How do you clamp the the knife to like the pocket the knifes that are mostly straight:



or you try to match the curves

I clamp mine "straight" -- resting on both "prongs" of the key. I believe one would lose the ability to repeat the sharpening if the depth was not controlled by the key.

I have done several 8" chef's knives so far. The bevels are consistent. I use bottom set of holes, at "D.5" 19-22 degrees (German not Asian style knives). It works well.

I just had this problem and got schooled pretty well. you need to read this
And then, check this out

Also, FYI. I just messed up my Macs and a Shun edge because I sharpened then 50/50, and today I spent the day returning them back to a 70/30 bevel, and it was totally worth it!! just a reminder those japanese knives have a asymmetrical edge

I have read these but chef's knifes dont look like these knifes straight and then curve. so you just match the curve at the end, they are curved all the way.

What worked for me was taking a sharpie and coloring the edge, mounting the knife and passing 1000g stone till it removed the sharpie, I then adjusted the distance from the tip to the clap till the WEPS follows the factory bevel. you might have to mount and sharpen in sections if you want to maintain these larger knives or the exact original curved edge, I don't have any experience with this technique unfortunately.

NicholasAngeja1 wrote:


Hey you guys - and welcome to the forum Not sure that I've shared a thread with any of you yet or said hello!

Nicholas is correct, while they don't look the same in shape as the knives in Wicked Edge's diagram, the technique is the same no matter what the knife shape. You'll still be watching how the hone removes the sharpie along the full blade length and repositioning based on what it tells you using the sweet spot diagram that he linked to

You shouldn't have to reposition the knife on this style and length of blade - the settings I use on mine are pretty much what Jeffery has - bottom holes, D and 19-22. - These settings will vary slightly with the curve of the knife but they give you a ball park on where to try your knife as a starting point.

When you do reposition in the sharpening, you need to create an overlap and match your angle to that overlap - to say it another way, when you move the blade the next length you sharpen will include part of the knife you have already sharpened. You'll match your angle against that already sharpened part using the sharpie, then follow the same sweet spot sharpie technique to get the knife in the right position so that the stones track your knife evenly at that matched angle.

Hope that helps and have a great weekend!

If i could just add one more thing....
Please, Please, Please, don't sharpen it at 50/50. you'll get a wicked edge still but the 70/30 is more wicked and absolutely insane. I sharpen my mac's at about 11 degrees left side and 18 degrees right side, japanese steel is a real beauty because of its hardness.

actually here are some pictures of a brand new mac 120mm pairing knive, look at the heel of the knife and see the 70-30 bevel..... you'll need to zoom in a little...

plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1179010301625.../5840435999249462402

NicholasAngeja1 wrote:


Concur! That Mac should be lower, and worth at try at 70/30 to see how you like it... Thanks Nicholas

And thanks for sharing the photos too - nice job!

Nick,

Nice photos! Since I have some Japanese kitchen knives, too: why does a 70/30 bevel work better for you? Is it also related to the geometry of the entire blade?