best knife blade angle

[J@son]

I started out with Scandi grinds - because they were easy to maintain with a wet stone. I use a Mora Garberg (Carbon) and an Eka Swingblade. But then I bought a half decent sharpening set - which allows me to set the angle of the edge easily and accurately. I have now added an additional bevel at 17 degrees to both. This makes them razor sharp but also means they loose their edge very easily. Just wondering what angle others would recommend.

 

[HonestJohn]

@Longstrider would probably be a good source on this due to his amazing ability to bring the dead back to life, knife edge wise

 

[weblyish]

What are you cutting that is taking the edge off at 17 degrees
Would have thought that would work fairly well so long as you aren't splitting chests with it

Mora carbon does take a lot of looking after and will stain so isn't really a carcass knife

I think I read swingblade is about 20 degrees from the factory. Maybe stick with that

 

[Mungo]

17 is probably too fine for a stalking knife, unless you only use it to gralloch and never touch bone or use it for things like carving wood.

 

[JH83]

@Longstrider would probably be a good source on this due to his amazing ability to bring the dead back to life, knife edge wise

@Longstrider will be less than kind about a scandi grind that’s for sure.

It’s the edge a chisel or an axe gets, you won’t find anyone who cuts meat professionally with one. A flat grind with secondary bevel is preferable.

I see a lot of very expensive blades-emberleaf are typical-with scandi grinds and wonder why!

 

[Longstrider]

If I am honest I'd say that the best angle for a knife edge simply doesn't exist IMO. It's like asking which is the best calibre or the best car. It's very much a case of 'Horses for courses'.
A super finely angled edge is great for shaving with, but has no longevity. A more obtusely angled edge will not penetrate as well but can be just as sharp. Real life 'sharpness' is a matter of edge quality rather than angle.
The heavier the work the blade is expected to do the more obtusely angled the edge needs to be to cope with it without damaging or blunting too quickly. My axes do hard work and have strong (relatively obtuse) edges, but they're sharp enough to shave arm hair easily.

My own preference for a knife is a full flat or high sabre grind with a fairly thin edge which is then sharpened with a convex secondary.

As above .. you've never seen a butcher using a Scandi ground knife to cut meat. Why would you ? It's an edge designed for shaving wood thinly, NOT making deep penetrative cuts.

 

[Longstrider]

I would also like to add that a great many of the knives I see are, in my opinion, far too thick at the edge. This has nothing to do with sharpness but is more about blade and edge geometry. The primary grind should leave a thin edge, which is then sharpened (forming the secondary bevel). If the knife is poorly made, leaving a 'thick edge', then the secondary bevel has to either be overly deep in order to be at a fine enough angle for efficient cutting, or it will be of a sensible depth but far too obtuse for an edge that is supposed to be good for fine work.

A lot of these poorly ground knives are, I'm afraid, made by 'custom' knife makers who are simply not putting enough effort, skill, and thought into what they are making.

A knife is a tool first and foremost. It could be a most most beautifully finished piece with a fancy inlaid handle and engraved bolsters and a blade of the finest steel available, but if it's poorly ground and/or poorly heat treated then it will either not take a good edge or it won't hold an edge. This makes it a poor knife.

 

[weblyish]

I would also like to add that a great many of the knives I see are, in my opinion, far too thick at the edge. This has nothing to do with sharpness but is more about blade and edge geometry. The primary grind should leave a thin edge, which is then sharpened (forming the secondary bevel). If the knife is poorly made, leaving a 'thick edge', then the secondary bevel has to either be overly deep in order to be at a fine enough angle for efficient cutting, or it will be of a sensible depth but far too obtuse for an edge that is supposed to be good for fine work.

A lot of these poorly ground knives are, I'm afraid, made by 'custom' knife makers who are simply not putting enough effort, skill, and thought into what they are making.

A knife is a tool first and foremost. It could be a most most beautifully finished piece with a fancy inlaid handle and engraved bolsters and a blade of the finest steel available, but if it's poorly ground and/or poorly heat treated then it will either not take a good edge or it won't hold an edge. This makes it a poor knife.

This is an important point which tends to get overlooked - The secondary Bevel (the actual cutting edge) must be at same or higher angle than the main primary bevel

you can't put a 14 degree edge on a knife with a 17degree primary bevel unless you reshape the entire blade
and the closer you want your secondary bevel to the primary the more material you have to take off

For instance Mora claim a edge angle of 11.5 or 13.5 Degrees on their knives - Morakniv | Edge angles
that refers to the primary bevel - the knives clearly arent actually sent out with a 11.5 degree edge nor would you ever want that

the final edge angle for a Mora is about 20 Degrees - there's a clear few degrees between the angles allowing you to work just the edge
if you try and put a 14 degree on a mora you basically need to rework the entire blade face

I'll defer to the blademakers on this site for possible exceptions to the above

 

[Peter Eaton]

I would also like to add that a great many of the knives I see are, in my opinion, far too thick at the edge. This has nothing to do with sharpness but is more about blade and edge geometry. The primary grind should leave a thin edge, which is then sharpened (forming the secondary bevel). If the knife is poorly made, leaving a 'thick edge', then the secondary bevel has to either be overly deep in order to be at a fine enough angle for efficient cutting, or it will be of a sensible depth but far too obtuse for an edge that is supposed to be good for fine work.

A lot of these poorly ground knives are, I'm afraid, made by 'custom' knife makers who are simply not putting enough effort, skill, and thought into what they are making.

A knife is a tool first and foremost. It could be a most most beautifully finished piece with a fancy inlaid handle and engraved bolsters and a blade of the finest steel available, but if it's poorly ground and/or poorly heat treated then it will either not take a good edge or it won't hold an edge. This makes it a poor knife.

@Longstrider Bang on!

 

[Sutherland kiwi]

17 will work fine. You will just need to give it a quick touch up with a steel between every 2 or 3 carcasses. A lot of NZ shepherds and Hunters carry small steels for that issue.
We are taught to sharpen at 15 or below in abbitoir but use the steel constantly.
If you can’t be bothered with that you will need steeper angle.