Angle Gauge says 20°, but angle rod is at notch '29'

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1

Hi folks,

I’m hoping this is due to some bit of info I wasn’t aware of or some calculation I’m supposed to do, but right now I’m very confused!

I’ve got a Gen1 WE with Gen1 rods. I recently ordered a Digital angle gauge and today I gave it a try. I’m currently trying to sharpen a Chinese cleaver (as is typical of a cleaver, it’s big…3" from spine to edge). I want to put a 20° edge on it (on each side, so 40° total), so I put the digital gauge on the stone and adjust the rod back until I get to 20° and then lock it down…But when I look at the notch location on the rod, it’s at the 29° notch!!! What gives?

I figured there’d be some small variance due to sharpening a fatter blade but that’s a 9° variance!!

What am I doing wrong?

Thank you.

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Nothing’s wrong… that sounds about right. The Wicked Edge angles are calibrated for a knife edge that is 5/8" above the top of the clamp. Sounds like your cleaver is well above that. How far is the edge above the clamp?

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Ahhh, good. I’m glad I’m not going crazy or that anything is wrong. The cleaver is 3" from spine to edge, when it’s clamped in it’s still more than 2.5" above the clamp.

Thanks!