My leather paring knife was tearing up calfskin until I tried a new sharpening angle.

I was getting ragged edges on some 2 oz calfskin for a journal cover, so I watched a video from a binder in Chicago and changed my sharpening angle from 25 to 20 degrees. After a week of practice, my cuts are clean and I waste way less material. What angle do you all use for your paring knives?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily_stone7610d ago

What kind of stone are you using to get that angle? Honestly, I had the same problem with tearing and dropping to 20 degrees made a huge difference for me too.

the_lucas10d ago

Honestly, I've had the opposite experience and stuck with 25 degrees after 20 gave me a weak edge that rolled, @lily_stone76. Sometimes the leather just needs a different touch.