Now a side bar on the "correct" angle for sharpening a knife. There is quite a debate on what angle you should use to sharpen your knife. I don't pretend to know the best angle for any given knife. What I do know is what works for me and my particular knife. I picked 22 degrees and went with it.



Why? Because I didn't know what angle to go with! And I simply tried to estimate the angle that's worked for me when I've sharpened my knives by hand.



Here's what I can tell you...I think the whole debate is overblown. I think you should just try and figure out what angle works best for your knife and your use of the knife, and stick with it. If you find out later that it's too great or too little of an angle, then make another jig.

Simply cut a base for your jig. Length doesn't matter here, but width is important. You want it the same size as your main support (what I'll refer to as the "stone support").To cut the stone support, here's where you need a chop saw. I suppose you could cut this with a miter box or even handheld "freehand" but do yourself a favor and ask a friend to cut this for you if you don't own a chop saw.Back to the cutting of the wood. Whatever you decide to be the angle for which you want to sharpen your blades, that's what you should dial in on your chopsaw. Again, I went with 22 degrees.