View Single Post
  #4  
Old 05-03-2017, 09:18 AM
Ed Caffrey's Avatar
Ed Caffrey Ed Caffrey is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Great Falls, Montana, USA
Posts: 4,393
Send a message via AIM to Ed Caffrey Send a message via Yahoo to Ed Caffrey
Quote:
Keep in mind, most commercial kitchen knives are pretty soft by knife makers standards
I suspect therein lies your answer. If the edge is thinned down on most commercial knives (like going from a 35-40 degree angle to a 20 degree angle), you create a very thin "edge", and if the blade is somewhat soft, there isn't enough material there to keep the edge from "curling" or "bending" when you attempt to cut something.

If there is a "wire edge" present, and you strop it, and it makes a couple of cuts that seem good, then it suddenly doesn't cut anymore, that's proof that the steel is too soft for the shallow angle you applied.....that means you need to apply a steeper angle to the edge, so there is enough material/mass to keep the edge from "rolling over" or "bending" when you attempt to cut something.
Creating a steeper edge angle brings it's own issues in that the steeper the angle, the more of a "wedge" effect occurs when cutting.... that means as the edge bevels get steeper, more force is required to make the edge actually cut, because the peak of the edge bevels are "wedging" in whatever material you're cutting. With kitchen knives this is most noticeable when cutting "hard" veggies like carrots....the edge starts to cut in, then the as you press harder, the piece you're cutting off shoots across the counter.... because of the larger edge bevels, the knife acts more like a wood splitting wedge.


__________________
WWW.CAFFREYKNIVES.NET

Caffreyknives@gmail.com

"Every CHOICE has a CONSEQUENCE, and all your CONSEQUENCES are a result of your CHOICES."

Last edited by Ed Caffrey; 05-03-2017 at 11:04 AM.
Reply With Quote