would you change the sharpening angle on a leek?

S

SR_matt

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Jan 4, 2007
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i have a leek (hollow grind and the blade is black teflon coated).

i know kershaw factory sharpens at 18-22 (so we will call it 40* inclusive on average). would it be a good idea to take it to 30* inclusive. and would i be able to do it with just a sharpmaker (i am planing of buying one in a few months).

i really like the leeks and am planing on getting a few more (the one i have is a very nice looking knife and is some what rare of a version, black/red handle and black blade, so i dont want to use it extremely hard) so eventually i will probably have multiples to have multiple blade profiles on but for now yay or nay?

either way i will be sharpening the crap out of it because while it is work sharp it is mostly due to the micro serrations as apposed to just being sharp

-matt
 
Hi,

I tend to prefer smaller, thinner blades to have a more acute angle. So I'd leave it as it is. But, you know how you are going to use it. So if you're going to really work the edge, perhaps you would benefit from a bigger angle.

dalee
 
the knife is at 40* as is, im confused with your response since it is a wide angle but you said you would leave it

-matt
 
Yes ... I have two Kershaws with Sandvik 13C26 blades, a Junkyard Dog II and ENER-G II, and have taken the primary bevel on both down to 12 degrees/side (in fact I do this with nearly all my knives, from lightweight EDC blades to big choppers.) I then add a microbevel of about 17 deg/side. Reprofiling like this significantly improves cutting performance, and edge retention is excellent. Since the Leek is a small knife intended for lighter use than either of these two, you shouldn't have any problems.
 
SR_matt said:
i have a leek (hollow grind and the blade is black teflon coated).

i know kershaw factory sharpens at 18-22 (so we will call it 40* inclusive on average). would it be a good idea to take it to 30* inclusive. and would i be able to do it with just a sharpmaker (i am planing of buying one in a few months).
Click to expand...

It is very important to regrind this knife in my opinion. It's a wonderful design with a thin blade, but the edge angle is much too obtuse to let the wonderful geometry shine. Depending on what you intend to do with the knife, I would suggest taking it even further, to 8-12 degrees per side and then microbevel with whatever setup you're comfortable with, such as the sharpmaker's lowest setting.

Unless you cut tough media like metal and thick, rigid plastic on a regular basis, you're unlikely to see any benefit with the 30 degree edge opposed to a 20 degree inclusive edge.

either way i will be sharpening the crap out of it because while it is work sharp it is mostly due to the micro serrations as apposed to just being sharp

-matt
Click to expand...

Could you clarify what you mean by this sentence?

Here's a photo of a Leek I was in the process of grinding flat to the stone. I had already thinned out the edge but decided it could go thinner. If you don't mind the appearance and you think this edge would hold up to your uses, I would recommend it.

25a52f6.jpg
 
I change the sharpen angle on virtually all of my knives. I find the factory angles to be far to obtuse to suite my taste.
 
vivi i should have more so said smoothing the crap out of the edge. the factory edge is rather rough, sharp enough to do good work but it is more of a pull cut edge than push cut by far

-matt
 
If the blade is 13C26, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is ZDP-189, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is 440A, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is CPM-D2, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is S30V, I'd roll my eyes, mutter under my breath about some type of bandits, and thin it out.

If the blade is damascus, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is SG-2, I'd thin it out.

Other than that, I'd leave it at the factory-chosen angle.
 
thombrogan said:
If the blade is 13C26, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is ZDP-189, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is 440A, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is CPM-D2, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is S30V, I'd roll my eyes, mutter under my breath about some type of bandits, and thin it out.

If the blade is damascus, I'd thin it out.

If the blade is SG-2, I'd thin it out.

Other than that, I'd leave it at the factory-chosen angle.
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ok so just so i do understand you right, are you talking about thinning the whole profile or just the secondary bevel. between the knife being coated and hollow grind thinning the whole blade on this individual knife isnt really an option for me

-matt
 
Which is the primary bevel for you? The one running up to the edge or the edge itself?

The one running up to the edge should be able to be thinned out a bit before doing so would cut into the top of the hollow grind. The edge itself could be ran into the big old bevel without doing much more than improving esthetics and teaching you some swear words. Nozh2002's video would do the former without inducing the latter.
 
thombrogan said:
Which is the primary bevel for you? The one running up to the edge or the edge itself?

The one running up to the edge should be able to be thinned out a bit before doing so would cut into the top of the hollow grind. The edge itself could be ran into the big old bevel without doing much more than improving esthetics and teaching you some swear words. Nozh2002's video would do the former without inducing the latter.
Click to expand...

im just confusing my self at this point, and just kind of out of it at this point so after reading your response i am mixing up terms in my head.

so you are saying i can just make the cutting edge finer and the big bevel left as is correct? (if i cant do that then this whole thread has been pointless for this knife)

-matt
 
In other words, instead of holding the blade at a 30 deg. angle(or so) like they did at the factory, you should (in my opinion) sharpen at at a 12 to 15 deg. angle.
 
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