Wusthof Knives

[BarmanBean]

Total noob with knife sharpening and the wicked edge system.  My current goal is tackling my kitchen knives, a set of Wusthof Classic knives.  From reading up, it seems that the factory edge comes at 14* per side.  Am I crazy, or is that really shallow (or steep? what is the terminology here?) for a regular use set of kitchen knives?  I was expecting the German knives in the set to be about 20* per side and the one Japanese style Santoku knife to come in a bit lower.

Any recommendations for angles to shoot for during initial sharpening?  I will be breaking in / learning the system on some cheaper knives, so the Wusthofs are a little ways off still.

[Organic]

I don’t have a ton of experience, but I also think that angle is very acute for a European style chef knife (but not uncommon for Japanese style knives which often feature much harder steel). My guess is that the edge would roll really easily with a 14 degree angle. My suggestion is to use the sharpie method to match the factory angles on your first go.

[tcmeyer]

I have a set of Wuesthof steak knives which seem to hold an edge for a really long time, even with the constant contact with Corelle dishware.  Corelle is a hardened glass.  Harder than Japanese arithmetic.  Most steak knives have serrated edges to protect the edges from dents and rolled edges caused by contact with very hard surfaces.  My Wuesthofs are very thin and are not serrated and still seem to last a long time.  I sharpen them maybe twice per year.  I get the impression that they’re really hard.

[BarmanBean]

I’ve been about 8 years now without a sharpening on these knives.  I cut steaks for serving with the chef knife the other night and my Dad was commenting on how the knives looked quite sharp, and indeed they performed well.  Long story short, they hold their edge extremely well, for sure.  I look forward to getting them stupid sharp–will be fun 🙂

[Alan]

I just recently sharpened a customers set of Wusthof knives that she said had never before been sharpened, still had the (dulled) factory edge on them.  I measured each blade before sharpening, so as to retain the factory bevel angle.  Each blade was measured at 18 degrees, except one was at 20 degrees, and another at 24 degrees.

I too at the time noticed that on the Wusthof website it stated their blades were at 14 degrees I think it was.  That sure seems extreme to me for these knives, and I think it is an error.

Alan

[dulledge]

It is not error. Almost all manufacturers lowered angle in recent years. I guess because they use harder steels.

[wickededge]

dulledge wrote:

It is not error. Almost all manufacturers lowered angle in recent years. I guess because they use harder steels.

Dulledge is right – Wusthof lowered their angles a couple of years ago, I think in an answer to increase competition from Japanese knives.

-Clay

[BarmanBean]

Interesting.  I didn’t figure that the number was wrong, as the 14* spec is listed in what appears to be final marketing literature.  I’ll have to check the factory edge on my knives with a sharpie to see where they are currently.

 

Wicked Edge showed up today, along with 800/1000 stones.  Just waiting for the base to show up, but it won’t be here until Thursday–waiting sucks!

[Montana Edge]

We’ve got the Wusthof Classic Icons. Their top of line model.  Steel is X50crMoV15. Yes, they claim 14 with some down to 11. This is silly and is good old fashioned marketing pressure and oneupsmanship.  I’ve experimented and if you don’t mind steeling your knives constantly then do 14. The average consumer will not do this.  If you want to steel once or twice per week… 18 degrees has been great. Push up to 20 and you can’t go wrong. Mine are all at 18 and I steel as often as twice per week. I use an F.Dick “Dickoron” with sapphire cut (the best and we sell them along with whole line).  I only actually sharpen on WEPS…just a touch… every 6 months or so.  They’ll last forever at this rate.

I should add that your mileage may vary… we have many knives in the kitchen. Wusthofs, vintage Gerber, a Global, and many different series of F.Dick, other keeper knives etc. so the use of each knife can vary substantially.  My comments on Wusthof are based on when we used them almost exclusively in the past. We adventure with others now.  Also, you’ll find the factory edge to be all over the place. Why not take them for a ride at 14? Just too easy to go more obtuse after that if you don’t like.  I also felt the steel ‘harden’ up a bit after sharpening off the factory edge. Very interesting to experience this.

 

 

 

 

 

3 users thanked author for this post.

Sharp1, Alan, wickededge

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