going over how angles can greatly affect the edge retention of your knife and how to find the right angle for each knife and class of work for that knife and user. caltoncutlery.com
Practical solid advice always appreciated. If a cutting edge on a cooks knife deteriorates relatively rapidly, Looking at it with a good magnifier you can normally see if it is rapidly rolling or chipping. Both are sign to me blade angle too narrow for use case scenario. I increase the cutting edge angle on the outside ( side of blade further away from you ) of the blade. Most often using about using 15º to 20º on the inside & 30º to 45º on the outside.
I have one of those fixed angle knife sharpeners. I've used it maybe once or twice and it worked really well. It's really useful if you've screwed up your factory edge bevels and you want to get a new, precise angle that looks like the factory angle again, but mostly if I just need a sharp knife I just go back to the whetstones. Hard to completely keep the wobble out of your wrist though.
i had one of those guided sharpening gizmos once also. I threw it away. it took far too long to set up, too long to use, and I could not vary the angles at all. a regular stone and a wobbly wrist is way better than a guided gizmo :}
Really? I have a KME made in the USA angle guided system and it only takes 60 seconds to set up. As for too long to use, I can put a 600 grit edge on Maxamet steel in 4 minutes. And I can vary the angle from 12 degrees per side up to 35 degrees. It’s 1000 times more consistent than free hand, with absolutely zero change in your edge due to “wobbly wrist.” Once you tighten the clamp down, which takes 2 seconds, you have ZERO play or angle difference. And check this out- the entire set up with 5 extremely good diamond stones (100 grit to 1500 grit) cost me $179!!!!! Yep, you read that right- $179 for an all American made product!!! Not sure what kind of whetstones you use, but good luck finding even 1 good whetstone for $179. I’ve been sharpening for over 40 years- 30 of those on a whetstone- and without doubt the angle guided “gizmos” produce a much superior angle/edge! Without debt it’s a no brainer!!
Once again...good common sense...don't get so hung up on minute details...also, a thinner edge may lose it quicker but also quicker to restore...keep 'em coming ...appreciated
Just a warning that by using the knife as a guide to the angle, after several sharpening sessions, the shorter the width of the primary bevel of the blade will be and, therefore, the steeper the angle will be on the edge bevel. You'll need to do some thinning on the primary bevel , to recover the original blade geometry. But that usually takes a long while before necessary.
I think knife sharpening on the stones is good if you are able to maintain the angle correctly. Correctly it means not altering the angle of your knife all the times because this would wear the knife prematurely and would be confusing as sharpening might be time consuming and still not archiving good results. In this case it is good idea to use angle wedges to be able to refer the angle from. This can dramatically improve sharpening results on the stones.
in this video i am not talking about changing the angle while you are sharpening, but inbetween each sharpening sessions based on what you and the knife went through since the last time you sharpened. once you and the knife get to know each other, and find the angle that you both like the best, then you keep that angle until something changes that makes you want to try another one.
@@joecalton1449 I know that you talking about different angle in different sharpening session but the problem still exists. If the angle is changed then you remove more material than is really necessary. If someone is struggling with the particular angle let say for Japanese Santoku 12° and 13° for burr removal. So the angle wedge as reference is very useful. I can basically be accurate to 1° with the wedge such as Wedgek and next time use exactly the same angle to obtain the best results. But if having very cheap kitchen knife and sharpening it at 20° per side not need to change such angle anymore as this is the best for such soft steel and still can be sharp and useful knife in the kitchen which is good for abuse. It is much better to stick with the angle if works well with particular knife.
@@radoslawjocz2976 that is very cool that you can be that accurate. I dont know that I have ever even measured the exact angle that I sharpened at. i usually say to start out at just high enough to clear the finish, and if you get a scratch or 2 on the finish then that is perfect. then if you need a tougher edge, go a little higher till you quit getting damage. nothing too fancy for me.
@@joecalton1449 I seen some Arkansas stones have angle guides built in but this was only one angle basically. I like the idea of sharpening based on the choosen angle and be able to choose slightly steeper angle for final burr removal or micro bevel. I can obtain better results using hard stones because knife cannot cut into it. So can move forward and backward without any problems. Soft fine Japanese stones producing slurry which is rounding the edges and knife can slightly dig into the stone which is detrimental. Soft stones are good for stropping or polishing bigger surfaces. Good for single bevel knifes, chisels, etc. Hard fine stones are often not producing enough slurry and tends to glaze but used with fine Nagura stone are superior to anything else.
On kitchen knives I try for about 20 degrees on the right side and 12 to 15ish on the left, me being right handed. You must have GOOD waterstones and steel your knife often. I have to actually sharpen about every six months. Victorinox is as good as you will ever need.
Practical solid advice always appreciated.
If a cutting edge on a cooks knife deteriorates relatively rapidly,
Looking at it with a good magnifier you can normally see if it is rapidly rolling or chipping.
Both are sign to me blade angle too narrow for use case scenario.
I increase the cutting edge angle on the outside ( side of blade further away from you ) of the blade.
Most often using about using 15º to 20º on the inside & 30º to 45º on the outside.
I have one of those fixed angle knife sharpeners. I've used it maybe once or twice and it worked really well. It's really useful if you've screwed up your factory edge bevels and you want to get a new, precise angle that looks like the factory angle again, but mostly if I just need a sharp knife I just go back to the whetstones. Hard to completely keep the wobble out of your wrist though.
i had one of those guided sharpening gizmos once also. I threw it away. it took far too long to set up, too long to use, and I could not vary the angles at all. a regular stone and a wobbly wrist is way better than a guided gizmo :}
Really? I have a KME made in the USA angle guided system and it only takes 60 seconds to set up.
As for too long to use, I can put a 600 grit edge on Maxamet steel in 4 minutes.
And I can vary the angle from 12 degrees per side up to 35 degrees.
It’s 1000 times more consistent than free hand, with absolutely zero change in your edge due to “wobbly wrist.” Once you tighten the clamp down, which takes 2 seconds, you have ZERO play or angle difference.
And check this out- the entire set up with 5 extremely good diamond stones (100 grit to 1500 grit) cost me $179!!!!! Yep, you read that right- $179 for an all American made product!!! Not sure what kind of whetstones you use, but good luck finding even 1 good whetstone for $179. I’ve been sharpening for over 40 years- 30 of those on a whetstone- and without doubt the angle guided “gizmos” produce a much superior angle/edge! Without debt it’s a no brainer!!
Once again...good common sense...don't get so hung up on minute details...also, a thinner edge may lose it quicker but also quicker to restore...keep 'em coming ...appreciated
Great point!
Thanks for the info.
Any time!
Just a warning that by using the knife as a guide to the angle, after several sharpening sessions, the shorter the width of the primary bevel of the blade will be and, therefore, the steeper the angle will be on the edge bevel. You'll need to do some thinning on the primary bevel , to recover the original blade geometry. But that usually takes a long while before necessary.
absolutely!
Great video as always Joe!❤🎉
thanks erica!
Good informative video.
Glad you think so!
I think knife sharpening on the stones is good if you are able to maintain the angle correctly. Correctly it means not altering the angle of your knife all the times because this would wear the knife prematurely and would be confusing as sharpening might be time consuming and still not archiving good results. In this case it is good idea to use angle wedges to be able to refer the angle from. This can dramatically improve sharpening results on the stones.
in this video i am not talking about changing the angle while you are sharpening, but inbetween each sharpening sessions based on what you and the knife went through since the last time you sharpened. once you and the knife get to know each other, and find the angle that you both like the best, then you keep that angle until something changes that makes you want to try another one.
@@joecalton1449 I know that you talking about different angle in different sharpening session but the problem still exists. If the angle is changed then you remove more material than is really necessary. If someone is struggling with the particular angle let say for Japanese Santoku 12° and 13° for burr removal. So the angle wedge as reference is very useful. I can basically be accurate to 1° with the wedge such as Wedgek and next time use exactly the same angle to obtain the best results. But if having very cheap kitchen knife and sharpening it at 20° per side not need to change such angle anymore as this is the best for such soft steel and still can be sharp and useful knife in the kitchen which is good for abuse. It is much better to stick with the angle if works well with particular knife.
@@radoslawjocz2976 that is very cool that you can be that accurate. I dont know that I have ever even measured the exact angle that I sharpened at. i usually say to start out at just high enough to clear the finish, and if you get a scratch or 2 on the finish then that is perfect. then if you need a tougher edge, go a little higher till you quit getting damage. nothing too fancy for me.
@@joecalton1449 I seen some Arkansas stones have angle guides built in but this was only one angle basically. I like the idea of sharpening based on the choosen angle and be able to choose slightly steeper angle for final burr removal or micro bevel. I can obtain better results using hard stones because knife cannot cut into it. So can move forward and backward without any problems. Soft fine Japanese stones producing slurry which is rounding the edges and knife can slightly dig into the stone which is detrimental. Soft stones are good for stropping or polishing bigger surfaces. Good for single bevel knifes, chisels, etc. Hard fine stones are often not producing enough slurry and tends to glaze but used with fine Nagura stone are superior to anything else.
Again great info' Joe -thanks
Any time!
I'll be 62 next month and I still get some scratches on my blade . I don't mind it. But once in a while we just get a little to low. LOL 😂
Very good common sense advice. 20 degree per side standard always seems odd to me
that is a bit high for my tastes :}
On kitchen knives I try for about 20 degrees on the right side and 12 to 15ish on the left, me being right handed. You must have GOOD waterstones and steel your knife often. I have to actually sharpen about every six months. Victorinox is as good as you will ever need.