Kershaw link

[Reaper]

I have sharpened my link at 20 degrees and really like the edge. Curious as to what the edge would be like at 18 or 15 degree angle. I use it mostly for cutting cardboard and sisal twine. Any help will be greatly appreciated

[Organic]

Think of it this way: Wider angles are more like an axe. They are durable and resilient, but not the best for creating thin slices or delicate cuts. The more acute the angle, the more it becomes like a scalpel. It may not be that great for hacking into hard objects (prone to deformation and chipping), but it can slice and perform accurate and delicate cuts really well.  Obviously, the difference between 20 degrees per side and 15 degrees per side on a pocket folder won’t be quite that dramatic, but the trend does hold.

3 users thanked author for this post.

DaveG, Reaper, David

[tcmeyer]

A very good analogy.  Acute angles are always a pleasure to use, but they don’t necessarily stand up to abuse very well, and cardboard is hard on any edge.  I believe there is clay or some other abrasives in cardboard which tend to dull an edge quickly.  I have two Spyderco knives in ZDP-189 and both have a tendency to chip at 17 dps.  At Rockwell C-64, 17 dps is apparently too acute.

That having been said, whether an edge lasts longer at 17 or 20 dps when cutting cardboard is dependent largely on the quality of the steel.  I’d think that an acute angle would cut through cardboard with less force at the edge, but bevel width is also a large factor.  I have an old Buck 110 which doesn’t like cutting cardboard at all.  With heavy cardboard, I can detect a drop-off in sharpness within ten or twenty feet.

2 users thanked author for this post.

DaveG, Reaper

[Reaper]

I thank you for the response. I am very happy with the edge at 20 degrees I was just curious what a lesser degree would get me. It cuts cardboard and sisal twine plus shrink wrap great at 20 degrees. I usually just touch the edge up once a week.

[Author]

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