Sharpening gerber prodigy

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knireguy

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Dec 18, 2015
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Hello guys I've been looking on the internet for what the angle is for sharpening a gerber prodigy.
Thus far I have seen very conflicting information and some people say that 19-25 is for razor sharp and 30 is for general hard use.

I would like to use sharpen my prodigy with the angle it came out of the factory with(sharrp,yet also sturdy angle) so as to not change the blade profile and edge.

If anyone has an idea of what the sharpening angle is for the gerber prodigy please let me know.
 
I don't know how you plan on sharpening your knife, but a sharpie along the edge will give you the angle. Look for the sharpie removal at the apex.
 
This is my first knife and I don't have experience with any type of sharpening so for now free hand sharpening is out of the question.
I was thinking of getting a knife sharpening system like the one of the lanskys.
 
My experience with lansky rod and clamp is that it has just about the same learning curve of free hand. ymmv
I would start with some small cheap stones in medium, fine, uf and a strop. Free hand isn't as difficult as some make it out to be.
 
I have a strongarm which is similar, my from the factory angle was approx 26-27 dps if that helps.
 
Yeah I'll start practising with another cheaper knife to get the hang of free hand sharpening,in the meantime I dont want to screw up the angle on my prodigy if i make a mistake.
 
Gerbers, and most factory edges, seem to fall anywhere between 20 and 30 degrees.

I would sharpen at 20 degrees and over time the bevel will even out.

The Prodigy has a very thick blade stock, ~4.8mm, if you want good slicing ability you will likely need to drop the edge down some.

I don't know if that steel will handle less than, 20 but I think 20 should be safe.
 
Are all of your guys quoting Degrees Per Side? Or total edge angle? The numbers seem all over the place, so I'm not sure. I'm guessing most of you mean degrees per side (DPS).

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
Are all of your guys quoting Degrees Per Side? Or total edge angle? The numbers seem all over the place, so I'm not sure. I'm guessing most of you mean degrees per side (DPS).

Brian.
Click to expand...
I think they're talking about dps(degrees per side)
because when you're sharpening,
the angle you're holding in relation to the stone,
is the angle per side,
because you sharpen one side at a time :)
so they're talking 20-25dps or 40-50 inclusive
this is a very high angle on a very thick edge on a very thick stock blade
the kind of edge should chops bricks without problems :)
Compare to under fifteen dps edge that chops bones
 
collim1 said:
Gerbers, and most factory edges, seem to fall anywhere between 20 and 30 degrees.

I would sharpen at 20 degrees and over time the bevel will even out.

The Prodigy has a very thick blade stock, ~4.8mm, if you want good slicing ability you will likely need to drop the edge down some.

I don't know if that steel will handle less than, 20 but I think 20 should be safe.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks for the reply.I'm not necessarily looking for a razor sharp edge but rather a sharp yet sturdy edge.
Will 20dps hold up well as a sturdy edge and would I have to sharpen it often?
 
bucketstove said:
I think they're talking about dps(degrees per side)
because when you're sharpening,
the angle you're holding in relation to the stone,
is the angle per side,
because you sharpen one side at a time :)
so they're talking 20-25dps or 40-50 inclusive
this is a very high angle on a very thick edge on a very thick stock blade
the kind of edge should chops bricks without problems :)
Compare to under fifteen dps edge that chops bones
Click to expand...

Ok thanks I think that answers my question.
 
20dps is fine, but you are going to spend a long time getting to it with that thick knife, unless you have a powered sharpener. You will also have a super wide bevel. If it were me, I would keep the knife as designed, and go with factory, or a couple degrees below factory. Contrary to popular belief, it is totally unnecessary to reprofile knives to low angles. As long as you burr the edge on each side, and then progressively refine that previously burred edge up through the grits, you will have a sharp knife, even at 30 dps.
 
I sharpened one at 22.5° and it took a razor edge and didn't end up with huge bevels. I think it varies by knife thou, Ive sharpened 2 strongarms , one to 17° pretty easy. The next had close to a 40° edge on it from factory, I sharpened it to 25° and have massive bevels.


Here's the prodigy sharpened to 22.5° and strongarm at 17°.
4s5TTEv.jpg



Strong arm sharpened at 25°

Up0jX4y.jpg
 
Last edited:
Bobby3326 said:
I sharpened one at 22.5° and it took a razor edge and didn't end up with huge bevels. I think it varies by knife thou, Ive sharpened 2 strongarms , one to 17° pretty easy. The next had close to a 40° edge on it from factory, I sharpened it to 25° and have massive beliefs bevels.


Here's the prodigy sharpened to 22.5° and strongarm at 17°.
4s5TTEv.jpg



Strong arm sharpened at 25°

Up0jX4y.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info and pictures.Might I ask what you used to sharpen your prodigy?
 
knireguy said:
Ok thanks for the reply.I'm not necessarily looking for a razor sharp edge but rather a sharp yet sturdy edge.
Will 20dps hold up well as a sturdy edge and would I have to sharpen it often?
Click to expand...

That is something you will have to experiment with. It depends on the steel and how Gerber heat treated it.

I have no experience with the Prodigy. Just to venture a guess I would think 20 degrees would be a safe bet.
 
knireguy said:
This is my first knife and I don't have experience with any type of sharpening so for now free hand sharpening is out of the question.
I was thinking of getting a knife sharpening system like the one of the lanskys.
Click to expand...
Use a sharpie. If it's removed away from the apex(the very edge), your angle is too low. If it's removed at the apex, then your angle is too high. Just use the finest stone you have when you're doing this and it should be fine.
 
Ok I will use this sharpie technique on a dirt cheap knife to get the hang of it and then move on to my prodigy.Do you guys recommend any specific stones I could use?
 
To just find your angle using the sharpie you should use a fine stone. It'll remove the sharpie without removing much steel, allowing you to determine the angle.
 
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