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I was sharpening my boning knife on a ceramic rod for years before a guy in Omaha set me straight.
He watched me for about 30 seconds at a regional meet and said, 'You're just polishing the edge, not resetting it.' I'd been using a 15 degree angle when the knife was made for 20, so I was basically rounding off the tip every time. How do you all figure out the right angle for different blades, especially older ones without any markings?
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logan_owens143mo ago
That Omaha guy nailed it. For old blades without a guide, the sharpie trick works great, just color the bevel and see where your strokes remove the ink.
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noah_webb3mo ago
Saw my buddy try that on a beat up old drawknife last week. He spent twenty minutes coloring the edge black, took one stroke with the stone, and only wiped off a tiny strip in the middle. Showed him his angle was way off without saying a word. He fixed his hold and got it scary sharp after that. Simple trick but it doesn't lie.
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My cousin had the same issue with his grandpa's old cleaver. He was grinding away at what he thought was the right angle for weeks. Finally colored the whole edge with a marker, took two passes on the stone, and saw he was only hitting the very top. Totally missing the actual edge. Felt like a real lightbulb moment for him.
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