SHARPAL 196N Angle Pyramid Guide 4 Universal Angles 14° 17° 20° 25°, 2-Pack | For Sharpening Stone, Whetstone

The two guides included in the Sharpal 196N package are excellent tools for finding the correct angle to use when sharpening a knife on a diamond plate or a sharpening stone. Even an experienced sharpener sometimes needs a guide. The orange pyramid guide has an embedded magnet that will allow the guide to attach and stay put on most diamond sharpening plates (also called whetstones). My pictures show the orange guide on a Sharpal 162N diamond whetstone. (Note that the 162N whetstone comes with the orange guide included.) However, many brands of diamond coated whetstones have the diamonds embedded in a layer on a steel plate, so the orange guide should work just fine with them. To use the orange guide, select the angle you want for the knife, then put the guide on the diamond whetstone with that angle facing the long side of the whetstone. Diamond whetstones can be used to sharpen a knife by putting the knife on the stone at the selected angle, then maintaining that angle while moving the knife in a "slicing" motion across the whetstone, as though you were trying to slice off the diamond coating. The amount of pressure on the whetstone is four pounds or less. If you have a kitchen scale, you can get a feel for how much force is equal to four pounds. (Believe me, it isn't much.) When in doubt, use less force and go across the stone more times. Do about 8-10 strokes on one side, then flip the knife over and do 8-10 strokes on the other edge. Most people will use the same hand for both sides of the knife, which means you would relocate the orange guide to the other end of the whetstone. Some ambidextrous folks can simply switch hands to sharpen the other edge of the knife. My photo shows 20° selected for use. Most western knives would use a 20° angle. Use a 14° angle for most Japanese-style knives (Shun, MAC, Tojiro, Dalstrong, etc.). The 17° guide might be more appropriate for a Global. If unsure, consult the description for the particular knife at the manufacturer's website or wherever the knife was purchased. Check to see if there is an Amazon description, too. The 25° angle is appropriate for cleavers and some chef knives. This larger angle will not get the edge as sharp as a narrower angle, but the edge will be more difficult to roll over, if you are using a lot of force during your cutting activities. The black guide is shown on a 3000 grit Pride Abrasive water stone. It has a rubbery bottom that helps prevent the guide from slipping on the stone. Most water stones require you to pull the edge across the stone by having the top of the knife moving forward and the sharp edge trailing behind. In other words, you are dragging the edge away from the stone surface, not trying to slice off the top of the water stone - many brands of water stones are soft enough that you actually would cut into the stone. So, to use the black guide, you need to put the knife on the desired angle and observe how the knife looks relative to the stone. Then you lift the knife off the guide while maintaining that angle, put the knife on the stone and dragging the edge across the stone. I realize that this description may not adequately explain the process, so I suggest that you watch some online videos. You can search for videos by Peter Nowlan that I watched when I first began sharpening. Peter does not use angle guides, but you can learn the basic techniques and incorporate the angle guide into your own process.

The orange one works fine, and the magnet holds it in my diamond stones well. The black one does not work well it has no magnet, and it sits high off the stone.

I work in a beef plant so having a good edge on my knife is very important. Quality of this is great, love the rubber and the magnet that help keep it on the stone. Extremely easy to use. I used angle 25 and good lord never knew my knife could cut meat like that, but I prefer angle 20 so performance is great. Angles on it are great. Value is not expensive it's a good buy. Fits in my little pocket I have where I keep my stone.

Orange useless. Black stays in place 3/4 the time. Works well only for large knives. Small knives dont work. Guide scratches side of blades.

I checked these guides against a protractor, and the angles look correct. Much more accurate than the generic guides that clip onto the spine of the knife blade. Those produce a variable angle depending on the height of the blade. Price and build quality are good. The rubber base on one is nice. The magnet on the other isn't very strong, but is sufficient for keeping still if you put it on top of a steel plate. One issue I have is that the edge of the slope on these guides don't go all the way down to the sharpening surface. Not a big deal for large knives, but could be for the smallest pocket knives. Another potential issue is that these guides are fairly small. If you have a large knife that has multiple slopes, with the most level slope at the spine of the knife, then that flat part may be too tall to contact surface of the guide.

Kitchen knives need different edges than most pocket knives, and I use both daily. I recently got some diamond plates and these angle guides. I put the orange one right at the end of my plate and leave it there, then move it when I go to the other side. It's easy to plop it down, but you could use both simultaneously, at the cost of less stroke space. Lean your blade to the angle and go slow at first, maintaining it, and after a few strokes you get into a flow. It's so nice nice to be able to dial that in, yet still have the satisfying pleasure of doing it by hand and quickly hone each side of the edge. Having the consistent angle helps to achieve efficient results, and that with the feel of drawing it across by hand makes sharpening fun, not tedious & frustrating. It's nice when things just work.

These guides give you the correct angle for sharpening as a guide. But their usefulness is somewhat limited. What you really need for sharpening consistency is: 1) The blade locked in position with a clamp. 2) The sharpening stone or file to be drawn across the blade at the precise angle without deviation. These angle pyramids can help to establish the angle when freehand honing and learning to sharpen without any other assistance. They are not expensive and can help you learn to sharpen quickly and more consistently. They will not scratch your blades and will not damage whetstones …but will not give results as good as a clamped, precision sharpening system.

I'm new to knife sharpening and, after a disastrous attempt with a wetstone before I bought these angle guides, I can confidently say these angle guides with diamond plates have been a game-changer. They're a must-have for anyone wanting a perfect edge every time. I've purchased two sets and removed the angle specs from the package for a handy reminder because the guides work so well. The magnetic guide, especially, is fantastic - it holds firm on the diamond plates and does its job flawlessly. Seriously, buy these now!

sencillo y útil, bien para acostumbrarse a tomar angulos

Simple, rugged, exact angle device to make consistent sharpening for a variety of edged tools. Covers, 12,17, 20, and 25 angled edges to sharpen or hone, kitchen knives, hunting knives and axes. Great for beginners and old fogies alike. The user has only to hold the angle in passing along or into their chosen sharpener to be consistent in achieving a sharp tool. I was quite impressed. One device can be stabilized via a magnet while the other grips the surface dependent upon the device. Beginning to think Sharpal knows what this process is all about.

Funcional e prático

spielzeug

Works well