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why are most pocket sharpeners set at 22.5 degrees?
- Thread starter NomadS308
- Start date
Lansky diamond stones system with guide rods for home. Trying to find a small easy to use sharpener for touch ups when I'm out and about.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
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- 13,415
If going to all the trouble of setting up your edges on the Lansky, I'd also avoid using a cheap pull-through carbide/ceramic sharpener to touch it up. You're right, it'd essentially undo all the good work you've done on your Lansky. If you're just wanting something to keep your working edges in shape on the go, I'd just use a simple pocket hone (not pull-through), or a strop with well-chosen compound, or some wet/dry sandpaper used like a strop (works well for edge repairs; just choose the grit accordingly).
There are more expensive exceptions, but a more typical inexpensive pull-through sharpener will do little more than create a microbevel, on most edges; and that's if it's used with an expertly-light touch. If the touch is a little too heavy, the pull-through will do more harm than good, because heavy pressure will pinch the fine edge and potentially rip/fracture it, or leave it with a 'rippled' appearance; all of which result in damaged & weakened steel at the edge.
A microbevel, in itself, isn't a bad thing. It can keep edges working longer, and a simple pocket stone/hone used at a slightly elevated angle can do that just as easily, without the risk of pinching/ripping the edge like the pull-through.
A lot depends on what edge finish you're hoping to maintain, and also if you're hoping to maintain the existing Lansky-set angle, with no microbevel. Most pre-set, angled sharpeners won't match an existing edge anyway; that's the best reason to start developing a little freehand skill and 'touch' for feeling and preserving the existing bevels as you made them. Then you'll have a world of choices to match your needs.
David
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. Thanks. That is what I will do. But why are the pull-through pocket ones 22.5 degrees? Do the manufacturers have some logic for that angle?
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- Apr 12, 2009
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Not sure there's much logic to it at all; I think it's basically arbitrary. BUT, if just speculating about it, the 22.5° number comes up a lot in basic tutorials in sharpening. Usually as applied to freehand sharpening, it's a ballpark way to 'set the angle' by holding the blade perpendicular to a stone (90°), then turning it to 'halfway' (45°), then to 'half' of that again (22.5°) to establish the approach angle for the first few passes. For a knife user who's not accustomed to doing much sharpening at all, that particular method of establishing the angle of new bevels would also fit for a touch-up sharpener set to the same angle.
I mentioned earlier, most of these sharpeners will likely just create a microbevel on most edges. A lot of blade factories 'aim' for 40° inclusive (20° per side) on their edges, even though it's just approximate and rarely perfect. Assuming they hit that 40° target angle, a 22.5° (45° inclusive) setting on a touch-up sharpener would be in that microbevelling ballpark, just enough to quickly get the edge cutting again, without having to re-grind new bevels entirely. But again, this is just pure speculation on my part.
David
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20 degrees per side is a normal sharpening angle. Use larger angle for heavy use knives, less for slicing softer materials. The numbers are a tiny bit arbitrary anyway, not much difference between 20 and 22.5, and everybody has their own recommendations. 22.5 is half of 45 degrees, as if that makes it also somewhat of a "round number" so to speak.