blade isnt tall enough?

[Trevor]

Has anyone else ever had a problem with sharpening a knife with a very short blade? such as being short from the top of knife down to the cutting edge…..If its to small it sharpens my knife holding legs instead! Am i doing something wrong?

[Edwin Lurvey]

I would suspect because you are sitting on the guide key pins you can’t reach the cutting edge without hitting the jaws of the vise. Just don’t sit on the pins, use something to space the knife up higher in the vise.

[Leo James Mitchell]

Forget the depth guide and catch the back of the blade as high as possible in the clamp. Also don’t try too acute an angle with a very narrow blade as you will hit the top of the vise/clamp with the paddles. Remember an angle of 20 degrees per side is just as sharp as any other angle plus it will take more of a beating than 15 degrees for example.I have done a blade of 5/8ths of an inch width clamped as high as I could get it and it worked fine with an angle of 22 degrees per side…sharp as the dickens.

Cheers and good luck

Leo

[Trevor]

So I guess next time I start to sharpen I’ll just put an edge on it so that it doesn’t hit the vise/clamp! Leomitch, your saying a 22 degree angle is just as sharp as a 22 degree angle? why the need for such steep angles then? Not questioning your intelligence at all, I am just wondering for my own information! Thanks

[Leo James Mitchell]

So I guess next time I start to sharpen I’ll just put an edge on it so that it doesn’t hit the vise/clamp! Leomitch, your saying a 22 degree angle is just as sharp as a 22 degree angle? why the need for such steep angles then? Not questioning your intelligence at all, I am just wondering for my own information! Thanks[/quote

I guess I should guard my words more carefully,so I will splain.
For cutting in general terms and in the real world,an angle of 22 degrees per side is more than adequate and a good deal more sturdy than, let’s say a 15 degree per side edge. I have my ESEE 4,5 and 6 at 20 and 22 degrees per side and these edges will shave your eye-balls just by looking at them. If I wanted a knife to be a good slicer then I might go down to 15 degrees per side and for a chef’s knife I might go 12 degrees max. Once you hit the realm below 15 degrees, you are getting a sharp slicing edge alright, but not enough sharper in real world terms, to make up for the edge rolling/nicking/chipping possibilities and to make up for the metal being taken off.
I will go as low as 18 degrees for a standard use knife, as I do with my Fallkniven PXL and the TK-2…they have blades of 3G powdered steel and can maintain an 18 degree edge with no problem. If you are talking about a bush-craft/survival knife, I will not go below 20 degrees…ESEE factory edges are 20 degrees a side for all their knives I believe.
I will quickly add here, that these are my own opinions and I have been scoffed at many times by the cognecati of sharpening on another forum, but then I am a stubborn old fart and don’t give in too easily. Ask Tom from Jende Industries and Clay. :S
I will comment further on thin convex edges in a later post…should cause hackles to rise!! LOL

Best to all
Leo

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