Finding the right angle using a sharpening stone.

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robertj298

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Mar 7, 2014
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I could never tell what angle I was using while using my sharpening stone. I could keep a consistent angle but never really knew what it was. I'm wondering if this technique makes sense? I found an angle finder app on my cellphone so if I put something under one end of the stone to raise it so I have the correct angle and then just keep the blade of my knife parallel should this not work?
 
robertj298 said:
I could never tell what angle I was using while using my sharpening stone. I could keep a consistent angle but never really knew what it was. I'm wondering if this technique makes sense? I found an angle finder app on my cellphone so if I put something under one end of the stone to raise it so I have the correct angle and then just keep the blade of my knife parallel should this not work?
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I have a simpler way. Just buy a plastic protractor, they are about 50 cents, it will tell you what angle you are sharpening at now, and just adjust if you need to.
 
I know how you feel. I can keep it consistent but have no idea how many degrees I am at. I usually do kitchen knives a lot closer to the stone - I would guess 15-20 degrees and pocket knives more like 20-25. They get super sharp and can drift silent through newspaper. I use Shapton water stones 400/1000/2000 and a leather strop. Used to go to 5k but don’t see the point anymore.
 
The exact angle doesn't matter. If you want to stay close to the factory grind, then as mentioned, use a marker to help you see where you're at.

Otherwise, don't stress the exact angle. That number is just a guide to inform you of the edge you want.

Get an even bevel that produces a burr, flip, do the same on the other side, de-burr.

How the edge performs will tell you if you should raise or lower it going forward.
 
Straight up and down is 90. Half of that 45. Then one more half is 22.5. Boom. Use the eye that winks and not the one that stinks
 
You've fond a great solution to holding consistent edge angles -- and angles that you know and can replicate exactly.

I do something similar by using a wooden ramp at a known angle. Then I put the stone on the ramp and hold the blade parallel. It's similar to what you're doing. Basically, it's like a horizontal Sharpmaker.
 
I lay the blade flat, flat on the stone, then raise the spine just enough so only the edge is touching the stone.

That is how I was taught 60-61 years ago to sharpen. Roughly 8 to 12 DPS, tho I aim/try for an even 10 DPS. Again, what I was taught a knife should be sharpened to back then. (recall there was only "simple" steels back then: 1095; 440A, and 420HC, unless you had a Buck hunting slash skinning knife with 440C, for the most part.) They could (and can) take that shallow of an angle.
(Somewhere, I have a 1950's-1960's W.R. Case and Son's sharpening guide. Case said to hold the blade at 10 degrees to the sharpening stone (and to push the edge, not drag it, to avoid a wire edge/bur) back then, too.)

Axes, Hatchets, other chopping tools, and the froe, and maybe the meat/bone cleaver, were supposed to be 15 to 17-18 DPS ... a straight razor 5 DPS, using the spine to set the angle.

Lots of muscle memory to overcome "sharpening" a knife to 15 DPS (not to mention "hearing" parents, uncles, ants, grand parents, great grand parents, and great-great grand mother in my "mind", all cussing me out for putting such an obtuse edge on a knife.)
 
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As Eli said, you don't need to know the angle, you need repeatability. Learn to feel for the bevel and develop the discipline of holding that angle.
Then see how you feel about it, if you want a steeper edge or a more obtuse edge.
They also sell little plastic wedges set at different angles. You could make your own too.
 
One problem with always following the factory edge bevel (which are often too obtuse to begin with), or always sharpening at the same angle (unless it's low enough), is that the area behind the edge will eventually become thicker. There's not much disagreement that thin edges cut better than thick edges.
 
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