Spyderco Forums

Curious to see what the numbers look like on this one.

I tend to reprofile every knife I buy before I carry it. Thinner angles than from the factory, usually much thinner.

I run my edges about 10 degrees per side, then sharpen at 15 degrees. When I touch-up my knife, I'm abrading a tiny strip of steel, instead of a full bevel. Touch-ups take me less than a minute. I also feel less drag when I cut rigid materials, like thick cardboard, veggies, etc.

I prefer my edges thinner than factory. This is why I prefer to use stones freehand vs. even the sharpmaker. I really should have chosen other as I really want thinner angles and thinner grinds as well.
That being said, I don't usually do this as soon as I open a brand new knife. I carry them with the factory edge, lightly apply a freehand microbevel using my 701 Profile stones, and see how the edge slices or stands up to abuse. Then when more than a touch up is needed, I reprofile and bring the edge way down. I have been using roughly 12 dps for most of the ones I alter.

Depends. I thin most. I convex some. Some come thin enough. I have zero need for an edge over 30 degrees on any of my knives, especially folders. Even my choppers are set at 30 degrees. If a knife needs an edge over 30 degrees then my stance is that it is not using the correct steel for the application. I am sure there are some uses out there that would need a more obtuse angle but those are outside the scope of my needs and I carve hardwoods, process game and chop/baton wood. I do not chop bone.

My knives get between a 13 and 15 degree edge per side, sometimes less. Spyderco usually does their edges right or right enough. Usually I'll just remove the micro bevel. That's why I loathe buying knives from other brands that will come with a 40+ degree edge. It is a pain reprofiling. Usually I'll run the factory edge dull before reprofiling. Except GEC. GEC is my second favorite maker after spyderco but their edges suck. Luckily, 1095 is not difficult to reprofile. I will also say, once you get 1095 down low enough, the edge does last quite a while. Shoot, my #81 went dull but with a 12 degree edge it was still slicing through phonebook paper. No bite but still usable, and this was after a lot of uses.

Shout out to Zrowns1, the edge one his hap40 delica was great. Gave it a 15 degree micro bevel in like 2 mins. I regretted scratching his mirror polish.

I usually aim for 20-22° per side. I can still whittle a hair but and also get pretty good edge retention, although that's with s30v for the most part. I'm sure something like M4 might handle a more acute angle better.

I like around 15° per side. I freehand, so it’s whatever it is when I’m done - near 15°. That’s only if it comes with an edge I don’t approve of. My Pingos had the worst angle I’ve ever seen. Felt like near 45° per side. Sharp, but try cutting wood with that. I go 15°, then tip it up to get rid of the wire. Bit of steel and strop after, and Bob’s yer uncle.

I’ll use an appropriately angled factory edge until it’s no good, knowing it has a burr and all.

I almost always reprofile a new knife but I kinda got out of the habit with the last hand full of PE knives I've bought. I'm getting kinda lazy with sharpening and with some steels it can be time consuming. When I do I usually drop them down to 25-30 inclusive depending on the steel, and even though they're all supposed to be around 30 from the factory it's almost always a lower angle than the knife comes with.

I like to set all my bevels a little below 30deg and my reasoning behind that is, in a pinch I’d be on the apex with the 30deg setting on the SharpMaker and maintain with a 40deg micro bevel.

All said the next edge I reprofile will be closer to 20deg and I’ll try a 30deg micro bevel.

Like a few of the others, I usually use a new knife with factory edge for awhile and touch up with the SM at 40° or even 30° depending of the angle of the factory bevel. After a couple touch ups I go ahead and reprofile at 30° or less. I might even start going with 12° soon.

I'll rock the factory bevel with touchups on the SM for a while if it was a nice grind out of the box, but it never feels like mine until I reprofile. . . Always thinner than factory.

Typically tend to run 18 dps, unless the bevels are greater on one side versus the other in which case it will get reprofiled to my satisfaction :spyder:

A big reason for my love of PM2's and 3's is the factory edge, they are easy to maintain and cut better than other knives, not much stropping and they are hair whittling. I'm always a bit disappointed when receiving a knife that I have to regrind, it's as though they were designed for somebody else and not a good fit for me.

I like them much thinner than factory, and half of mine are convexed too.

I also use the factory edge until it requires sharpening. I reprofile if needed to <30degrees inclusive, then I can maintain with the Sharpmaker on the 30 degree setting.

Perhaps there should be an answer that reads, "Not on purpose."

I have been thinking them to 12 degrees per side and finishing st 15 dps on the Sharpmaker.

I zero grind all my high carbide steels knives so they can cut things even when they have an edge similar to a ball bearing.
Obviously the low carbide steels are already zero grounded

Thinner and convex (eventually). I always give the factory edge some time if it looks ok though.

Most of my knives get reprofiled but I rarely go below 30 inclusive. Not because I don’t like thin edges and not because I’m afraid of damage...just because I’m too lazy. I like using the Sharpmaker so 30 degrees is a convenient angle to work with. Most golden and seki knives come close to 30 from the factory so I usually don’t reprofile them until my microbevel becomes invasive. Most of my Taichung folders have come with a very obtuse edge (between 40-50 degrees) so all of my Taichung knives get reprofiled immediately. It always kind of amazes me that a maker who holds such incredibly tight production tolerances can’t sharpen s knife to 30 degrees like the rest of spyderco’s factories.

Anyway, I have a couple of knives (including a Millie) that I have reprofiled to 20 degrees with a 30 microbevel. They cut well, but honestly, you need to regrind the primary bevel if you want to see more marked differences in cutting efficiency. An axe with a 20 degree edge will cut better than an axe with a 30 degree edge...but it’s still going to cut like an axe.

Regarding how thick we really need our edges, I’ll offer this example. I usually freehand my fillet knives to 20-25 degrees inclusive. Those knives are less than 10 thousandths behind the edge and sharpened to 20 -25 degrees and spend their lives cutting through hard scales and fish bones and banging into a hard cutting board over and over. I can’t remember EVER having any significant edge damage. I can’t speak for how anyone else uses their folders but for me, that data proves to me that most folders are ground WAY thicker than what I need to prevent damage, even in my hardest use scenarios.

I didn't vote on your poll yet because I've actually found times where I've done just about everything you've listed. I'm currently still learning more techniques on convex edges.

To answer your question on your title>> I guess I would have to say it would depend on what type of grind I'm dealing with as well as which type of blade steel I'm dealing with.

Take VG-10 steel for instance>> I've found that I can get a very aggressive edge with the 30/15 degree slots on the Sharpmaker whereas most other steels I find that a 40/20 degree selection works much better.

Now most of the time I do like the regimen that I learned from the John Juranitch book i.e. "The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening">> which is a two stage
edge in which the final apex is 20 degrees on each side. I encourage all of you to check out his book on Sharpening>> you can usually get a copy for less that $20 and that usually includes shipping depending on which source you get it from.