Fixed Angle Sharpening Tips and Tricks - Lets Discuss!

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hx82

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May 31, 2025
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Hey everybody, I've been searching all over this forum for a thread that is dedicated for fixed angle sharpening tips and tricks but I couldn't seem to find one a part from the tech talk threads comparing various systems.

I've had my fixed angle system for a few years now, it's a Hapstone RS. I'll probably upgrade to something else later down the road however, I've been wanting to see if there are any tips from people who have a lot of experience with a fixed angle system on how to get screaming sharp edge. I've been able to get my edges to do the typical slice through paper and sometimes it can shave some hairs off, but I've really been wanting to take it to the next level.

Does anybody have any pointers or videos they could post in here? What kind of movement do you make on the stone? I've tried a few different strokes, but I've recently been pulling down on the stone and lifting the stone up and repeating that movement to try and mimic the scratch pattern of a factory edge.
 
I do a sawing motion to create a burr with a coarse stone. Knock off the burr. My next step is to run a finer stone in a sharpening motion only (not a stropping motion). I progress from course to fine to get a clean apex.
Deburring is very important.
 
Here is one:

miso2

Thread 'Edge Pro Sharpening Tips, Mistakes, and Lessons Learned'

I have used Edge Pro Apex to sharpen my knives for 5 years or so now.
I think I can now create a nice keen edge that looks nice as well.

I was encouraged by a few members to put my sharpening procedures and use tips for Edge Pro together as a thread, with my "lessons learned" from ruining a few good knives along my development of sharpening skills.

Here I document a sharpening session, in which I reprofiled an obtuse factory edge to 15 DPS.

For basic sharpening concepts and practice, please see another very useful sticky thread.
(Other resources summarized by @Henry...
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If you're not adverse to Youtube, Pete from the Channel Cedric&Ada has some great videos showcasing a few different fixed angle sharpeners.

Myself, I got the cheap Worksharp (can't remember the name now, but it was 60€) and have got great, hair-popping, results on various knives. I switched to freehand though, this particular model flexes too much for me (or maybe I'm pressing too hard).

What I did do were downward strokes over the full length of the blade, checking for a burr regularly and flipping the blade once I was satisfied with how it felt. I think letting the diamonds do all the work is important in a system like this.

I did go wild with the ceramic plate at the end however, not just downward strokes but going down and up the blade all the time. As said, it produced great results for me back then, but I ventured into freehand :)
 
Focusing more on stropping after the last diamond stone has really improved my edges. Diamond emulsions are very helpful.
 
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