Bevel angle out of the box

[Miguelito's Blade]

Of my entire collection of three knives, my Wat Pro nakiri is the best one, so I will refer to it. While extremely sharp, the edge has a width that is so narrow it is hardly discernible. My own edges on my practice beaters when sharpened at twelve degrees are much wider and, although on thinner knives the bevel is narrower, it is still wide in comparison to the Wat, which is a very thin knife. So my question is, what angle is the bevel on the Wat, and how does that become so very sharp out of the box?

 

[Jovidah]

The visible size of the bevel has more to do with how thick the knife is behind the edge than with the angle it's sharpened at.
Thickness - or thinness - behind the edge also has a way bigger impact on cutting performance than what edge angle you're using. If it's thin enough behind the edge it'll still cut a lot of things perfectly fine even when it's blunt.

 

[Miguelito's Blade]

Thanks for the explanation. It makes perfect sense. Another question: when the time comes that I have to touch up the Wat, what angle should I use?

 

[Nemo]

Watanabe by and large ships knives with a zero grind. Quite sharp but not super stable or durable. This has the upside of making it very easy to put whatever edge you like on it though.

Check out @stringer 's great thread on "durability testing a Watanbe Pro".

Depending on your use, an angle of 10-15 dps would work well. The precise angle is not that importent.

 

[Miguelito's Blade]

Watanabe by and large ships knives with a zero grind. Quite sharp but not super stable or durable. This has the upside of making it very easy to put whatever edge you like on it though.

Check out @stringer 's great thread on "durability testing a Watanbe Pro".

Depending on your use, an angle of 10-15 dps would work well. The precise angle is not that importent.

Thanks a lot. I'll look for that thread straightaway.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Just a video I remembered on behind the edge thickness.

 

[Miguelito's Blade]

Thanks HHC. That video showed graphically the issue I was having and how to resolve it.