We use a knife to cook food, cut food and do other household chores. Therefore, it is very important that the knife blade remains sharp at all times. Theoretically, there is nothing difficult in sharpening knives, but in practice it turns out that not everyone is good at sharpening the blade. To have an idea of how to sharpen knives and how to do it correctly, we advise you to read our article.
Before you start sharpening a knife, you need to find out what material it is made of. There are several types of knives:
- Carbon steel knives are the most affordable, made from an alloy of iron and carbon, are easy to sharpen and stay sharp for a long time. Among the shortcomings, it can be noted - oxidation of the knife blade from interaction with food or an acidic environment, for this reason, rust and stains appear on the knife, and the products acquire a metallic taste. Over time, after the formation of plaque on the blade, oxidation stops.
- Low carbon stainless steel knives - made from an alloy of iron, chromium, carbon and in some cases nickel or molybdenum. Stainless steel knives are inferior in hardness to carbon steel, so they quickly become dull and require regular sharpening. The advantages include - corrosion resistance.
- High carbon stainless steel knives - more high class knives with a high carbon content and additions of cobalt or vanadium. Due to a higher quality alloy, given view knives do not require frequent sharpening and are not subject to corrosion.
- Damascus steel knives - mostly made as edged weapons, but there are also kitchen options... Damascus steel knife is a multi-layer blade made of different high quality alloys. The disadvantages include the high cost of knives.
- Ceramic knives have gained popularity because of their sharpness and ability not to dull for a long time. But in addition to the advantages, ceramic knives have a significant disadvantage, which lies in their fragility when dropped from a height and poor resistance to fracture.
Sharpening tools
Touchstone (whetstone)
Sharpening stones are available with different amounts of abrasive grains per square millimeter. Therefore, for coarse sharpening and finishing sanding, you need to use bars with a minimum and maximum abrasive content. In foreign-made whetstones, information on the amount of abrasive grains is on their marking. Sharpening stones of domestic production have to be chosen "by eye" or ask the seller which touchstone to use for the primary and which for the final sharpening.
Mechanical sharpener
Mechanical sharpeners are mainly used for sharpening kitchen knives... Although the sharpening process is fast, the quality leaves much to be desired. For this reason, other sharpening methods are recommended for hunting and sporting knives.
Electric sharpener
Modern models electric sharpeners, allow you to achieve high quality sharpening, due to the built-in function, automatic determination of the angle of inclination of the blade. The electric sharpener is great for both domestic use and for sharpening knives in catering organizations. The lineup electric sharpeners are presented in a wide range, so the price may vary, but if you want your knives to always remain sharp, then buy more "advanced" and expensive models.
Musat
Musat - designed to maintain the sharpness of the knife edge. In shape, the musat resembles a round file with a handle. Musat are included in knife sets, and many owners often confuse them with a tool for a full sharpening of the blade. Please note that with the help of musat you can maintain the sharpness of a sharpened knife, but if the knife is completely dull, you will not be able to sharpen it with musat.
Sharpener "Lansky"
This sharpener is used for sharpening small and medium sized knives. The design of the sharpener allows you to sharpen the blade at the angle you choose. The Lansky sharpener consists of a rod with a removable whetstone and two corners connected to each other. The corners simultaneously serve as a knife vise and a scale for selecting the sharpening angle. The sharpener also comes with ANSI-graded sharpening stones in various grit sizes.
Sharpening and grinding machines
Grinding machines are used mainly in manufacturing for high-precision sharpening of the blades of rotating shafts. In addition to high-precision machines, there are electrically driven abrasive wheels and rotating grinding discs. Sharpening of knives on such machines should be carried out only by an experienced craftsman, because due to the speed of rotation of the circle or disk and the high heating temperature, with any unsuccessful movement, the knife blade will become unusable.
Self sharpening blades
Sharpening a knife with a whetstone
The sharpening of the blade, produced by a sharpening bar, is considered to be of the highest quality, of course, provided that it was produced experienced master... To sharpen a knife on a sharpening block, do the following:
How to sharpen a knife with a sharpening bar, see also the video:
Sharpening a hunting knife on a Lansky sharpener
Hunting knives are made from hard steel, so their initial sharpening requires sharpening stones with a low abrasive grain content.
How to sharpen knives in the Lansky sharpener, see the video:
Scissors sharpening
Sharpening of scissors must be done on a special sharpening machine. Sharpening the blades with the help of improvised (sandpaper, glass edge, etc.) can temporarily improve the sharpness of the scissors, but not for long. If you do not have the opportunity to sharpen scissors from a professional, then you can try to make self-sharpening about an abrasive stone. When sharpening, you need to follow a few simple rules:
When sharpening scissors, do not rush, patience in this matter will be your ally.
How to quickly sharpen scissors can also be seen in the video:
Sharpening planer blades and chisels
Sharpening of the planer blade and chisel practically do not differ from each other. Therefore, the sharpening process described below is applicable to both tools:
In addition to manual sharpening, the chisel can be sharpened on a machine with a rotating abrasive disc:
Do not forget that when sharpening products on the machine, a lot of sparks and small particles are formed that can get into the eyes, so be sure to work with protective glasses. And so as not to injure your hands on the spinning disc, wear gloves.
You can also learn how to sharpen tools from the video:
Tips for sharpening your blade quickly with handy tools
A rock
You can quickly spice up a knife on a hike or on a picnic using an ordinary cobblestone. Use any stone lying on the ground instead of a whetstone and run the blade of a knife over its surface. You will not achieve razor sharpness, but you will return the knife to working condition.
Second knife
It is quite possible to sharpen two knives at once, without sharpening stones and devices. To do this, you need to take a knife in both hands and start sharpening the blade of one knife on the blade of the other. After 5-10 minutes of such work, the knives will become sharper than before.
Glass objects
The knife blade can be sharpened slightly against the rough edge of glass or ceramic objects. For example, about the bottom of the glass or the edge tile... The main thing is that the surface is rough.
Leather belt
A leather belt is more suitable for finishing and giving a knife blade razor sharp than for coarse sharpening. But if there is nothing at hand besides the belt, then you can try to sharpen the knife on it. To do this, you need to give the belt a stretch and start driving the blade along it, you may not achieve a strong sharpness, but you will polish the knife to a shine. 
Having learned how to sharpen knives and tools on your own, you will acquire a skill that will be useful to you throughout your life!
Any knife made from the best steel or ceramics, dulls over time. This makes it difficult for the hostess to prepare food, increasing the time and effort spent, sometimes a dull knife slips and causes injury.
To avoid such situations, simple devices can be used that provide instant dressing of the blade for constant sharpness. Also, sharpening kitchen knives should be repeated periodically - this can be done at home using the simplest tools.
Having mastered the technique, you will not only please the hostess on March 8 and on other days, but you can also greatly surprise the guests (if there is nothing else) by demonstrating a knife at the table that can cut hair. This is precisely the degree of sharpness of a kitchen knife that can be achieved if you know how to properly sharpen a knife with simple inexpensive tools.
Sharpening the knife correctly is not the most difficult thing, the main thing is to listen to the recommendations
What knives can be sharpened
All types of kitchen knives can be sharpened - primarily it depends on the equipment. Professional electric sharpening machines sharpen European, Japanese (one-sided), serrated (wavy surface), cutting, hunting, tourist, ceramic knives with any sharpening angle.
You can effectively sharpen a knife at home if you have simple sharpening stones and follow the technology to the degree of hair cutting, which is more than enough when used in the kitchen.
Unfortunately, not all knives lend themselves well to sharpening.
Some types of knives are made by modern technologies with a coating of the cutting edge with a special wear-resistant compound that provides a self-sharpening effect. Sharpening kitchen knives of this type erases the special coating and the knife loses its advantages - of course, such models cannot be sharpened.
Blade sharpening angle
Knife sharpening angle - the deviation between the line of symmetry of the blade and the plane of its cutting edge.
The sharpness of the blade and its durability depend on this value: the smaller the sharpening angle, the sharper the blade, but it grinds down faster.
A larger knife sharpening angle reduces the sharpness of the cutting edge, but increases the duration of its work.
Kitchen types for everyday cutting of products have sharpening angles from 20 to 30 degrees, ultra-sharp medical scalpels sharpen at an angle of 10 - 17 degrees, hunting knives, kitchen household hatchets for chopping meat with bones and cleavers have a sharpening angle of 25 - 35 degrees.
In order to know at what angle to sharpen any knife, the blade is inserted into the scissors and the blades are compressed so that their point is firmly in contact with the cutting edge of the knife. The angle at which the scissor blades will be pulled apart is the sharpening angle.
Musat
Musat is a device with a handle and a rod 20-25 cm long, reminiscent of a round or oval faceted file made of diamond-coated metal, hard steel or ceramics. The surface of the metal rod along the axis is covered with small grooves, the structure of ceramics is less relief.
Musat is used for regular daily lapping and grinding of the working edge of knives, allows you to maintain the sharpness of their cutting edges in a sharp state.
Musat is not suitable for all types of knives, only for models with a certain steel hardness
The main condition for the use of musat is the competent manufacture of cutting edges and the hardness of the knife steel is less than 60 units. Musat allows you to straighten out smoothing or bending of the cutting edge on hard surfaces.
Work rules
For inexperienced homeowners, sharpening on musat looks like this:
- Musat is taken in left hand and rests sharp end into a wooden surface at an angle of 25-30 degrees.
- Knife in right hand moves from top to bottom in an arc towards the descent, the movements are repeated with little effort several times on each side of the blade.
- At the final stage of finishing, the effort is reduced, after work, the musat is washed with water and hung for drying on the hook of the handle.
The generally accepted method of checking the quality of sharpening is to cut a sheet of paper - if you can draw curvy lines on it or cut off thin strips, then the sharpness of the blade is very high. The razor sharpness test can be done on the hairline of the hand - the sharpened blade cuts hair easily.
Sharpening stones
When deciding how to sharpen a knife, many primarily consider sharpening stones with varying degrees abrasiveness. Modern bars have two sides - when using abrasive stones, at the beginning, the side with a coarse-grained structure is used, at the end of sharpening, they move to the fine grain of the other side.
A sharpening stone is a classic option for standard kitchen knives.
Sharpening rules
Before and during work, the bars are moistened with water or soapy water - this is necessary to clean the pores of the bar from metal dust and its surface from the spent suspension, improving the sliding of the blade (many modern species do not require pretreatment with water). Knowing how to sharpen a kitchen knife will help the rules of work described in the instructions for the bar.
- We moisten the stone with water, add a drop of dishwashing liquid on top.
- We install the block on a flat surface, preferably with a slight relief (not a planed board) for better grip.
- We apply the knife to the surface of the stone at the desired angle.
To set the angle, you can use a regular sheet of paper folded several times, in this case, you can get the final sharpening angle for the blade of 22.5 degrees (obtained by folding the sheet 90 degrees twice). We apply a sheet of paper with the obtained angle and a knife to the bar, trying to remember the resulting slope.
- We install the knife at the beginning and across the bar, while the end of its handle should be at the very edge of the bar, and with a little effort, slide the blade along the bar along an arc in the direction of cutting. For a more stable fixation of the sharpening angle, you can support the blade with your other hand. The movement is repeated 40-50 times, then the side and direction of movement are changed.
- If a burr edge appears along the entire length of the blade, stop sharpening on the coarse-grained side of the bar and switch to the fine-grain side. The sharpening operation is repeated, at the end the pressure on the blade is reduced.
- After processing the knife on a coarse-grained bar, it is possible to fine-tune it on musat.
- At the end of the work, the bars are washed under running water.
If desired, you can get the razor sharpness of a knife. For this operation, natural leather (a fragment of a leather belt) and an abrasive paste (GOI, Dialux) are used. The paste is applied to the belt and a knife is repeatedly passed through it at the desired angle, while the movement is opposite to the cutting direction.
Sandpaper
Sandpaper is the most economical option for keeping the knife sharp
The process of sharpening using sandpaper is no different from sharpening stones. You can even make an impromptu block out of it by gluing or attaching sandpaper to wooden beams: coarse-grained sandpaper is fixed on one side, fine sandpaper on the other.
Mechanical sharpener
Similar sharpeners, the most convenient way to sharpen a knife at home
The standard design of mechanical-type kitchen knife sharpeners is an elongated body, consisting of a handle for holding and several slots with sharpening discs for blades of different degrees of sharpening. The sharpening angle when using it is constant and optimal for frequently used kitchen knives.
Another option for a manual mechanical sharpener is a roller knife sharpener, which has only one groove in the body for sharpening with mechanical rollers.
Sharpening set
The main task when sharpening and dressing knives is setting the exact angle. To accomplish this task, a wide range of mechanical structures sharpening devices.
Some models consist of a base and a knife blade fastener, the sharpening stone is attached to the guide bar. When working, it moves along the blade at a set angle, then the knife turns over. The set is equipped with uneven-grain bars - this allows you to straighten the geometry of the blade and its polishing.
The sharpening set contains disassembled components for sharpening the knife. This set is quite compact.
Another type of a sharpening machine is a bed with a holder, into which sharpening stones are inserted vertically at a sharpening angle, the knife moves in a strictly vertical plane during operation, sliding along the surface of the bar from top to bottom.
The designs of such devices are quite diverse and simple, everyone can make such a device from available tools with a minimum set of necessary tools at home.
Electric sharpener
The fastest way to sharpen is with electric sharpeners for sharpening and polishing. Structurally, they are made in a closed case with a slot for inserting knives; inside there is an electric motor, on the axis of which conical abrasive wheels with diamond dusting are fixed. This method not very popular in everyday life due to high cost devices and is designed for professional work.
The electric sharpener will do all the work for you. You just have to hold the knife correctly at the right angle.
High-quality models of electric sharpeners usually have two types of abrasive wheels - the first for restoring the geometry of the blade, the second for its final polishing, the sharpening angle in such devices can be adjusted or set automatically.
Some models of electrical devices allow you to sharpen kitchen knives different types: European, serrated, Japanese, ceramic, and also scissors. IN electric machines there is a groove for each side.
Work rules
- With a very blunt working edge with serrations, the knife is processed on coarse-grained emery. It is inserted into the groove and stretches towards itself, the number of repetitions depends on the degree of dullness of the cutting edge.
- After a visual or contact check for sharpness, the knife is inserted into the polishing groove and the process is repeated. To obtain a high sharpness of the blade, 5 to 10 broaches are usually required.
Grinder
The sharpening machine is a professional option, with it you can sharpen a dozen knives in a short period of time
Many homeowners have a grinding machine at their disposal - an electric motor with an abrasive grinding wheel mounted on a shaft, sometimes the machine has an adjustable speed.
Abrasive wheels are often used to sharpen knives, but improper use (strong pressure and high speed) can easily overheat the steel and damage the blade. To sharpen on a grinder, you need to know the following rules.
It was considered an important skill of any man. After all, it was the quality of this work that depended on success in hunting and other difficult matters. Knives were used almost everywhere: from the extraction and processing of food, animal skins to interpersonal wars and the defense of territory.
Due to the fact that the knife is practically a basic necessity in the kitchen, it becomes dull very quickly and requires sharpening.
Knives are not used so seriously today, but the breadth of their application has not lost its range. They are still essential tools in the kitchen during the processing and preparation of food, for the repair of various products, and also for art.
Choosing a knife blade and assessing its quality
With a good sharpening, the knife will serve you for a very long time, without requiring additional sharpening of the blade. But nevertheless, the service life of the tool will still largely depend on the quality of the knife itself, and in particular on the material from which the blade is made.
There are many different knives on the market today. Moreover, many manufacturers consider their products to be universal and practically eternal. But advertising always does its own thing to increase the demand for the product. Therefore, it is more reasonable to learn at least the minimum criteria for the selection of a knife blade and the timely choice of material for sharpening it specifically.
Depending on the increase in the size of the knife, the material should be thicker and stronger.
- The larger the knife, the thicker its blade should be. In this case, the main thickness does not look at the sharpened, but at the upper blunt side. Everything should be proportional here. A very large knife should not have a too thin blade even on the cutting edge, while a small knife will be thin on its own, and the blade will have a barely noticeable thickness to the eye.
- Accordingly, the larger the knife, the stronger it is made of steel. Therefore, it will be necessary to sharpen it more carefully and for a long time. It is recommended to sharpen the largest cutters exclusively on diamond discs or on the most powerful electric sharpeners, since the use of stone in this case is useless.
- When buying a knife, be sure to check its degree of flexibility. Good blade will not bend at all. But if the knife is very thin and still has the property of bending, then it is important that the blade immediately falls into its original place. That is, irreversible deformation is a sign of a very low quality of the material itself.
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Sharpening with a whetstone
For high-quality sharpening of knives, you can completely do with a special sharpening stone.
There are quite a few methods for sharpening knives. The choice of a particular method largely depends on the willingness to spend your money and time, and also on the area of application of a particular knife. Therefore, to begin with, we will consider the most inexpensive and long-established method - sharpening with a special stone. And then we will briefly dwell on mechanical sharpening.
There are two main types of sharpening stones: artificial and natural. Artificial stone has a larger fraction, it is larger in size. In modern artificial materials this type is usually one side less aggressive, and the other has larger grains, which makes the stone suitable for sharpening even large and very dull tools.
Natural stone for sharpening is somewhat cheaper, and it also has a fine-grained structure on both sides. Therefore, it is more appropriate to use it for sharpening not too dull knives and for maintaining the sharpness of blades with soft metal from time to time.
Before you start sharpening the knife, the sharpening stone should be lubricated with vegetable oil.
Now start sharpening. But first you need to lubricate the stone, whatever it may be, with oil. You can use a small amount of the usual sunflower oil... You need to coat the entire bar completely from all sides, then let the oil soak for about 7-10 minutes. This will make small particles less vulnerable to microscopic pieces of metal from the knife being hammered into them during the sharpening process. Consequently, the stone will serve you much longer.
You can start the main process. Sharpening is done in two stages: first with the coarse side and then with the softer side. This applies directly to double-sided artificial stones. The knife must be wiped from dust and applied to the stone approximately like this, while driving the blade forcefully in the indicated direction.
Aggressive part whetstone will make it possible to quickly remove the main blunt layer of metal from the knife. It should be noted that it is advisable to try to hold the knife at an angle of about 20-25 °. This figure is considered optimal for fast and high-quality sharpening. However, given the fact that knives today are very different in their shapes, you can not be too biased about this recommendation, but approach the work creatively.
During sharpening, you should try to make smooth movements, applying enough pressure on the blade. Approaching the edge, it is recommended to slightly raise the blade, due to which the sharpening will be of better quality. At the same time, observe the perpendicularity of the movement relative to the cutting part of the knife.
It is necessary to sharpen a knife on the aggressive side of the stone carefully, periodically checking the opposite side of the blade. A sign that the main sharpening is over will be the presence of small notches on the tip of the blade.
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But today, not everyone wants to sharpen knives with a stone, no matter how good it is. Therefore, an electric sharpener is used for this purpose. It is usually used in large enterprises for the manufacture of tools and various household materials from metals, as well as in metallurgical workshops.
Sharpening a knife with an electric sharpener is much easier and faster. It makes no sense to focus too much on the corners while holding the tool, since modern electric sharpeners are able to independently adjust the degree of inclination. Knowing that the process goes much faster on a sharpener, keep in mind a few important points:
- To sharpen a knife, which will serve as a tool exclusively for cutting food, it is enough to sharpen the knife for about 5 minutes (this is if it is almost dull at all). The angle of inclination can be taken as minimal.
- If you want to achieve maximum sharpness of the blade, then it is important to sharpen one side until there are pronounced burrs. When they are clearly visible, turn the knife over to the other side and continue sharpening until the burrs are removed and the blade is very thin.
- It is best to use a diamond disc to fine-tune the knives after using an electric sharpener. It will remove small notches in the fastest time and with the highest quality, making the tool almost ideal for work.
- If you want to update the blade on the sharpener, then for this, experts recommend using standard circles of the EBK brand white... Their advantage is that they do not burn the edges, making the process as delicate as possible.
- When using an electric sharpener, it is important to set its speed correctly. The optimal figure is considered to be about 1.5 thousand revolutions per minute. This is average value, in which you always have time to notice in time how sharpened the blade is, so as not to spoil the material of the knife.
- An important point in electric sharpening is the timely cooling of the edge. The more often it cools, the less likely it is to burn the blade. Do not be afraid that with an intense process, the material will take on a purple hue. Even this is compensated for with adequate and frequent cooling.
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Choosing an angle when sharpening like a knife
Special attention should be paid to the consideration of the process of sharpening professional expensive knives as well as individual blades. Since they are different types, consider the basic rules and tips for sharpening, just based on these types of tools:
- It is recommended to sharpen knives for processing meat carcasses at an angle of 25 °, and tactical tools from 25 to 30 °.
- To sharpen professional hunting knives, an angle of 35-40 ° must be observed.
- If you go hunting quite often, then the sharpening angle must be increased to 45 ° - this way the knife will serve you sharp much longer than usual.
- Work on the blades of reusable straight razor knives deserves special attention. In this case, it is necessary to observe minimum angle holding the blade during sharpening - about 10 °.
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Final sharpening (debugging) methods
After that, you need to finish sharpening. For this, the already fine-grained side of the sharpener is used. The process of de-chipping and sharpening the knife to its final degree is called lapping. Lapping on the less aggressive side is carried out according to the same rules as for the coarse-grained. After that, the knife is considered sharpened.
Some alternative methods of final sharpening (debugging) deserve special attention. As a rule, they are used when a special sharpness of the instrument is needed. Therefore, it is advisable to consider the most inexpensive alternative tweaking methods in more detail.
A small piece of genuine leather can be used to sharpen the knife.
- Using a small piece of genuine leather. Oddly enough, but such a material is able to sharpen the blade very well. Before this, it is advisable to remove the notches with a fine-grained stone, and then proceed to processing. First, a piece of leather is wiped from dust and processed with a thin layer of a special paste such as GOI. Then you need to wait 5-7 minutes until the paste penetrates into the pores of the skin, and get to work. Lapping by this method is done according to the principle "from the grain" - that is, the knife blade must be kept away from oneself while working, and moved along the skin in the same way. It is important to turn the blade slightly to the side so that the turning occurs as if diagonally. So the effect will be much better.
- Great popularity for finishing knives in recent times began to acquire musat. It is a steel rod with several longitudinal grooves. You need to sharpen a knife on it differently than on a belt or stone. In this case, the knife remains motionless, while the musat itself leads along the blade. You will not achieve the same good effect as from a piece of leather, but you will slightly sharpen the knife, which is important.
- Ceramic gives a good effect for finishing knives. For this purpose, the most ordinary cheap dishes are used - a cup or plate, which you do not need in the household. Instead, it is better to take a separate piece of ceramic, which you will always use for this very purpose. Sharpening is done in the same way as on a grindstone. Only it is not a smooth surface that is selected, but a rough surface (usually concentrated on the outer side of the bottom of the vessel). Otherwise, nothing will work.
The ability to sharpen knives will come in handy for most modern housewives, because the thickness of the cut and the mood with which you start cooking depend on the sharpness of the blade. How to sharpen knives correctly so that this tool is always perfectly sharp? You can apply multiple fixtures. Let's consider each of them.
It is a rod with a handle that will sharpen the knife to an absolute sharpness. Musat can be divided into several different types - metal, diamond or ceramic. The metal musat has notches that align the deformed edge of the blade. The latter two have a fine structure and are used for grinding and adjusting the surface and point.
The shape of the musat can also be different, but it does not affect the result. You need to use it like this:
- Take a knife in one hand, and squeeze the musat in the other. Musat is held with the rod down, resting its end on the table.
- Drive the knife along the musat with one or the other side, without changing the angle of inclination.
- Move in an arc, sharpening the knives from handle to tip. Special efforts do not apply - the blade should slide.
Musat is perfect for frequent use, therefore it is included in the knife sets. Another plus is its magnetized surface, due to which all the worn-out elements simply stick to the rod, leaving the knife clean.
Sharpening stones
Sharpening knives with a bar is within the power of each of you. This is a well-known method for complete sharpening.
Sharpening stones are made from artificial and natural materials... The surface of each of them has a different grain size. Coarse sharpeners are suitable for grinding large pieces of metal, while fine-grained sharpening stones are more useful for grinding and sharpening.
The bars are also divided according to the method of processing - water or oil. Depending on it, the surface of the sharpening stones should be soaked in water or smeared with a special oil (machine oil or vegetable oil are prohibited!). This will prevent metal filings from clogging the abrasive surface and reduce the quality of the sharpener.
For high-quality sharpening in the house, you should have several types of bars. Now let's move on to the process:
- Place a coarse block on the table. During operation, it should not move.
- Place the blade on the stone near the handle, choosing the desired angle.
- Make a smooth motion with the knife blade over the stone, moving the point to the side.
- At the bend of the blade, slightly raise the knife handle so that the edge of the blade is sharpened evenly.
- Repeat several times, swiping the knife in the same direction.
- Now turn the knife over and sharpen it from the back.
- Install another stone - medium grit. It will remove the "burrs" on the metal and make the blade sharp.
- Grind a kitchen knife on a fine-grained stone.
- At the end of the process, rinse the stone with water to rinse out the remains of chips that are clogged in the pores.
The sharpening stone can be replaced with sandpaper with varying grain sizes. It is firmly fixed and the same manipulations are carried out as when working with a bar.
Sharpening set
Sharpening knives at home is impossible without a set. It consists of a frame with blade clamps as well as whetstones. Using the set is simple:
- Clamp the blade. The incisal edge should "point" upwards.
- Insert a whetstone into the hole.
- Make several incident movements from the handle to the tip of the knife. We hold the knife perpendicularly to ensure the desired sharpening angle.
The sharpening set includes several different sharpening and dressing stones.
Mechanical sharpener
A sharpener of this type is a case with a very comfortable handle, in which several special discs are placed. You can sharpen knives with a knife sharpener not only at the first, but also at the last stage, when editing is necessary. Most attachments have a sharpening angle that is perfect for a kitchen knife. The sharpener is also simple and convenient to use:
- Place the knife in the slot between the discs.
- Swipe firmly from handle to tip.
- Repeat several times.
- Rinse the sharpener with water and let dry completely.
Electric sharpener
One of the most convenient, efficient and safe ways sharpening a knife. An electric sharpener can make a knife perfectly sharp in a couple of minutes. This sharpener consists of several different holes with diamond discs for sharpening, finishing and grinding the blade. Expensive jigs are also suitable for sharpening serrated knives.
How to sharpen knives with an electric sharpener correctly?
- Insert the knife into the desired hole.
- Pass it between the discs from the handle to the tip, making light pressure.
- Repeat several times.
Grinder
The sharpening machine is able to sharpen a blunt blade to a razor sharpness and retain its cutting properties for a long time. But the lack of experience and inability to use this complex unit can lead to the fact that the blade will be damaged. The sharpening machine is only suitable for professionals.
It is equipped with two high-speed discs for knife sharpening and grinding. The machine can sharpen any kind of blade, but you need to choose the sharpening angle yourself. The main thing is to watch the heating of the steel so that it does not overheat.
Sharpening a ceramic knife
Recently, ceramic knives have become more and more popular, because stores claim that they are not dull at all. How dull they are, you understand already after 3 weeks! How to sharpen a ceramic knife at home and can it be done?
It is possible to sharpen ceramics only on a machine - the material tolerates high temperatures. For these purposes, a diamond or corundum disc is useful. Normal will not work! Sharpening should be done at the lowest speed possible to minimize tool runout. You need to press the knife gently, without exerting effort.
At the end of the process, rinse the knife with water to rinse off any remaining chips. Be very careful - you can cut yourself quickly!
How to check the result ...
Now everyone knows how to sharpen knives correctly. It remains only to check the result of your work. This is very easy to do - cut a fresh tomato. If the blade does not crush, but quickly cuts through the skin, the knife is sharpened well.
Another interesting and non-standard method:
... and keep the knife sharp?
Proven tips will help you in this matter:
- Do not store knives together with other cutlery (forks, spoons, etc.) - the blade will rub against the surface of other objects, microscopic notches will appear on it, which will dull the blade. The best place for a knife - wooden stand, magnetic stripe or special case;
- Do not leave the appliance dirty - it takes a lot of effort to clean dried food. This can scratch the cutting edge of the knife. In addition, many products contain acid, which will corrode the metal;
- Monitor how long the knife blade is in contact with water. Long lying in a bowl of water has a bad effect on the metal, as well as the material of the handle;
- To keep your knife sharp longer, only wash it cold water and try to cut very hot food less often.
This is how the first flint knife was sharpened. Or maybe not, but for some reason some women are still trying to sharpen knives, leading one blunt knife over another.
Since the discovery of iron, knives were made of metal and sharpened stones were used to sharpen them. They are used to this day. More recently, 50-100 years ago, strange people walked around the courtyards with an ingenious bookcase behind their backs and shouted in loud voices: "I sharpen knives, scissors, I correct blades!" At this signal, housewives ran out of houses and apartments, carrying with them a bouquet of dull knives. Now these strange people have disappeared somewhere, you can't even meet them on the market, and therefore you have to sharpen knives yourself. This can be done in different ways:
Electric sharpeners
Progress is inexorably moving forward and electricity is increasingly being introduced into our lives. Electrical Appliances and tools designed to facilitate the existence of a person, a huge number have been invented, there are even electric knives, but in this case we are interested in devices for electric sharpening of ordinary steel knives, but even such devices are incredibly many. The household typically uses one of the following:
1. Bench grinder
Whatever they call them - grinding machines, sharpener, straightening-sharpener, grinding machine, sharpening machine etc. Grinding machines are used mainly for sharpening all kinds of construction tools, but such machines are quite suitable for ordinary kitchen knives. It is necessary to work on such a machine in compliance with all safety measures.
2. Joiner's machine
The device of some carpentry machines allows you to change the saw blade to a grinding wheel. However, no protective covers and screens are provided for such machines, and therefore it is necessary to sharpen the knives on such machines with the utmost care in safety glasses.
3. Bulgarian
(corner Grinder). Initially, this power tool was not intended for sharpening knives in any way, nevertheless, it should be sharpened for grinding wheel a grinder's knife is quite possible, but again it is necessary to observe all safety measures when working with a grinder.
4. Belt electric grinding
This power tool is mainly used not for sharpening knives, but for finishing after sharpening on a machine or grinder.
The disadvantage of the above methods is that these tools are construction tools, take up a lot of space and therefore it makes no sense to buy them specifically for sharpening knives. And if something of the above is already in the farm, then no one forbids using it. For example, in the country you have to sharpen knives, hoes, scissors and scissors with a grinder and electric belt grinding.
5. Electric sharpener for kitchen knives
There are more and more such sharpeners lately. They are made specifically for sharpening kitchen knives, have relatively small size and it is safest to sharpen knives on such sharpeners. There are a lot of models of electric knife sharpeners for kitchen knives, from simple and cheap ones with a price of $ 10-15 (A), to semi-professional ones, with a price of $ 100-150 (B), which allow sharpening in several stages. Electric kitchen knife sharpeners look something like this:
Photo 1... Electric sharpeners for kitchen knives, scissors
To sharpen a knife with such an electric sharpener, you need to insert the knife with the cutting part into the corresponding slot and hold the knife back and forth several times.
Manually
Despite the fact that man has long conquered the most high mountains and the deepest depressions, has been flying into space for many years, knife sharpening by hand, which implies long and necessary grinding of the cutting part of the knife, is still in force. For sharpening knives used:
1. Sharpening stone(bar)
A great variety of such stones are produced, they are parallelepiped in shape or in the form of an elongated oval. Rectangular bars can be two-layer, i. E. consist of two stones of different grain size. However, the whetstone can be of any shape. Previously, when it was possible to buy a sharpening stone without any problems except in a dream, fragments of sharpening wheels from factories and factories were used to sharpen knives. Moreover, there were so many fragments of these that it can be assumed that people deliberately broke grinding wheels in production in order to be able to sharpen knives at home, although perhaps I am mistaken.
Be that as it may, the basic principles of sharpening knives on a whetstone have not changed much over the past several thousand years. The main things to know when sharpening knives:
1. As a rule, knives have one of the following cross-sectional shapes:
Picture 1... Basic cross-sectional shapes of the knife.
Form (A) is the easiest to manufacture and the most reliable from the point of view of resistance, as it provides almost the same rigidity and flexibility of the knife along almost the entire length of the blade. However, it takes the longest to sharpen knives of this shape, since the length of the cutting edges, indicated in Figure 1 by a red line, is maximum for such knives. Recently, knives with cross-sectional shapes (B) and (C) are becoming more common. Knives with this shape are sharpened faster. The angle formed by the cutting edges is usually in the range of 20-30 degrees. With a decrease in the angle, the length of the cutting edges increases; with a decrease in the angle, the cutting qualities of the knife deteriorate.
2. When we want to cut something, we press the cutting edge of the knife, formed by the cutting edges, on the object to be cut. In this case, the smaller the area of the cutting edge, the less force must be applied to perform the same action. In other words, it is much easier to cut, for example, carrots or potatoes. sharp knife, the more blunt, and the more blunt the knife, the more effort it takes to do this.
3. If people cut only vegetables and fruits and only on special boards, then the knives would remain sharp for a very long time after sharpening. However, the knives used for cutting meat with bones dull on these very bones very quickly and they have to be sharpened often, in an amicable way, after each large cutting of meat. When the knife is blunt, the cutting edges do not form a letter " V", but rather the letter" U". Therefore, the sharpening process is reduced to returning the edges to the shape of the letter." V".
4. When we run a knife over a whetstone or a whetstone over a knife, some of the metal is erased or scraped off by the grains of the whetstone, leaving characteristic scratches. The coarser the grains, the more metal can be scraped off at a time, but the deeper the scratches will be and the rougher the shape of the cutting edge will be. Therefore, for sharpening knives, stones of different grain sizes are often used. Sharpening stones with larger grains are used for primary sharpening - dressing. Sharpening stones with finer grains are used for finishing sharpening - lapping.
5. When sharpening, the knife blade must be held at an angle of 10-15 degrees to the bar, while the direction of movement is chosen as follows:
Figure 2... The direction of sharpening knives.
In this case, as a rule, after each movement, the knife blade turns 150-160 degrees and, accordingly, the blade moves in the opposite direction. Thus, both edges are sharpened and if the knife was not very dull, then sharpening it will take no more than 1 minute (the time for washing the knife after sharpening or wiping with a clean rag is not included here).
Note: below, in the comments, a certain expert who has read a lot of smart forums tried to explain for a long time that I have a lot of mistakes in the description and in general it will not work well to sharpen a knife in this way. For a long time I tried to explain that for ordinary purposes such a sharpening of a knife is quite enough. And then he even tried to display it on video. It didn't work out very well for a number of reasons. In particular, because the director is bad for me. Perhaps in time I will make a new video, but for now, if you wish, you can watch this video. True, the only thing that can be seen in it is that it takes no more than 20 seconds to edit the knife. So this video is nothing more than an answer to a question from doubting experts.
2. Sandpaper or paper
By by and large sharpening a very dull knife on sanding paper or sandpaper will not work, or rather, there is hardly enough patience, this method is more used to refine already sharpened knives. For example after sharpening a knife on a grinder or on a large grindstone.
3. Sharpening sets
Since it is not easy to maintain the angle of inclination when working with an ordinary sharpening stone, for lovers of simplicity and accuracy, special sharpening sets are sold, such as "Lansky" or "Spydeco", which allow you to sharpen knives at a given angle. The Lansky set is especially good in this regard. Sharpening a knife using the Lansky tool looks something like this:
Figure 3... Sharpening the knife on the Lansky tool.
1 - Clamp for clamping the knife blade.
2 - Clamp clamping screw.
3 - Guide holes for sharpening the blade at a specific angle.
5 - Handle.
6 - Sharpening bar attached to the handle. Typically, a set includes several bars of different grain sizes.
7 - Stand with handle and holes for fixing to the base.
These sets are not cheap: from $ 50 to $ 100. The set, among other things, may include paper instructions and even DVDs.
3b. Special file
By special file I do not mean ordinary metal files sold in building stores, and parallel cut cylindrical files included with some knife sets. Usually, the set of such knives also includes a stand, and the stand has a special compartment for a file. While the knives are relatively new and relatively sharp, the use of such a file still gives some result, but in cheap knife sets, the file becomes dull over time, just like the knives. This also includes ordinary metal files and needle files. To be honest, theoretically it is possible to sharpen a knife with a file or a file, but I have never tried it myself - there were always enough other available tools.
4. Sharpeners with a whetstone
Recently, more and more mechanical knife sharpeners have been produced that resemble electric ones in appearance: the same slots for inserting a knife blade, a handle for easy sharpening. The main difference is that the sharpening stones do not rotate, which means that you will have to drive on the stone yourself.
5. Sharpeners with incisors
Now appeared relatively the new kind sharpeners for knives. Outwardly, they may resemble sharpeners with a sharpening stone, only 2 metal cutters are used instead of a sharpening stone. When you sharpen knives on such a sharpener, the cutters remove the chips from the cutting edges. Thus, the process of sharpening knives is accelerated as much as possible, it is enough to force the knife through the cutters once or twice. The main disadvantage such sharpeners are that with frequent sharpening, the knife blade literally melts before our eyes and the knife lasts no more for 3-5 years, then you have to buy a new one.
6. Any stone
including cement. If nothing of the above is at hand at all, but you still need to sharpen the knife a little, then you can use the knife on any stone that turns up under your arm. Once upon a time I had to sharpen knives in this way.
But no matter how the knife is sharpened, the main rule must be remembered: the knife blade must be absolutely clean before sharpening, in the sense that there must be no fat on the blade. Fat is a natural lubricant, and since in the vast majority of cases friction is used when sharpening knives, there is no need for lubrication.
And yet, progress does not stand still, now ceramic knives are increasingly used in households instead of steel ones (now stone is replacing metal). Over time, ceramic knives also become dull and need