I'm new to the WE and I'm looking for the proper angles to Sharpen the following knives at. any help is appreciated.....

Klein Buck Knife
Swiss Army Voyager Lite
Esee 6
SOG Seal Pup
Schrade Buck Knife
Korean Era Bayonet
Gerber Multi tool
Gerber Multi tool - needle nose
SOG Multi Tool S66
CRKT M21 Full Size
CRKT M16 Mini
Benchmade Auto Stryker
Benchmade Auto Mini
CRKT Razel SS7

I can help on a few. Definitely check the knife database as well. And please post your knives when done. This gives others like you (and me) hints on how to sharpen, and is a quick way to save our own data. I had to look now to check on one of the answers I gave below.

Swiss Army Voyager Lite - this looks like the standard blade on most "normal" size Swiss Army knives, where the main blade is about 3" long. I have done 20 degrees on mine. Have not tried less.

SOG Seal Pup - I have a SOG Seal Pup Elite, I forget what the difference is, the Elite has AUS 8, which may be the difference. I did 20 per side. It looks good. I think this will be OK. Looks like the factory edge (sharpened it first time on the WE). was 22 to 25 deg. Since I sharpened it I have not taken it out for heavy use, but I think it will hold up at 20 degrees. I use this knife for bush crafting/hiking work.

Gerber Multi Tool - I have done some Gerber/Leathermans at 20 degrees per side. These were low end, and the steel type was not given. For mine 20 per side looked close to factory.

I have taken Benchmades in these steels (154cm, CPM M4, and S30V ) to 15 degrees and been very happy. I don't have your exact Benchmade models. Even with 440C I think you can get away with 15 degrees per side. I use my Benchmades for EDC work, but I don't beat on them like some folks do. When I batton I use a fixed blade. I am giving this advice based on the fact that BM makes high quality knifes and only uses top notch steel.


Welcome to forum and happy sharpening.

Welcome to the forum!

I'll often, especially when starting out, just match (or come close to) what the knife has, see how it performs, then adjust accordingly. This also lets me "set the knife" for how I'm sharpening, in this case, on the Wicked Edge, plus you can detect any issues. You'll usually end up with a knife sharper than it ever was, and from there you can adjust how you like it.

The Benchmade Auto Mini-Stryker is in the database with some comments. I have two of these and have used them a lot, have tinkered with different angles and finishes, so I'm pretty confident to have found their optimal settings.

I'm starting to get the feeling that with the exception of some of my more high end knives 20 degrees is pretty much a good starting point for most blades unless you see it is a large deviation for the factory edge.... Would you consider that accurate?

I would agree with Curtis,the factory angle is a good starting point. 20 degrees is also a good rule of thumb for most pocket knives. For large fixed blade, bayonets, that get hard use, 20 may be too acute and not hold up.

OK guys being the wealth of info you are how about some not so fine cutlery (Farberware)? I'm looking at 16 degrees leaving a fairly decent edge????

I think you'll have better luck in the 20 to 22 degree/side range. It will depend on the steel. There is a thread on German steel kitchen knives (Henckles , wusthof ) not being able to maintain an edge under ~20 per side, so I doubt if Farberware will. But, with that said, less than fine cutlery is a better place to practice and learn than on finer knives.