Finding twenty degrees by halving a right angle
Most table knives are honed at roughly 20 degrees per side, and you can find that angle without a protractor:
- Hold the blade straight out from the steel, at a right angle: that is 90 degrees.
- Tilt it halfway down towards the steel to reach about 45 degrees.
- Halve that again for roughly 22 degrees, close enough for a 420-steel table edge.
- Keep that tilt and sweep each 11.5 cm blade from heel to tip, four or five strokes per side, alternating.
- Wipe the blade, then the white copper bolster and blue handle, before the knife returns to its case.
This Pakistani cutlery keeps its edge longest when the angle stays the same from stroke to stroke.
