You may think sharpening your kitchen knife is an easy task, but not knowing the right angle to sharpen your knife could end up damaging your priced chef knives!
Knife sharpening is the process of making any cutting edge sharp by grinding against a hard surface. Typically, we use the trusty sharpening stone to do the job. Nowadays, there is a wide range of sharpening products in the market to replace the sharpening stone.
The angle between the blade and the stone is called the edge angle. Double that angle on both sides and it is called the included angle of the knife. So if the angle on one side of your knife is 30 degrees, the included angle is 60 degrees. View diagram below:
Generally, the smaller the angle between the blade and the stone, the sharper your end results will be. Very sharp knives can have an edge angle of as little as 10 degrees. However, the smaller the angle, the more care you will need to give to your knife as it is more prone to chip or bend under pressure.
So take a look at your knife and study the angle. Is it a very slight angle or a deeper angle? You need to understand the angle of your knife before you begin the sharpening process.
Always follow the angle of the knife when you sharpen it and always complete one side of the knife before starting on the other.
Read about iSTOR Swiss Knife Sharpener here>>>
Read about iSTOR Swiss Knife Sharpener here>>>
