Blade angle VS blade height

[Bill Wood]

Tried to find a thread on this subject, didn’t, so i’m making one.

Question is, if you have a knife when set in the riser that sticks above the riser 1/2 in. ands set the angle bar at 22 degrees, then replace that knife with a knife that sticks above the riser by 2 inches, is not the knife that is taller going to have a steeper angle than 22 degrees? If I am thinking this situation right how do you use the angle guide on the wicked edge? Or is this maybe why you should buy the angle cube?

[Leo James Mitchell]

Hi there
There are many variables: blade height above the vise, blade geometry, the amount of curvature from the heel to the point of the blade, etc. The angle cube helps get things just the way you want them, it is a great investment. If you are an older guy or your eyes are not as sharp as they used to be, get one of the back-lit angle cubes. They are more expensive but worth it for these 7 decade old eyes. LOL!
The WEPS minimizes the variables…just think of the free hand sharpener and what he faces in the way of variance. As you become more adept and experienced with the WEPS, the more accurate your edges will become. Like anything, practice makes perfect…well, almost!

Leo

[Chet Parks]

Bill
Not only for the example you gave but for getting the same angle per side, because the knife is off center, the angle cube is a MUST HAVE.
Chet

[Mark76]

The angles indicated on the WEPS angle bar are correct for an “average” knife. If your knife is a lot taller, a lot ticker, or has other geometrical differences, the angles may be somewhat different.

This is no problem in practice and sufficient for nearly every knife, because the key is repeatability: with every stone and every time you clamp the knife (at the same position) you will be sharpening it at exactly the same angle. Consistently, over and over again.

As other people have said, if you really want to know the exact angle you need an angle cube. But you don’t need one to properly and repeatably sharpen a knife.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Bill Wood]

Thanks for the response guy’s.

Mark, I understand and agree what you said. What had crossed my mind when I made this point was that if I found an angle that I really liked for a knife and wanted to put the same angle on another knife that had different demensions then I could not use the angle finder on the WE because I could be off a couple of degrees. So, Ithink an angle cube may be a good investment. As of right now I am just reading the forum (waiting for my WE to arrive) and gaining as much knowledge as possible and and by doing so I have a million questions rolling around in my head. I’m sure after getting the WE and using it, a lot of these questions will answer themselves.

By the way, I know what the post indicator is for but what does the Karma indicator stand for? ( Anyone?)

[Leo James Mitchell]

Karma is assigned to someone’s post to show appreciation for the post, much as the thank you is given. As far as I know Karma is given by the Moderators…I have never been on the other end so I am not sure whether others can or not! Silly Leo!

Leo

[Mark76]

Hi Bill,

It indeed sounds like you’re a good candidate for an angle cube 😉 . I’ve got one myself and I use it quite a lot, particularly now I’ve got PP II. However, I’d also be the first to admit that I like it because of OCD, not because you need one. (Another reason I like it, is because I have some stones of different thickness, but that’s another story. All of the WEPS stones have the same thickness.)

It’s quite easy to compute how the angle varies with blade height. It’s got something to do with sinuses and tangents, stuff from high school. If you want to try, here’s a link[/url]. This also shows these angle changes are not large for similar knives, nearly always within a degree (unless you want to put the same angle on your 20 cm high cleaver, because you like it so much on your pocket knife).

Just recall that only the best free-hand sharpeners can keep their angles within a few degrees. We’re talking tens of degrees here.

It appears the WEPS doesn’t just attract some people with OCD, but also promotes OCD 😆 .

Your Karma rating determines how happy you’ll be in heaven… Just kidding, wish it were true. You’d really have to talk to the programmer who created this forum. It doesn’t come with a manual, not even for mods.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

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