What standard edge angles to use based on blade category

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maximus83

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Nov 7, 2011
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What edge angles (in degrees-per-side [DPS]) do you recommend and use most, based on the category of knife?

Examples:
  • Kitchen knives. 10 DPS? 15?
  • Folders. 18 DPS? 20?
  • Small and medium-sized utility fixed blades. 20 DPS? 22?
  • Axes, machetes, and large choppers. 20 DPS? 25?
  • Other?
 
Kitchen knives 15* and skinners 16*. Breaking blades 17* as well as my everyday knife. My kitchen cleaver is probably at 20-21*. My hatchet is at 26-27* and my splitting / limbing axe is at 30-32*. DM
 
David, what's a breaking blade?

Interesting your angles on axes. Yes I had always learned 25 or even 30 on axes, recently I had a local guy rework an axe on his belt grinder because it had been badly damaged. He did it at 20 dps. It's an amazing edge, for sure, I kinda wonder how durable it'll be. This is a felling axe though, not a splitting axe.
 
For me, I cut at least 3 cords of wood (oak) each year. That's the way we heat our home. With a chain saw. Still, I do a lot of splitting and limb work. That angle works for splitting. On limb work I may go to 27*, no less. As we have rocky ground which will damage a edge quickly. DM
 
Oh most everything I use has just the thinest and shallowest thing I can grind it to and if it folds or can't take it I steepen the grind angle slightly. See Murray Carter edge geometry YouTube.

That said I do some high end hand tool woodworking. For one of my favorite hand planes, a Veritas bevel up large finishing plane, I have one of the blades special ground for the most chipout prone wood used where nothing else can plane it smooth : The edge grind on the single bevel plane blade is ground and mirror polished to 54° (equates to 27° per side obviously). Holding just the blade it easily cuts curls off a hair while it is still in my arm. The plane bed angles the blade up 12° so the working geometry as it contacts the wood is 66°. Still though it can take just the thinnest gossamer ribbons off the wood (ribbons over 2 inches wide no less).

I don't know if that made any sense but it is something different to read and relates to your question and what is possible with a high quality jig sharpened edge.
 
I shoot for 10/15 on everything and adjust the micro up to 20 to suit. If the apex is still unable to withstand the work applied without premature damage, I will readjust to 15/20 and up to 20/25.
 
↑ Don't know what kind of wood that is, but it's nothing like what we have around here. ↑
 
My EDC folders usually have 17 DPS with a 21 DPS micro. Either that, or a straight 21 DPS no micro. I’m new to this whole edge geometry knowledge thing, but it seems to work well for my uses.
 
me2 said:
I just sharpen everything at 12 dps with a 15 dps micro bevel.
Click to expand...

This seems like a good combo that gives you a thin secondary bevel and then a slightly more obtuse angle for cutting. And doing all your knives this way makes it easier to be consistent, remember, and maintain them as well. I can imagine specialty blades for niche uses where one would want more obtuse angles, but as a general strategy for most ordinary user knives, this makes a lot of sense to me. I'm thinking about doing something exactly like this. I have a good number of knives, more than I need--hey, I'm a BF member :rolleyes:--so it'd be nice to simplify sharpening and maintenance.

Also by doing something like this where your micro is at 15 dps, one could enable family members who are not proficient at freehand sharpening to easily maintain the micro with a few super light swipes on a Sharpmaker stone at the 15 dps angle.
 
Guys , what about thickness behind edge ? It's not same when knife bevel is grind almost to zero and then put on them 10 dps ?
 
On multi-blade folders, I sharpen each blade differently. I have a trapper with a 17/20 edge on the spey blade and either a 7/10 or 12/15 on the clip point blade. I am rebeveling a stockman to 17/20, 12/15, & 7/10 on the spey, clip, and sheepsfoot blades respectively.
 
I have a work knife that is 17/20, but it sees scraping and such. I forgot about it as it stays in my harness.
 
jpm2 said:
↑ Don't know what kind of wood that is, but it's nothing like what we have around here. ↑
Click to expand...
Hi,
What kind of woods do you have, how are they different?

The companion write up to that video says its poplar
Axe Connected: Wood Splitting with the Twist
That was, in this neck of the woods, the way to split wood, period.
Keep in mind that what she shows is 'the skill of an apprentice', rather than the mastery of this technique, as practiced by the old timers here.
...
But back to the ax: With "3 1/2" stamped on it's face, but probably an inch of wear from the length of each side, I loosely estimate its present weight to be somewhere between 3 and 3 1/4 lbs. Now, while this weight of ax head may be a good general purpose one for splitting, I should point out that to tackle that beech -- because its tight and twisted grain is more resistant to penetration -- an ax a pound or so heavier would have been advantageous. (Notice, in the 'Splitting with the Twist' clip, how, upon contact, the wood 'bounces' the tool back some of the time. The edge of that ax, by the way, is sharp.) On the other hand, the poplar (in the 'Splitting with Ease' video) could have easily been split with an ax a pound lighter, albeit using the same 'sideways-flick/twist' technique.

This is the twisted beech video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfCAk4Mj6E
 
bucketstove said:
Hi,
What kind of woods do you have, how are they different?
Click to expand...
For firewood, various oaks, hickory, pecan, heavy and medium/coarse grain.
That wood she was splitting in the 1st video was very light and straight grain, reminds me of something like aspen.
 
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