Sharpening angles

Jamie · #1

I know there have been a lot of posts about sharpening so sorry if this is redundant.

Ever since I lost the factory edge on my delica I haven't been able to get it as sharp. I was wondering if a 30 degree edge with 20 degree back bevel would be good for a vg-10 blade. What about a zdp-189 blade? would that be good at a more acute angle?

I'm obviously not an experienced sharpener so I would have to send my knives out to get re-profiled, who do you guys recommend?

Thanks

Noble · #2

My Sharpmaker came with instructions saying one of the recommended edge configurations is a 30 deg back bevel, with a 40 deg edge. Its a good Utility setup. I sharpen all my blades doing straight 30 deg. Its wicked. But once i start getting too close to the shoulder, I will back bevel at 30 and put on a 40 deg edge. Im still in the "Factory edge" stage on most of my knives and merely need to re-touch them occasionally.

noddy · #3

Convex them all - mwa-ha-ha-ha-haaaaarrrr!!!!! :D :D :D

Seriously - it works for me - it is easy once you have got the knack and you don't need to be stumped if you are without your sharpmaker

bh49 · #4

Tom Krein does terrific job in regrinding.
VG10 will hold 30 degrees edge with 24 backbevel. Sorry, cannot tell much about ZDP.

Murdoc · #5

Jamie wrote:
I'm obviously not an experienced sharpener so I would have to send my knives out to get re-profiled, who do you guys recommend?

Thanks

That's simple - Spyderco!

They will sharpen your knives exactly like they do all the new ones, so you will get back a Spydie with the "original" factory edge. And it's cheap, too. Only shipping costs.

Dennis

jzmtl · #6

Chances are unless you reprofile it you won't be able to put a 30° edge on it. Of all the spyderco knives I have only one can be almost sharpened at 30°.

Nifty_Nives · #7

Now for newbies at sharpening, it can be kind of overwhelming. They dont want to cut themselves, or mess up the blade angle, or do it the boy scout way (which sucks) or they just dont know what to do. The sharpmaker is expensive, but works like a charm, another very easy sharpener is the fiskars sharpener, it sharpens your knife, and will always sharpen to the knifes blade, no matter what angle it is.

Its very simple, and once the stones lose their sharpening power (takes about 100-250 sharpenings) then you can replace the ceramic stones inside for about $10-15. It works great, and i kept my blades so sharp all the time. In fact, i just got a nasty wound yesterday with my knife. Stabbed my hand 1/4" into my palm. Ouch, it was sharp.

noddy · #8

Don't these things just eat knives though?

jzmtl · #9

noddy wrote:Don't these things just eat knives though?

The fiskars is not like the other with only two stationary rods, it has two rotating disks inside. I'm not quite sure how it works, but canadian tire carries them, you can go check it out.

Going to get one next time it comes on sale for kitchen use.

SamMaxRay · #10

Since we are on the subject, can we make this even simpler for me? I have a Sharpmaker. If I want to sharpen my Spyderco knives, which angle do I use, 30 or 40 degree?

Also I searched on that Fiskars sharpener and it's $9.83 on Amazon.

freeman7 · #11

The FIskars sharpener looks interesting for cheaper kitchen knives. (I would not use it on my handmade Japanese blades, for instance.) But if the ceramic inserts are removeable, why not just clean them?

Jamie · #12

I guess what I was asking was how well vg-10 would keep an edge at 30 degrees. Seems like it would be good to me if that is how they come from the factory.

I've tried freehand sharpening with moderate success and would like to try again, but I don't know anyone who can teach me and I don't have a whole lot of spare time right now.