Find Knife Sharpening Angle With Quarters - Video
Find Your Knife Sharpening Angle With Quarters (Chart Included)
You may have heard that you can stack quarters under your knife to find the correct sharpening angle. While true, the type of knife, or more specifically the width of the blade and the desired angle dictate how many quarters you should use. The charts below save you the agony of figuring out the geometry. Below we've created a chart that will give you the number of quarters required to estimate the height to hold the spine of your knife when you're sharpening.
Just measure the width of your blade from the spine to the edge. Then use the chart that most closely matches your knife width. If your knife width is 2" or larger, this techniques becomes somewhat impractical as the tower of quarters becomes too tall.
The angle you choose is a matter of personal preference. We've developed this chart as a starting point for your knives and other bladed tools. The video below will help you understand the technique.
1/2" Width |
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|---|---|---|
| Desired Sharpening Angle | Number of Quarters | Actual Angle |
| 10 Degrees | 1 Quarter | 7.9 Degrees |
| 12 Degrees | 2 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 15 Degrees | 2 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 17 Degrees | 2 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 20 Degrees | 2 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 22.5 Degrees | 3 Quarters | 24.5 Degrees |
| 25 Degrees | 3 Quarters | 24.5 Degrees |
| 30 Degrees | 4 Quarters | 33.5 Degrees |
| 35 Degrees | 4 Quarters | 33.5 Degrees |
3/4" Width |
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|---|---|---|
| Desired Sharpening Angle | Number of Quarters | Actual Angle |
| 10 Degrees | 2 Quarters | 10.6 Degrees |
| 12 Degrees | 2 Quarters | 10.6 Degrees |
| 15 Degrees | 3 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 17 Degrees | 3 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 20 Degrees | 4 Quarters | 21.6 Degrees |
| 22.5 Degrees | 4 Quarters | 21.6 Degrees |
| 25 Degrees | 5 Quarters | 27.4 Degrees |
| 30 Degrees | 5 Quarters | 27.4 Degrees |
| 35 Degrees | 6 Quarters | 33.5 Degrees |
1" Width |
||
|---|---|---|
| Desired Sharpening Angle | Number of Quarters | Actual Angle |
| 10 Degrees | 3 Quarters | 11.9 Degrees |
| 12 Degrees | 3 Quarters | 11.9 Degrees |
| 16 Degrees | 4 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 17 Degrees | 4 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 20 Degrees | 5 Quarters | 20.2 Degrees |
| 22.5 Degrees | 6 Quarters | 24.5 Degrees |
| 25 Degrees | 6 Quarters | 24.5 Degrees |
| 30 Degrees | 7 Quarters | 28.9 Degrees |
| 35 Degrees | 8 Quarters | 33.5 Degrees |
1 1/4" Width |
||
|---|---|---|
| Desired Sharpening Angle | Number of Quarters | Actual Angle |
| 10 Degrees | 3 Quarters | 9.5 Degrees |
| 12 Degrees | 4 Quarters | 12.8 Degrees |
| 15 Degrees | 5 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 17 Degrees | 5 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 20 Degrees | 6 Quarters | 19.3 Degrees |
| 22.5 Degrees | 6 Quarters | 24.5 Degrees |
| 25 Degrees | 8 Quarters | 26.2 Degrees |
| 30 Degrees | 9 Quarters | 29.8 Degrees |
| 35 Degrees | 10 Quarters | 33.5 Degrees |
1 1/2" Width |
||
|---|---|---|
| Desired Sharpening Angle | Number of Quarters | Actual Angle |
| 10 Degrees | 4 Quarters | 10.6 Degrees |
| 12 Degrees | 5 Quarters | 13.3 Degrees |
| 15 Degrees | 6 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 17 Degrees | 6 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 20 Degrees | 7 Quarters | 18.8 Degrees |
| 22.5 Degrees | 8 Quarters | 21.6 Degrees |
| 25 Degrees | 9 Quarters | 24.5 Degrees |
| 30 Degrees | 11 Quarters | 30.4 Degrees |
| 35 Degrees | 12 Quarters | 33.5 Degrees |
1 3/4" Width |
||
|---|---|---|
| Desired Sharpening Angle | Number of Quarters | Actual Angle |
| 10 Degrees | 4 Quarters | 9.1 Degrees |
| 12 Degrees | 5 Quarters | 11.4 Degrees |
| 15 Degrees | 7 Quarters | 16.0 Degrees |
| 17 Degrees | 8 Quarters | 18.4 Degrees |
| 20 Degrees | 9 Quarters | 20.8 Degrees |
| 22.5 Degrees | 10 Quarters | 23.2 Degrees |
| 25 Degrees | 11 Quarters | 25.7 Degrees |
| 30 Degrees | 13 Quarters | 30.8 Degrees |
| 35 Degrees | 15 Quarters | 36.3 Degrees |