Thread: Shave sharp kitchen knives

Interesting....what angle do you use when sharpening your knives.. been reading everything from 20-45 degrees.

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

Interesting....what angle do you use when sharpening your knives.. been reading everything from 20-45 degrees.

I would say my angle is in that range, though probably in the lower angle area. No where near 45 though.

A western style chefs knife is anywhere from 20-25 degrees, 22 being around average, and is what most electric sharpeners are set at.

Japanese knives are anywhere from 14-20, usually around 15-16.

I prefer the sharper Japanese edge, and when honing my kitchen knives(western style) I set the bevel at around 16.

The edge wears out faster, but I use a Diamond steel, that keeps them in tip top shape.


Not to worry, I have el cheapo knives.

My kitchen knives have benefited from my straight honing stuff, too. I've honed some, but Ive also been able to get the edges of quite a few up to factory sharpness or better with just a pasted paddle strop and diamond paste, using 1 and .5 micron. I thought about getting some 3 micron for them specifically. I only use the paste every couple weeks so there shouldn't be much wear on the blades, but I do strop them on the leather pretty frequently, I've started using that in place of a steel, I like it better.

I do my Global's 17 one side, 20 the other. The Wusthof's 20 on both. I don't want to go any more acute than that as they just wouldn't last long enough. I tend to stick with the lansky on them & they don't get a highly polished edge.

If your knives hold that edge, you have some fantastic knives.

I have a couple knives I can get sharp enough to uncomfortably cut facial hair, but after a couple uses they are dull as a telephone poll. The steel is just to weak to hold the edge, for health sake I hope it's rolling as opposed to just microscopically snapping off in the food. Either way, I now stop at around 1000 grit, as that's the best edge they'll hold for more than a couple days.

Then again, my knives are total junk. :P

I want to get me some of those W&B knives... just as soon as I win the lottery.

With kitchen knives you want an edge that can take abuse and will last quite a while. You can get them really sharp but as has been said they won't last and there is too much of a chance to damage the edge if you hit something hard like a board or a bone.

Anyone who wants to wade into the addictive waters of japanese cutlery i suggest wading over to the General Discussion - Foodie Forums
and In the Kitchen (Topic list) - Knifeforums.com - Intelligent Discussion for the Knife Enthusiast - Powered by FusionBB for informed discussions .... much like here, only with kitchen knives.

Its my opinion that the Japanese make the finest kitchen cutlery..... light years ahead from any German / Euro/ American maker baring a few custom makers. Better steel (by a lot) and better blade shapes and edge geometry. If you haven't used a nice thin hard steel Gyuto (western style chef knife) sharpened to a razor edge..... you are truly missing out.

As for the edge.... if your hitting bone with your razor sharp chefs knife... your using the wrong knife! I keep a smaller 8" gyoto with a 10º -12º bevel it has a very thin blade with a 2mm spine.... a 12 inch heaver gyoto ... with a 15º, boning with 20º ....Petty 15º.

A knife and bevel for every purpose. I would NEVER use my 8" thin blade on anything hard, ever... It glides threw food like its not there. Its so different even my girlfriend won't go back to her Henckels even though i have them razor sharp.

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