How to find edge sharpening angles

[daddyusmaximus]

I am in need of a way to find out what angle to use when sharpening a knife. I have a Gatco sharpening system, and it gives you 6 selections of angles to use. Problem is I can't find out what angles a particular knife may have. Either my Google-fu is weak, or the internet does not seem to have this angle info... Any ideas?

 

[oldpink]

I have the exact same sharperner, the one with the diamond stones.
I've been using 19 degrees for my Buck knives, but I had to do my best guess to come up with that.
It would definitely be nice to know exactly what is best for a given knife, especially my Bucks.

 

[oldpink]

Hmmm...my Google-fu shows there are at least two forums that may already have an answer if you do a search on them.
Not sure, but if they're like a lot of forums, you may need to subscribe before being given full access to each forum's own search function directly.

BladeForums.com

http://www.britishblades.com

 

[Mr. Habib]

Use a Sharpie marker to color the existing edge. Mount your blade into the sharpener and "eyeball" it to find an angle that looks close. Make a few passes with a stone and look at the edge. If the angle is correct, you will have removed all of the marker along the width of the bevel. If the color is gone at the very edge, but not the full width of the bevel, the angle is too high. If the color is gone from the back of the bevel, but not all the way to the very edge, the angle is too low. With fixed angles to choose from you may not hit the factory angle exactly but you should be able to get pretty close.

 

[Cam]

^^^^ Not sure why I never thought of this. Good idea!

 

[oldpink]

I'm with Cam...great idea!

 

[PoolQs]

Here is one of the most comprehensive charts that I have ever seen and use it for all my knives.
It is an excel spreadsheet that Steven Penner put together. Have to give him all the credit and
thank him for sharing with me. "The chart gives the angle on each side of the blade.
It can be used to set the platen angle when the blade blank is held perpendicular to the rest.

The blade angle at the edge is actually double this angle.

By Bevel Width- I mean the length of the longer angled line- the Hypotenuse
Although at these small amounts, it doesn’t amount to much difference if you just use the whole stock width.

This chart can be used to sharpen any knife:

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I hope this will help many on INGO. Good Luck and Stay Sharp
Troy

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Wow... you guys are amazing. Who needs to be on a knife forum when we have INGO?

 

[seedubs1]

Once you get more experience, you wont need the sharpie. You can just look at the edge and see what the sharpener has been doing after a couple of passes.

Use a Sharpie marker to color the existing edge. Mount your blade into the sharpener and "eyeball" it to find an angle that looks close. Make a few passes with a stone and look at the edge. If the angle is correct, you will have removed all of the marker along the width of the bevel. If the color is gone at the very edge, but not the full width of the bevel, the angle is too high. If the color is gone from the back of the bevel, but not all the way to the very edge, the angle is too low. With fixed angles to choose from you may not hit the factory angle exactly but you should be able to get pretty close.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Not without my reading glasses, good light, and some dumb luck. Eyes getting pretty bad.

 

[rhino]

Then you also need to consider whether or not you want to change the existing angles or stick with them. I almost always change the primary bevel on knives because I like get them as close to a "zero edge" as possible for a given blade. After I do that, I stick with it for any subsequent resharpening.