Thread: What angle do you sharpen your knives ?

Hey, So at what angles do yall sharpen which knives (i.e. Hunting, pocket, and the variety of different kitchen knives) and up to what grit. I love my knives crazy sharp but also like to have durable edges.

I'm just trying to learn a little bit more from those that are a little more knowledgeable than I.

I'm no more knowledgeable than you,,,,what angle I try to put on a blade, depends on what type of bevel I want on that blade. My EDC blade is a different bevel than my kitchen blade,,,

A good way to start I found is to match the factory bevel at first. I then usually go up to a 4000 grit but have went all the way to 12k. It really depends on personal preference. Once you get it to where you want it per factory bevel then you can play around. I like my pocket knives around 10-15 degrees which is very shallow. Most of my friends like there's up around 20 degrees with a second bevel around 30 degrees for better durability but I like to hone and only use my pocket knives for light work. You really have to play around with it a bit and see what works best. Different steel is going to behave slightly different too plus if you go to a big Bowie or heavy duty buck knife the angle and grit will be different too.

I tend to follow the factory bevel and go up in final grit. I finish at about 1500 diamond and then CBN on a strop. It's not the most refined edge but for what I need my knives for, it's more than enough.

I like all my kitchen knives about 10 degrees (or little lower).

I use a belt sander for my knives. I start off with a steep angle, the blade side is about one spine width away from the belt. I then move up to a finer grit and the blade side is about one and a half spine width away from the belt. I finish up with a leather belt with the blade side still just one and a half spine width away. This produces a spooky sharp edge while removing very little metal. My EDC for the last 12 years has always been sharpened this way, and the blade still looks factory fresh. If interested, check out Edgemasters.com. Oh, almost forgot, this entire process takes about 5 minutes, from setup to putting everything away. This blows away anything that can be done with a stone, no matter what your skill level is.

I have this one hunting knife I'm trying to sharpen for a friend. I got it honed to 4000 @ around 25 degrees (on each side for a total of 50°). My problem is that it the edge just feels smooth rather than sharp. I can feel it wanting to grab a little bit on a TPT butyou can run a finger like a skate on ice. So I think I either have two problems that I can think of. Either my edge is rounded just slightly. Or too fine at too steep of an angle. When looking at the edge under a loupe. I see a clearly set bevel and nothing that indicates rounding so I'm just a little stuck.

Originally Posted by rlmnshvstr8

I have this one hunting knife I'm trying to sharpen for a friend. I got it honed to 4000 @ around 25 degrees (on each side for a total of 50°). My problem is that it the edge just feels smooth rather than sharp. I can feel it wanting to grab a little bit on a TPT butyou can run a finger like a skate on ice. So I think I either have two problems that I can think of. Either my edge is rounded just slightly. Or too fine at too steep of an angle. When looking at the edge under a loupe. I see a clearly set bevel and nothing that indicates rounding so I'm just a little stuck.

How does it cut? Can it shave hair from your arm? Much like a straight razor you have to make sure your bevel is set before you move on. If you can move your fingers along the edge and there is no grab or stickiness I would go back to a lower grit and work some more there before going up. A higher grit may make a smoother bevel/edge but not duller. I wouldn't take my pocket knife and run my fingers along the edge or I would be going to the hospital. Another thought is the Lansky system is relatively cheap and good for starting out.

Originally Posted by rlmnshvstr8

I have this one hunting knife I'm trying to sharpen for a friend. I got it honed to 4000 @ around 25 degrees (on each side for a total of 50°). My problem is that it the edge just feels smooth rather than sharp. I can feel it wanting to grab a little bit on a TPT butyou can run a finger like a skate on ice. So I think I either have two problems that I can think of. Either my edge is rounded just slightly. Or too fine at too steep of an angle. When looking at the edge under a loupe. I see a clearly set bevel and nothing that indicates rounding so I'm just a little stuck.

Ha! I have an old hunting knife that fits this description pretty well. I bought it when I was ten or twelve (early 60s) cause it was big, bad, and shiny. As a youngster, I was always able to put an arm shaving edge on all my knives, but not this one! About a year ago I went back to this knife, confident that my greatly improved honing skills would finally get this knife sharp. I got results exactly like your describing. I'm pretty sure it's a steel/temper thing. My knife is made by York Cutlery, Solingen Germany, which I always thought was a good name in knives. I think this was either an early foray into stainless alloys for them, or possibly a forgery.

For a slicing knife I'd go about 12 to 15 degrees on each side so 24 to 30 degrees included .