Sharpening Handbook

Kitchen Knives

Guidelines shown below are for Included Angles (α).

CB's USB Projection Calculator is recommended for calculating setup for Tormek knife jigs. There are a number of online calculators that can also be used for sharpening knives.

The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking, you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.

Julia Child

General Guidelines
Type	α	Notes
Bread Knife		(use these instructions : Serrated Edge Knives)
Butcher Knife	40°
Chopping Knife	30°
Clever	50°
Filleting Knife	15°
General Knife (Ceramic)	30°	This is based on Dr. Vadim Kraichuk's research.
General Knife (Metal)	24°	Could be anything up to 35°, however Dr. Vadim Kraichuk at KnifeGrinders recommends 24°. Given his vast experience and testing data, this is the recommended value.
Paring Knife	24°
Single Bevel	16°	This is for quality, high-carbon knives. For lesser quality knives, consider increasing to 20°. KnifeGrinders have documented the procedure they use, and also created a YouTube video.

Deburring Guidelines
Type	1st Deburring		2d Deburring		Notes
Type	Angle	Grit size	Angle	Grit size	Notes
Harder steels	-0.2°	3 - 6 µm	5°	0.25 - 0.5 µm	Edge Angle Stropping - for steels which are brittle, have high hardness, are high carbon or carbide steels.
Softer steels	0°	3 - 6 µm	1.5°	1 µm	High Angle Stropping - for steels which are tough or ductile, have low hardness or low carbon, or are fine carbide.

Some manufacturers give guidelines for their knives. Those are noted below; however, the guidelines above should be considered.

Manufacturer's Guidelines
Type	α		Notes
Type	Advised	Range	Notes
Cangshan	32°	--	Cangshan recommends 16° degrees per side (β).
Chroma	--	10° - 20°
Fischer-Bargoin	--	15° - 20°
Global	--	10° - 15°
Korin	24°	20° - 30°	Korin recommends 10° - 15° degrees per side (β).
MAC	--	20° - 30°	MAC recommends 10° - 15° degrees per side (β).
Messermeister	30°	30° - 40°	Messermeister recommends 15° - 20° degrees per side (β).
Shun	32°	--	Shun recommends 16° degrees per side (β).
Victorinox - Slicing knives - Boning knives	30° 40°	-- --
Wüsthof - Standard knives - Asian-style knives	28° 20°	-- --
Zwilling - Kramer knives - Miyabi knives - Santoku knives - Zwilling knives	-- -- -- 30°	9° - 12° 9° - 12° 9° - 12° --

Notes & Comments

Information regarding Grindstones

The shape of the grind used is a call best made by the tool's use, based on your own experience. Additional notes are available for Grind Profiles.

I've not found value in adding micro/secondary bevels to kitchen knives, so that is not recommended here. If the sharpener wants to add one, an additional 2° should be sufficient. (Additional notes are also available on a different web page for Micro / Secondary Bevels.)

The Knife Angle Setter jig is greatly useful if using the WM-45 Knife Jig to hold the blade.

Jigs, Fixtures, & Modifications. Jan Švancara posted a design for using a knife sharpening platform in 2015 on the Tormek Forum. This is certainly worth reading, and there are also pictures of this in the jigs section.

Ceramic Blades

Dr. Vadim Kraichuk with KnifeGrinders posted an article about sharpening ceramic blades. As Vadim has passed, I have captured his process below:

Shape the bevel using a coarse CBN/Diamond wheel grit 160 or 200.

Sharpen the bevel using 10” CBN wheels

400 or 600 grit
1000 grit

Hone the bevel on 10” paper wheels using controlled-angle honing

10 micron diamond paste
5 micron diamond paste
2.5 micron diamond paste
Mix of 0.5/0.25 micron diamond paste

Andrew Murphy ("smurfs" on the Tormek Forum) followed that procedure to sharpen (and re-profile) a ceramic knife. He posted his results after following Dr. Kraichuk's procedure, showing the before and after pictures (pictures courtesy Andrew Murphy).

	The knife before, with a broken tip and nicks in the cutting edge.
	The plan for re-profiling the blade.
	Once finished.

Notes on other styles of blade materials and shapes are available from links on the KnifeGrinders page.

Good Guidelines Regarding Edge Angles

This information was posted on the Tormek forum and has been copied here as it is a good reference.

β	Comments
<10°	Edges in this range are good for cutting softer materials. For example, razor blades are sharpened at angles of five to nine degrees. This does result in a delicate edge which is easy to damage.
10° - 15°	Knife edges in this range of angles can be applicable in providing a smooth cutting action for knives which are used to slice meat or cut other soft items. This is why fine Japanese knives are usually sharpened is in this range. It is also common for some woodcrafts knifes and fillet knives. Do note: many Japanese and carving knives are only sharpened on one side. In that case, α = β. Also note that a knife which is sharpened at such an angle has an edge angle which is too weak to handle any chopping motion type of work. And, if the steel is harder (such as with Japanese knives), such a sharp angle will easily fracture if used in chopping activities.
15° - 17°	With an α angle of 30° to 34°, these knives will cut quite easily. Japanese knives and newer Chef's Knives are usually sharpened at this angle from the factory. Although less durable than those with higher angles, their cutting power makes it an appropriate tradeoff.
17° - 22°	Knives in this angle are common in kitchens and outdoor activities. It is also a useful edge angle range for pocket knives. This is a common sharpening angle when you are looking for a general-use blade, and is the typical sharpening angle for most standard kitchen knives. These knives are often built of tough material that can withstand a sharpening edge of this angle and still cut well without any issue.
22° - 30°	Edges in this range are more durable, and are appropriate for forrest and hunting knives, pocket knives, and tougher applications. This is a typical edge angle for durable knives.
>30°	Edges past 30° are very durable, although their cutting ability is significantly reduced. Most knives won't benefit from this sharpening angle. These angles are common in tools and cutting blade such as cleavers, machetes, and axes, especially as these tools are made from softer steel.

More Information

Books & Papers

The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening (2000) by John Juranitch

Videos & Presentations

America's Test Kitchen

Equipment Review: The Best Heavy Duty Cutting Boards (YouTube video)

Equipment Review: Honing Rods (YouTube video)

Tom Bartlett (Sharpening Supplies)

How To Sharpen A Scandi Grind (YouTube video) - This video Tom discusses less about how to sharpen a scandi grind than a lot of tips on sharping this grind profile.

Steve Bottorff

Using Tormek Knife Jigs (YouTube video)

Jeff Farris

Knife Sharpening with Tormek (YouTube video)

Dave Jeske

Dave Jeske Sharpens a Marking Knife (YouTube video). Dave Jeske, the founder of Blue Spruce Toolworks, shows the simple way to sharpen a spear-point marking knife. Plus, he shows two simple tricks you can do on the sharpening stone that will make you knife work even better.

Dr. Vadim Kraichuk (Knife Grinders)

Common Tormek mistakes in knife sharpening (YouTube video)

How to mount the pin pivot collar on your knife jig (YouTube video)

How We Sharpen Japanese Knives on Tormek (YouTube video)

Sharpening knives with convex curves (YouTube video)

Sharpening knives with concave curves (YouTube video)

Why Felt for the Wire Edge (YouTube video). Dr. Vadim Kraichuk with KnifeGrinders has posted this video on why felt is best to remove the wire edge when honing a knife, and why they chose the hardness of felt that they sell.

Herman Trivilino

Herman Trivilino showing the use of a platform jig (YouTube video)

Tormek's Videos

Tormek AngleMaster WM-200 (YouTube video)

Tormek's Centering Knife Jigs KJ-45 & KJ-140 (YouTube video)

Tormek Live Sharpening Class - Part 1. Knife sharpening (YouTube video). Wolfgang and Sèbastian from Tormek talk about different techniques for knife sharpening.

Tormek Live Sharpening Class - Part 9 - Sharpen a flat bevel with Tormek MB-100 on a diamond wheel (YouTube video). In this episode we learn how to use the Tormek MB-100 Multi Base to sharpen a completely flat bevel ▼, on the side of Tormek's diamond wheels DC-250, DF-250 and DE-250. For some tools, such as 🎻 luthier knives,🔪 Kiridashi knives, v-tools, chip carving knives and Japanese plane irons, a completely flat surface on the bevel is preferred over a slightly concave, which you get when you sharpen on the rounded part of the grinding wheel. For some people this is more of a personal preference.
Regardless of what might be the reason to want a flat bevel, Sèbastian and Wolfgang show how to achieve it with your Tormek wet sharpening system, They will also touch upon the differences between the different types of bevels.

Tormek Live Sharpening Class - Part 10. Advanced knife sharpening (YouTube video). Wolfgang and Sèbastian from Tormek talk about advanced techniques for knife sharpening.

Tormek Live Sharpening Class - Part 15. Repair a damaged knife (YouTube video). Wolfgang and Sèbastian from Tormek show you how you can repair damaged knife on your Tormek sharpening system If your knife has a chipped edge, a broken tip, or if it has started rusting, you can often repair the knife and make it as good as new.

Tormek Live Sharpening Class - Part 24. KS-123 Knife Angle Setter (YouTube video)

Tormek Knife Jig SVM-45 (YouTube video)

Tormek Long Knife Jig SVM-140 (YouTube video)

Tormek Small Knife Holder SVM-00 (YouTube video)

Published Articles

Research Articles, Other Information, and some Final Thoughts. Some key ones for this topic are below.

If you want to get truly sharp, Dr. Vadim Kraichuk with KnifeGrinders has a really good method and has adapted the Tormek system to these wheels. The KnifeGrinder method is one that is proven, and has great tools to assist with making it easy.

Dr. Vadim Kraichuk posted a great analysis titled, "Edge Stability in Butcher’s and Kitchen Knives as a Function of Edge Angle and Initial Sharpness" on the BESS EXchange.

Effect of the Chopping Board Material on Edge Longevity

Click on either image for bigger size.
Images courtesy Todd Simpson
via Dr. Vadim Kraichuk of KnifeGrinders

Polished or "toothy" bevel? An article by Larrin, "How Chipping of Edges Happens at a Microscopic Level" (on Knife Steel Nerds), debunks the idea of coarse edges due to the increased propensity for chipping and faster dulling of the blade. As noted by Dr. Vadim Kraichuk, “Meat plants are well aware that knives with coarse edges worsen product presentation and increase operators' fatigue and repetitive strain injuries. On the contrary, polished edges improve product quality through higher value cuts and increase throughput.”

It is a common, but quite bad, practice of drawing the newly sharpened knife edge through a piece of wood or some other media to "rip off" the remnants of the burr. When this is done, the ripped off metal builds up on the front of the slice, and you then drag the rest of the edge through this crud. This crud, together with breaking off of ledges of material along the edge, will roughen the edge and worsen sharpness.
The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images to the right show the burr on a knife in the 1st image, that was then "ripped off" by cutting cross-grain into a piece of redwood in the 2nd image - loss of the sharp edge is obvious.
Key take-away from these photos : don't skip the honing step.

Web Sites

Jigs, Fixtures, & Modifications. One of the key ones for this topic is below.

Jan Švancara posted a design for using a knife sharpening platform in 2015 on the Tormek Forum. This is certainly worth reading, and there are also pictures of this in the jigs section.

Science of Sharp - a web site which uses “electron microscopy to physically observe the geometry and polish of the edge and to quantify the edge width and bevel angle. The goal is to provide an understanding of what is happening a the blade's edge. The centuries old design of a straight razor provides the ideal system for scientific study of sharpening.”

Tormek is a copyrighted logo of Tormek AB. Its presentation on this site is used to help the user quickly understand when specific Tormek tools, jigs, or setting are being used. For specific information regarding Tormek AB, or its products, please refer to the www.Tormek.com.

About this site Remember : The goal of sharpening is to produce sharp tools, and these tools can injure you if mishandled. Safety measures should be followed to protect yourself and those in your shop. Be sure to read and follow all instructions from the manufacturer, and and utilize proper safety equipment. Never consume alcohol or anything that could impair your judgement before sharpening tools, or using sharp tools. Comments can be sent via eMail to me at SharpeningHandbook@Gmail.com.