Spent 6 hours trying to get a boning knife sharp and it was the angle all along

I've been butchering for about 2 years now but could never get my knives as sharp as the old guys at the shop. Tried every stone and rod out there. Finally last week I took a class at a local spot in Portland and the instructor watched me for 2 minutes. Said I was holding the knife at 25 degrees instead of 15. Fixed it in one pass and now I feel like an idiot for wasting all that time. Anyone else struggle with something that simple for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

luna_kim4019d ago

Man I used to think angle didn't matter that much but this post totally changed my mind. Gonna check mine tomorrow haha.

paulw6319d ago

Nah, angles are overrated if you're just breaking down primals at home. A 15 degree edge is too fragile for any real work, you'll be sharpening every other day instead of once a week.