NICE and SHARP

Every Blade Deserves a Nice and Sharp Edge

The angle of the edge is cut at has a major effect on both sharpness and edge life.

Most Western knives have double bevel, so the total angle, called the included angle, is twice the edge angle. The diagram on the right shows an edge with a 35° angle that is actually 70° included angle.

Some Japanese knives, most serrated knives and woodworking tools are single bevel or chisel edge. The angle is cut only on one side so the edge angle and the included angle are the same.

The smaller the angle, the sharper your knife will be. The smaller the angle, the less metal is behind the edge, and thus the weaker the edge. The diagram on the left shows a 15° angle in green which is much sharper than the 25° angle and is much more fragile as it does not have as much material behind it

Edge angles on kitchen knives can vary from 8 degrees to 40 degrees, but most are between 15 degrees (filet knives) and 30 degrees (Cleavers).

There are two schools of thought with regard to angle and edge life.

The 1^st is that the larger the angle the longer the edge will last. This is because there is more material behind the edge.

The other school of thought is that the larger angle blades are not as "sharp" so more pressure is needed to make the cut thus dulling the knife quicker. A knife with a small angle may only take 2 or 3 strokes to cut something whereas a knife with a large angle may take 5 or 10 strokes

From our experience, knives that are used for delicate cutting such as filet knives and paring knives should have a relatively small angle and it does not matter much which type of profile is used. V-edge, convex or multi-bevel all seem to work and last about the same.

Knives that are used for chopping and dicing should have convex or multi-bevel profile. A larger angle is used and by selecting the correct profile, the edge is still very sharp.

Last Updated: Dec-07