How to keep a consistent angle while sharpening a knife

[@daringagner]

This guy is the real deal - I hope new sharpeners are taking notes because the amount of information packed in here with quality instruction is truly remarkable. KZbin is a sea of terrible information with a few nuggets of good advice - this stuff is gold.

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

Thanks!

[@geoffreydlin8043]

The use of the cardboard to show the plane was ingenious. Very helpful.

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

Thanks!

[@GlennInLaguna]

Matt, I have watched nearly a hundred wet stone sharpening tutorials by others, maybe more. I really like yours because it is apparent that you do this professionally, and have sharpened probably 10s of thousands of blades by hand.

[@jpbreeze44]

Man, you make it look so easy. I've owned and tried to learn sharpening on stones for about a year now, every time I think I'm improving or did a good job I end up seeing that I didn't. Realizing that I just suck at using them lol.

[@edwardchisman9632]

great video and very good information, love to see your dog in the background behind you

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

Thanks!

[@sonub5401]

Been watching videos on sharpening and I can’t seem to find out if pressure is suppose to be applied on the blade going back and forth or just in the one direction.

[@llltrac9143]

Keep same pressure in both directions.

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

Technically pressure is supposed to be applied on the edge trailing part of each stroke and the blade is to have very little pressure on it during the edge leading part of each stroke. The only exception to this is ura-oshi sharpening where the pressure is supposed to be applied on the edge leading part of each stroke and you are supposed to have very little pressure on the edge trailing part of each stroke.

[@sonub5401]

@@TheSharpeningGuy thanks for the reply. I kinda figured so, but I just wanted to make sure.

[@Steve-mo4qp]

thanks@@TheSharpeningGuy

[@nollie_ollie8358]

super helpful tutorial thanks man!

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

Thanks. I’m glad you found it helpful!

[@ronmccarty7537]

Freaking awesome

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

Thanks!

[@l26wang]

The stone position is perpendicular to your body. If you shifted it say 30-45 degrees, it feels more comfortable to me. Have you tried this and what are the advantage/disadvantages? At 5:14 your whole body is shifted over the end of the bench, which wouldn't be possible with all bench configurations. I feel this adjust might get around this problem.

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

I’ve done it both moving around the side and standing directly in front. As long as the knife makes contact with the stone the right way, then it really doesn’t matter how you stand or sit. It’s just personal preference at that point.

[@l26wang]

What importance do you place on a perfectly flat stone? You do have a video on flattening, but it appears some of the stones in use aren't 100% flat.

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

It really depends on what exactly you’re doing. As long as the stone is flat enough to get you the results you want, then it’s flat enough. If it isn’t, then flatten it.

[@stephensands3485]

Question about sharpening pocket knives: I have a Benchmade Bugout that has a black coating on the blade that covers everything but the edge. How do I go about sharpening it when I can’t thin the steel behind the blade without destroying the coating?

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

You can either thin the knife and just understand that the coating will come off when you do that. That would be what I would do if I wanted the knife to perform optimally. If you value the look of the knife more than the function of the knife, then you can sharpen the edge bevel without thinning behind the edge. This will keep the coating on the blade, but it will make the knife not cut through things as easily, and it will take longer to sharpen the edge bevel.

[@jordyap1]

How do you determine what angle you need on your knife?

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

Your goal is to have the angle as low as you can while still having it obtuse enough to hold up well to normal use. So if lower the angle a bit each time you sharpen it, eventually you will find the perfect angle for your knife. The one time you do it slightly too low, you can just resharpen it at a slightly higher angle and you will have the perfect angle for that knife and how you use it.

[@l26wang]

What are some steps you take to ensure even wear on the stone to minimize waste when flattening? (comment section is locked on flattening video)

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

Basically just use the surface of the atone as evenly as possible.

[@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug]

But how do you hold a consistent angle if you have terrible proprioception and have floppy hyper mobile joints? Saying just "keep your wrist locked" doesn't really help me since all my joints are loose and my proprioception issues means I have no idea what angle my wrist is anyway... Should I just get someone else to do it maybe?

[@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug]

I thought I found a good technique using my thumb as a spacer to keep a consistent angle; and I managed to get one straight asian knife very sharp! But then halfway into the next knife the whetstone was suddenly a lot redder than it used to, then I saw I had worn down the skin on my thumb to expose some blood vessels (weirdly it hasn't gone deep enough to hit nerves, so it just bleeds and feels cold but no pain..); so I guess that's not an option either if I want to sharpen more than one bladel.

[@stickgarrote8582]

@@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug There are sharpening systems that help with the angle. They cost more but might well be worth it if keeping a consistent angle is difficult. I’m debating the Spyderco sharpmaker at the moment but there are plenty of others.

[@robertmunguia250]

How would you know if it's 20 degrees or 25? You need some sort of guide.

[@TheSharpeningGuy]

The exact number of degrees doesn’t matter much. You would have to know about the metallurgy of the particular knife as well as how it is being used in real life. You generally want the angle as low as you can get it while still being obtuse enough to hold up to normal use. That being said, what is way more important than the exact angle of the edge is the cross section blade geometry of the knife and how the blade grind and the edge bevels work together. That has a way bigger effect on how a knife cuts through something than the exact angle of the edge does.