What angles to use
One of the first questions is - at what angle should reed knives be sharpened?
One of the challenges is that our knives are not very wide (measured from spine to edge) in comparison with chef’s and outdoorsmen’s knives.
These angles sharpen most all my knives: 21 degrees on the left side and 23 degrees on the right side. (For sharpening the edge for left handed use - reverse these angles). This creates a slight bevel in the direction that we scrape. It takes a little mental gymnastics to see how this works since we are sharpening upside down. You may find other angles give you a result that works better for you. Experimenting is highly encouraged. Please share your results on the Wicked Edge Double Reed Forum.
Place the knife far enough into the vice to get a good grip - but no farther. This is around 1/4 inch (6mm). If the knife fits too far into the vice, you can scrape the top of the vice with the stones.
The depth tool that is supplied is designed for chef’s and outdoorsman’s knives. Most reed knives will not come any where close to fitting onto the vice so deeply.
The blade should face straight up and be perpendicular to the base.
- Tighten the top screw to get a good hold.
- Then, tighten the bottom screw to clamp the knife in.
Wicked Edge recommends only using the supplied Allen wrench tool.
Using a regular Allen wrench provides too much torque and can damage the vice.
One of the challenges is that our knives are not very wide (measured from spine to edge) in comparison with chef’s and outdoorsmen’s knives.
These angles sharpen most all my knives: 21 degrees on the left side and 23 degrees on the right side. (For sharpening the edge for left handed use - reverse these angles). This creates a slight bevel in the direction that we scrape. It takes a little mental gymnastics to see how this works since we are sharpening upside down. You may find other angles give you a result that works better for you. Experimenting is highly encouraged. Please share your results on the Wicked Edge Double Reed Forum.
Place the knife far enough into the vice to get a good grip - but no farther. This is around 1/4 inch (6mm). If the knife fits too far into the vice, you can scrape the top of the vice with the stones.
The depth tool that is supplied is designed for chef’s and outdoorsman’s knives. Most reed knives will not come any where close to fitting onto the vice so deeply.
The blade should face straight up and be perpendicular to the base.
- Tighten the top screw to get a good hold.
- Then, tighten the bottom screw to clamp the knife in.
Wicked Edge recommends only using the supplied Allen wrench tool.
Using a regular Allen wrench provides too much torque and can damage the vice.