# Sharpening Angles / Bevels



## jsbrooklyn (Oct 27, 2012)

Does anyone know of a site or document or anything existing that lists angles/bevels of kitchen knives? I just bought a Wicked Edge to sharpen my knives and I'm finding it extremely difficult to find the accurate bevel and angle info for the respective knives. Some list them on the manufacturer's sites, but I'm finding that most do not. Are there any good suggestions here? Obviously I don't want to ruin the factory edges. Unless you think its better to just re-profile them to 15 degrees? Most of them are Japanese. I don't know, there just has to be an easier way.
Thanks in advance for any help/advice .
Jon


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## chinacats (Oct 27, 2012)

Can you go less than 15* on wicked edge? BTW, there really isn't a standard that I know of...my knives are all somewhere between maybe 6-7 and 15*(per side)...15 on French Sab's while almost all other (Japanese and American) knives are lower. That being said, I don't have any way of measuring the more acute angles, but pretty sure about the Sab's. I think you just need to experiment, how low you can go with each individual blade--the sweet spot between performance vs durability. Most blades are slightly different, I am guessing due to different ht.


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## SpikeC (Oct 27, 2012)

If you want to retain the factory grind, use a majic marker on the edge and then try different setups until you can see where you are at.
A very light touch with the stones will show where you are hitting.


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## Benuser (Oct 27, 2012)

Don't take the factory edge coming with common J-knives too seriously. Often, it's just a beginning, the end customer is expected to put his own edge on it. If you measure the actual angles you will see it is quite aleatory.
Normally I try to set the flattest relief bevel I can easily create, and look for an final edge which suits the knife type, use and steel. Every knife will end with an inclusive angle between 15 and 30 degree. A VG-10 gyuto gets 25 degree, a carbon parer some 15, both inclusive. A micro-bevel may be useful to find out what contributes to edge stability without affecting its performance.


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