Anyone sharpen their supersteel knives at 40°?

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jzmtl
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Anyone sharpen their supersteel knives at 40°?

#1

Post by jzmtl »

The first thing I do when I get a knife with good steel is reprofile to 20°, and add 30° microbevel. But frankly, it's a pain in the butt to do. Then with this thin edge there are times I'm hesitant to use it fearing damage.

Now I'm thinking, maybe I'll just leave the factory edge as is, and sharpen on the SM's 40° setting instead, would save a lot of aggravation fixing a NIB knife.

So does anyone here use the 40° slot with their vg10, s30v and other high end steels?
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chuck_roxas45
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#2

Post by chuck_roxas45 »

Yup, a para 1, a millie, my blue stretch. Not quite 40 degrees but at 36 degrees as measured by the edge pro. This is so that I can easily do a microbevel and touch up with the sharpmaker's 40 degree slot.
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araneae
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#3

Post by araneae »

I haven't changed the angle on my ZDP Stretch. Its pretty darn good as it is.
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Evil D
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#4

Post by Evil D »

Nope..ive found 30 inclusive is a happy middle ground between thin and durable for the better steels ive used. It really comes down to intended use more than steel type.
~David
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SQSAR
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#5

Post by SQSAR »

I use 30 degrees on my ZDP blades, and 40 degree on pretty much everything else. I've thought about going to 30 degrees on other steels, but at 40 degrees they are wicked sharp and have a little more durability.
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The Mentaculous
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#6

Post by The Mentaculous »

Unless it comes from the factory at a very low angle, I usually microbevel on my sharpmaker at 40 deg.

I don't feel that it negatively effects cutting performance to have a tiny microbevel at 40, and it's much easier since you know it will always hit the edge. Plus, when the microbevel gets too big, I just back-bevel at 30 deg.
.357 mag
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#7

Post by .357 mag »

I haven't brought myself to bevel ZDP to 40 degrees yet. I run 30 degrees and love the way it cuts through stuff.
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#8

Post by npueppke »

If you consider S30V a supersteel then yes I do. If I stay on top of keeping up sharpening, it takes maybe 10 to 20 passes on the 40 degree stones to get my knives sharp enough to shave hair.
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#9

Post by jzmtl »

Seems quite a few people do that eh?

The reason I asked is because I'm eyeing a zulu, and just looking at all those curves on that blade makes me cringe, talk about a reprofiling nightmare.
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dsmegst
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#10

Post by dsmegst »

I keep things to 30 degrees inclusive for everything up to VG-10 and S30V. ZDP-189, S90V, CTS-XHP, etc gets 20 degrees inclusive edges. All my kitchen knifes are also at 20 degrees inclusive regardless of steel.
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Dr. Snubnose
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#11

Post by Dr. Snubnose »

Holds hand up for a 40 degree on my supersteels...Doc :D
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defenestrate
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#12

Post by defenestrate »

I typically go with 40 degrees on all :spyder: blades.
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unit
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#13

Post by unit »

Do you count S30V as a super steel? Personally, I have managed to trivialize this steel to "common place".

Currently I have one blade at 40 (S30V). I generally prefer a lower angle, and many of my knives would demonstrate this preference.
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Evil D
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#14

Post by Evil D »

I would consider it a super steel, because i consider those higher end steels as exotics. If they're so uncommon that we can only get them in sprint runs and mules, then they're a step beyond what i would consider your standard "super steel". Sort of like a Corvette is a serious sports car and is a world away from your standard daily commuter car/grocery getter, but it's not quite a Ferrari ;)
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#15

Post by akaAK »

Since I only have a Sharpmaker, I stay with the factory angle and microbevel at 40 inclusive. Backbeveling to 30 or lower is way too much work even with the diamond rods so I only do that when I really have too. If I had the time to spend I would give it a shot.

I have thought about going lower but need to make the investment in more appropriate sharpening tools.
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AJF
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#16

Post by AJF »

For routine sharpening/touch-ups, I like easy. And for me, that's doing it at 30 degrees inclusive, and sometimes adding a few final light strokes with the blade turned in just slightly toward the rods. That way, I don't even have to change the rods from the 30 degree slots to the 40 degree slots.

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dbcad
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#17

Post by dbcad »

Right now I'm playing with and learning effects from edge angles and more importantly the overall grind of the blade and the relative advantages in certain areas that are real and practical for me :)

Delica FFG I have at a little below 30 on the edge with a 30 micro bevel. Cut's like crazy. Swick resharpened to a good even 30, a comfortable in the hand killer for cardboard, Balance retouched at 40 because of the thick small blade and that it gets the pain in the ### stuff (plastic shell paks) works great, PPT everyday, retouched at 40 as well as the large Lum (for now :D ).

Got a little crazy with the SG Delica and the shortened Damascus Mule. The D Mule acts great with all sorts of stuff :) The SG Delica edge needs some more refinement when I get some better tools and skill although part of that edge seems atom splitting sharp :eek:
Tomorrow the Super Blue will get a little thinner and I'll see what I learn from that experience. It's cut up a couple of chickens already and It'll be interesting to see how it does with the third :)

It's kind of funny, but at work, most other folks knives don't seem too sharp. Some actually are a little frightened by a super fine edge, and you can get a 40 bevel to a super fine edge. Have I fallen in that deep...lololol ;)

In the end I believe it's all what's right for each individual. I wouldn't hesitate to touch up any with a quick 40 micro if real quick is what I needed. I wouldn't be harming the blades at all. Come to think of it I might try that with the SG Delica :)
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dsmegst
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#18

Post by dsmegst »

My thought on "exotic" steels is this. The blade steel is harder and tougher giving the edge greater edge stability. The biggest advantage to me is that it can support a thinner edge for improved slicing capability.

Sure, I can keep the factory edge angle (around 30 degrees) and have an edge that lasts longer than inferior blade with the same edge angle. But then you're not experiencing the full potential of the blade steel. I figure I paid extra for it so it's worth pushing things a bit.
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unit
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#19

Post by unit »

dsmegst wrote:My thought on "exotic" steels is this. The blade steel is harder and tougher giving the edge greater edge stability. The biggest advantage to me is that it can support a thinner edge for improved slicing capability.

Sure, I can keep the factory edge angle (around 30 degrees) and have an edge that lasts longer than inferior blade with the same edge angle. But then you're not experiencing the full potential of the blade steel. I figure I paid extra for it so it's worth pushing things a bit.
Well said. For knives I cut with...I pay more so they cut better (by supporting a small bevel angle). But I understand some would rather they cut the same but do so for longer between bench sessions...but I like my bench sessions.

I also realize not everyone wants a knife just for cutting. I have one of those too...but I consider it more of a toy than a knife ;)
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Evil D
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#20

Post by Evil D »

It just depends on how you see the better steels as being superior...one guy might see them as being superior because they hold an edge longer, while the other might see them as superior because they can hold an edge as long as inferior steels at a lower angle. Either way it's good, just depends on perspective and priority.

I myself don't mind sharpening every night after work, BUT it has to be able to hold a sharp edge throughout my shift with a lot of cutting, so i have to find that happy middle ground between thin and durable edge. To me that's 25-30 inclusive.
~David
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