tough and strong -- so it will take a while to get to a more high-performance profile. The effort is worth it.

I'm not sure I'd want to reprofile an Elmax blade this thick with the Lansky. I used Wicked Edge diamonds. Edge Pro waterstones work work well, too. So do many non-guided stones of various types.

One of the great joys of knife ownership is to possess the equipment and knowledge to reprofile any blade to an edge that takes full advantage of the full potential that lies within that blade and that steel.
 
I have my 560 at 30 degrees inclusive, but I did it with an edge pro. You can do it with a lansky but it's going to take a long time and the angle is going to vary along the edge.
 
I put an edge on my 560 of 17 degrees per side with my Wicked Edge. This seems to work well for me , but I may consider going thinner. For some reason, I thought this angle would wear better than the 15 dps. Perhaps I ll try 15 dps with a 17 dps secondary bevel.
 
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