First Post & First Question

[McEdge]

I have a motley assortment of 20 year old European Chef Knives (Wustohof, Henckels, etc) that I have always sharpened with a stone (poorly) which is why I now have a Tormek.  Whatever the original bevel angle on each knife it is now long gone.  From a practical standpoint is there any reason why I should not pick a single bevel angle (say 19 degrees) and sharpen all the knives to that angle.

Thanks in advance. 

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, McEdge.
I would suggest standardizing at 15° per side. That's the European standard and a good starting point.
Ken

[Jan]

I agree with Ken recommendations! When the original bevel angle is no more recognizable, I sharpen also 15 degrees per side. This significantly simplifies and speeds up the setup.

May be you have read about the Kenjig which makes the set up quick and easy.

Jan

[Ken S]

Here is a link to the kenjig:

http://www.sharpeninghandbook.info/Images/Tool-Jig-KenJig.pdf

If you decide to sharpen all of your knives to 15°, the two settings will be the same for all of them. (This post assumes a T7/8 250mm grinding wheel diameter or reasonably close to it.)The Distance from the top of the universal support bar to the grinding wheel will be 80mm. The Projection from the front ofthe adjustable stop on your knife jig to the edge of your knife will be 139 mm. Once you set this for your first knife, you do not have to change any of the settings. You can make up a single simple kenjig from a piece of cardboard and use only one knife jig. Reading the pdf will take you longer than making and using your kenjig. By keeping things simple, you will have become proficient by the time you initiall sharpen your knives.

Normally we sharpen knives which already have the desired bevel using the grinding wheel graded somewhat fine with the stone grader. If you are recutting the bevels you may want to start with the stone grader graded coarse to speed up the process.

If your knives include paring knives, where the Projection can not extend to 139 mm and you do not have the small blade tool, just make up a second kenjig marked for a 125 mm Projection and cut for a Distance of 68mm.

Please feel free to ask questions. The kenjig is based on math provided originally by forum member Dutchman. Although the jig itself is simple, its trig foundation is very solid.

Ken

[jeffs55]

All this time and I never knew the Kenjig was that little piece of board. Thanx I saved as Kenjig and put in "my documents".

[Ken S]

Jeff,
I mailed out several gift kenjigs several years ago. My memory is fuzzy, but I would think you would have been on the list. Did you receive one?
Ken

[John_B]

Older European knives were typically sharpened at the factory at 20 DPS for a total angle of 40°.  This was done to prolong the knifes sharpness in an environment cutting heavier foods that are harder on the knife edge.  With more information available to the consumer European blades now are sharpened normally at 14-15 DPS. Some of the special steel knives are even less. Here is a good article:

https://chefschoice.com/pages/understanding-euro-american-and-asian-style-knives

I would sharpen your knives at 15 degrees as recommended above.

[jeffs55]

Ken, I am on a lot of lists but was not on that one. Please do not spend the postage on one sending it to me. It looks simple enough even for me!

[Ken S]

Jeff,
Sorry to miss you. You are correct; the kenjig is a very simple tool. You can make one out of cardboard, like the working prototypes were, in less time than it takes to read the pdf.
Ken

[McEdge]

Ken S, thanks for the suggestion to sharpen to 15 degrees.  The knives ending up sharp.  A good first sharpening.  Wife was more supportive of the purchase after using the knives for Christmas.

Have not tried the jig, but that is next. 

John.jcb thanks for the link to the article. 

[Ken S]

You are off to a great start. A happy wife and sharp knives; what's not to like!

Enjoy!

Ken