Symmetric bevel angle?
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How important is having symmetric bevel angles in terms of sharpness? I’m using the old wicked edge arms and therefore unable to micro adjust the angle to ensure perfect symmetry, do you think this makes a difference?
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In terms of sharpness it’s not important at all. If there is a huge difference between the two bevel angles you might experience some steering, but if we’re just talking the micro adjust, that’s no issue at all.
Also, most people still sharpen their knives free-hand, and even the ones that are very skilled at it never get perfect even bevels. It’s just that the WE gives you all these options to become so precise that we’ve become so OCD :-). (Or would it be the other way around, that the WE attracts a particular group of people? 🙂 )
Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge
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I’m in the mindset of “good enough” when it comes to sharpening most of my knives (kitchen knives, mostly). I have a few that are pretty cheap to start with, and so I liberally experiment with sharpening them. That’s my first advice – cheap knives, several quick/easy experiments with sharpening.
In my sharpenings, I haven’t really tried to be precise. And yet I’ve been extremely happy with my results. I guarantee I haven’t quite gotten the angles correct in many of my sharpenings, but when it comes to slicing meats and vegetables, my knives are so sharp that I’m not sure I can discern any difference versus what would be the perfect world.
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As far as “sharpness”: the 1-degree increments won’t matter. Sharpness is achieved by reaching the apex (at any angles) and meticulously going through the progress of grits.
The Micro-adjust feature helps more for matching existing-bevels without removing extra material.
A workaround I did when I had the original-arms was to replace the factory screws (that have the points to lock into the detents) with ones that were flat at the end of the threads. I also mounted the bar the other-way-around to put the dimples out of sight. This lets the flat-tip of the screw grab anywhere along the bar and not have to commit to a detent. I also use an Angle-Cube to confirm the angle to be recorded, or repeated at a later-sharpening.
With that combination, you can achieve excellent results. (I consider that the “minimum buy-in” to perfect-results)
Any upgrades to the arms or clamp beyond-that would be for the sake of sharpening-speed, OCD-grade bevels, or general enjoyment.
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How important is having symmetric bevel angles in terms of sharpness? I’m using the old wicked edge arms and therefore unable to micro adjust the angle to ensure perfect symmetry, do you think this makes a difference?
The most important thing is that the bevel angles come together and meet at edge. That is apex the edge. If the bevels come together to make a narrow point the edge will be sharp and it will cut. It may not be as good a cutting edge as you could get being more precise but it will certainly be sharp and it will cut. The angle has more to do with how easily the knife will side through or penetrate what it’s cutting and its edge longevity or durability.
Marc
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Daniel as long as your bevels are within say a degree or 2 one side or the other I doubt there are to many people that would notice either looking at the knife or using it. Even without the micro adjustment your bevels should be within 1/2 a degree or so and won’t cause a problem. The micro adjustment makes it much easier to match a existing bevel but most knives don’t come with a even bevel anyway so… There are some experienced guys on here that could pick out an uneven bevel and some that might be able to tell the difference while using the knife but to make a knife sharp I don’t think the bevel has to be perfect for lack of a better term. The refinement and angles that determine sharpness and durability are still within your reach. The angle cube is a good investment because the height of the knife edge above the clamp effects the angle. A chefs knife in your sharpener might read 20* on your bar but in actuality might be say 17* as an example while a thin knife might be 22* or so. The bar will read relatively close at about 5/8 of an inch above the clamp. Those angles do effect the knives performance and durability. The bevel being exactly even from one side to the other doesn’t have nearly as much effect on the knife as the actual sharpening angle in my opinion.
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