Sharpening angles
I am a little confused by the information I'm recieving as to the proper sharpening angle on BM knifes. Most of the knives I have from BM indicate they are factory sharpened from 30 to 35 degrees, however the guides on my Lansky sharpener indicate that angle would be used for heavy use type knives like carpet cutters etc. and a compromise of around 25 degrees should be used for hunting and everday knives with finer angles for filet type and razor style cutters.
So if I sharpen to the factory 30+ angle aren't I compromising sharpness for durability? and can I even maintain the factory edge if I use that angle, or is it the 17.5 degree slot I should be using which x2 is 35 degrees and works to the BM specs and provides a razor edge which BM is noted for and would make sense to me, however I intuitivly I think that is incorrect. Which angle should I be using ?
So if I sharpen to the factory 30+ angle aren't I compromising sharpness for durability? and can I even maintain the factory edge if I use that angle, or is it the 17.5 degree slot I should be using which x2 is 35 degrees and works to the BM specs and provides a razor edge which BM is noted for and would make sense to me, however I intuitivly I think that is incorrect. Which angle should I be using ?
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I sharpen most of my knives to 16 degrees per side which is 32 degrees inclusive. Some of my thinner bladed knives will get 15 per side (30 inclusive). I usually reprofile a knife as soon as I take it out of the box, factory edges are generally too wide as you are finding. 0 -
AFAIK Benchmades are hand-sharpened, which means there may be some variation. For this and other reasons, the rule of thumb when maintaining an existing bevel is to use a Sharpie to mark the bevel, then adjust angles until you grind off the mark on a single light pass. This only occurs when your stone is flat to the bevel, and ensures that you're actually calibrating your sharpening to the knife (rather than an arbitrary mark on your sharpener).
If you're willing to reprofile the blade, then you don't need the Sharpie trick. At that point, what you said is true: you sacrifice toughness and edge retention for cutting ability when you decrease angles.0 -
I agree with what has been said. I would like to add that if you pick an arbitrary angle to sharpen to and you later roll and edge or chip it, then look back at you sharpening log and increase the previous angle a bit. Say if Kyle915 found his edge wasn't standing up to that 16 degrees per side, he could re-sharpen next time to 17 per side. 0 -
+1 to FJ's approach in taking experience of "sharpening log".
Since BKC uses many different steel and I'm sure HT process is very close from batch to batch, but really needs to find best angel that works for you.
It is rather systematic approach to have the best edge you can have.
Best of luck!0 -
I'm a noob with a Sharp Maker and a strop. I do ok until I am up against a re curve. My 710-1401 is one of my favorites and I use it a lot. Had some trouble so I reached out to Josh at Razor's Edge. For just a few bucks he put a literal perfect edge on that bad boy! He took it to 15 deg per side and it cuts like a razor knife!! Looks gorgeous too! 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Joe P:
I'm a noob with a Sharp Maker and a strop. I do ok until I am up against a re curve. My 710-1401 is one of my favorites and I use it a lot. Had some trouble so I reached out to Josh at Razor's Edge. For just a few bucks he put a literal perfect edge on that bad boy! He took it to 15 deg per side and it cuts like a razor knife!! Looks gorgeous too!
Joe, the 15 deg. per side should pretty closely match the 30 degree settings on your Sharpmaker. If you are having trouble with the recurve on your 710, you could do your Sharpmaker touch-ups using the "corners only" of the triangular stones.0 -
Good point bro.
I'm confident with touch ups on it, but I let it get a bit too dull and really didn't want to mess it up. It's M390, just about my favorite knife....my sons bought it for me and had their initials engraved on the blade....and I love to use it! That thing cuts like a pissed off demon!
Maintenance will now be simple after Josh put that ridiculously perfect edge on it!
I just assumed, I know I know, that the steel would be a bear to get back with a SM.
Thanks for the reply!!0
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