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Hi just to say hello. Not sure if I’m posting correctly as tried to post earlier but it didn’t seem to post .
Anyway my names Steve , just received My WE pro1 so will be giving it a try . What’s a good angle to do general kitchen knives at please
Regards steve
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Welcome to the Forum and the world of sharp knives. The sharpening angle would depend on the style of knife, and how hard the steel it’s made of is. An easy rule of thumb: inexpensive often means softer steels, softer steels usually needs a wider bevel angle. So for a soft steel everyday chef”s knife I’d start with an angle of 20-22 degrees per side. You really can’t do anything wrong. A sharp knife of the wrong angle is still a sharp knife! First thing is just to learn how to use your Wicked Edge. It will take a few knives to break in your new sharpening stones to get the best results. Welcome
Marc
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I’ll second Marc’s comments. I use 20 dps (degrees per side) on almost everything I do, unless there’s a good reason to go to a different angle. This simplifies the guesswork when I get a knife for re-sharpening. Even when using the Sharpie method to find the angle, I know that starting at 20 dps is as good as any.
That having been said, I have a few kitchen knives that I sharpen at lower angles and add a micro-bevel. On those, I use 17 dps at 3.0 micron for the main bevels, then a very fine 20 dps at 1000-grit for the micro-bevels. In these cases, I’m looking for less cutting resistance and the polished 17 dps bevels cut more like a thinner, more expensive knife. The micro-bevel provides a more robust edge (resistant to chips and dings) as well as a toothy edge to bite into slippery stuff. I do this with my own knives because I don’t mind resharpening them once per month.
Like Marc said, focus on perfecting your technique before letting yourself get distracted by issues like specialty angles.
Hi Stevepegg, welcome to the forum. Success with your WEPS. I have a lot of Japanese kitchen knives, which are pretty hard and I often do them at 12-15 degrees per side. But if you have a “normal” German kitchen knife or something similar, I’d do it at 20 degrees per side. As Tom (TCMeyer) said, you could also go a little lower and experiment with a micro bevel.
Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge
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I think you should break in the diamond stones some before using them on those knives. It always a good idea to find some knives to practice on. I didn’t experience the best results until my stones got broken in so I was constantly second guessing my technique. Shun and Global are both respectable kitchen knife brands. Even if they may not be the top-of-the-line knives in that particular brand, I wouldn’t want to remove any metal unnecessarily. Every time you sharpen you remove metal that can’t be put back. The unbroken-in stones remove more metal or put stray scratches in more wrong places than broken-in stones do.
Marc
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Welcome Steve,
One Steve to another, the angle is as MarcH and TC said, up to the knife. I have sharpened Santoku’s at 10 deg. (J.A. Henkels recommended edge for their santoku) and 15 deg for the rest of their knives. Wusthof knives are sharpened at 14 deg for the most part.
As Marc and TC stated the angle depends on the knife. 20 deg. is a very good all around edge for a lot of knives. For my kitchen knives I sharpen most of them at 15 deg with an 18 deg. secondary bevel. I find this to be a very sharp feel and pretty durable. Also you can maintain the edge because you have the tools.
If you are sharpening for others, you need to consider the geometry of the knife and who is using the knife. Some folks take better care of their knifes but most don’t, so the tougher the better for those folks.
Breaking in your stones is a very important and lengthy process. I have about 130 knives on my stones and I think they get better and better. After 10 or 15 knives there was a noticeable difference in the results. After that the big difference was finding what worked for me. MarcH , TC, Mark76 to mention a few have helped me with ideas and technique more than I can say. You are getting good advice from these guys. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and make comments. Your feedback and experience helps all of us.
Welcome to the club!
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