# Masahiro edge angle



## knifesavers (Oct 5, 2011)

Found a Masahiro in a thrift store and it needs the edge reworked due to a high spot near the heel.

I know that the Masahiros are supposed to be flat on the left and angled on the right but what angle? 30?

The current dull as dishwater bevel is about 20 but the knife is along ways from whatever original was.

Suggestions?

Jim


----------



## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

I'm sorry I can't offer any help other than to say I have a Masahiro bread knife and it's been well worth the $$ so far.

Dave


----------



## williamchan87 (Jun 7, 2012)

I contacted Masahiro itself for you, if you have the patience and about 3 hours time you can fix the heel and sharpen the knife at either a 80/20 or a 70/30. or you can go find a local japanese knife sharpener to do it for you by machine. what you got there is one of the original Masahiro knives when they first wanted to send knives out of japan, which is why it used english


----------



## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

The old Masahiro V knives were sharpened to unequal bevels, supposedly around 12* on the right face, and around 15* on the left face, and at around 3:1 (75/25) or 4:1 (80/20} asymmetry.  I use the term "around" advisedly.  There tends to be a lot of variation from knife to knife, even for factory edges unless the knives are sharpened with very special and expensive machines -- such as those used by Wusthof for its new "laser" edges.

You can get fairly consistent and accurate angles with a good tool and jig like a Wicked Edge or Edge Pro. But even the best freehand sharpener that degree of accuracy is impossible.  Fortunately, you don't need perfect angles.  Close is good enough, as long as the bevel angles are consistent along the length of the edge.  Inconsistency is something you can see as high and low spots on the bevel shoulders (especially if you use "The Magic Marker Trick"), and errors you can see are errors you can fix.

If there's some more accurate gauge for setting and determining degrees of asymmetry than mere eyeballing and comparing the bevels on each side, I'd like to hear about it. 

If it's any consolation, it's not worth pursuing extreme accuracy.  If you can hit your angles to within a couple of degrees and your asymmetry to obvious ratios, you're doing fine. 

I suppose that there's some "right" edge geometry for a few given knives, but usually the best geometry takes into account what's best for the user, the use, the knife, and finds the right balance.  For the V's alloy and grind, I think a 15* bevel on both sides with around 3:2 (60/40 - 70/30) asymmetry will work pretty well for most people in terms of absolute sharpness, durability, and ease of maintenance.

Overall, a Masahiro V is a good but not great knife which was decent value but never punched above its price point.  Certainly better than a Shun or Global.  Go ahead and put the best edge you can on your used knife, and see what you think. 

BDL


----------

