Best Sharpening Angle for a Pocket Knife

Best sharpening angle for a pocket knife, by use

Pick the row that matches the hardest thing the knife does in a normal week, not the easiest. A lower angle cuts more easily and is less durable, a higher one is tougher and needs more force. For most carry knives 20 degrees per side is the middle of the road.

What Victorinox, Benchmade, Kershaw and Spyderco state

These figures were read on each maker's own page. Brands that are missing here are not forgotten: a figure is printed only when the maker's page states it. The factory angles by brand table holds the full list with a source link in every row.

Why pocket knives run wider than kitchen knives

A kitchen knife cuts soft food on a board, in a straight line. A pocket knife cuts cardboard, plastic strapping, rope and wood, often with a twist at the end of the cut. Sideways force is what folds or chips a thin edge. That is why Western kitchen knives sit at 14 to 20 degrees per side while pocket knives sit at 15 to 22 and outdoor knives higher still.

Sharpening Supplies puts it plainly: from 22 to 30 degrees per side the edge is considerably more durable, because a pocket or hunting knife will see abuse that a slicing knife never does, and the price is that it does not cut quite as well. The kitchen side of the comparison is in the right sharpening angle for kitchen knives.

Hunting knife sharpening angle

Hunting and outdoor fixed blades are sharpened at 20 to 25 degrees per side, 40 to 50 inclusive. Stay near 20 for a knife that only skins and slices meat. Go to 25 for one that also splits kindling or cuts through joints, and up to 30 for a camp knife that is used hard. A fillet knife is the exception at the low end, at 17 to 18 per side.

Some makers of fixed blades list an edge angle on the product page of each knife. When yours does, use it and check whether it is printed per side or inclusive. The knife sharpening angle chart lists cleavers, machetes and axes as well.

Sharpening angle for a Buck 110, a Bugout or D2 steel

Model questions get the maker's brand-level answer, because makers publish angles for their range, not for each knife. A Benchmade Bugout falls under Benchmade's general figure: 30 to 35 degrees inclusive, about 15 to 18 per side. For a Buck 110, the figure to use is the one on Buck's own sharpening page. No Buck number is printed here because it has not been read on that page directly: check the brand table or Buck's page before setting a guide.

No verified angle exists per steel. D2 and other steels are sharpened at the angle the maker ground on that knife, chosen by use from the table above. If the maker gives nothing, match the factory bevel with the marker test.

Keep the factory bevel, and how to hold it on a small blade

Matching the existing bevel removes the least metal. Ink the bevel with a marker, take one light stroke, and adjust until the stroke clears the ink from the whole bevel. The steps are in how to find and hold the sharpening angle.

Small blades leave little room for error. On a blade 20 mm wide, the spine sits 5.2 mm above the stone at 15 degrees per side and 6.8 mm at 20 degrees: a difference of 1.6 mm. On a 25 mm blade, 20 degrees is 8.6 mm (0.34 in). Get the height for your blade from the knife sharpening angle calculator. An angle guide or a guided system holds a small blade steadier than a bare hand.

Note.A pocket knife blade narrows toward the tip. At the same angle the spine sits lower there, so follow the curve by lifting the handle slightly instead of keeping one fixed height.

Quick answers

Short answers to the pocket and hunting knife angle questions asked most often. All figures are degrees per side unless marked inclusive.

• What sharpening angle for a pocket knife? 15 to 22 degrees per side, 30 to 44 inclusive. About 20 per side suits general carry.
• What is the best sharpening angle for a pocket knife? The maker's own. Victorinox states 15 to 20, Benchmade about 15 to 18 per side, Kershaw 20 to 22.
• What is the hunting knife sharpening angle? 20 to 25 degrees per side, up to 30 for hard use. Fillet knives sit lower, at 17 to 18.
• What is the sharpening angle for a Benchmade Bugout? Benchmade states 30 to 35 degrees inclusive for most of its knives, about 15 to 18 per side.
• What is the best sharpening angle for D2 steel? No per-steel figure is verified. Use the angle the maker ground, or pick by use from the table.