Sharpening a knife at home is not difficult. Personally, I do this regularly. I also suggest you figure out how to sharpen knives correctly and which tools are best to use for this.
Necessary tools
To learn how to sharpen knives correctly, first you need to get acquainted with the tools that you can use for this. Each of them has its own characteristics and advantages:
- Musat... Outwardly, this device resembles an ordinary file. It consists of a long round bar, a notch and a handle. Musat is meant to fix the cutting edge of a knife.
Musats constantly maintain the working condition of the knife. But if the blade is too dull, this tool will not help.
- Electric sharpener... An excellent way of high-quality sharpening not only kitchen knives but also scissors and screwdrivers. In just two minutes, the tool will help you first sharpen and then grind any type of blade.
Sharpen knives correctly on electrical appliance will not be difficult - he himself determines the required sharpening angle.
- Mechanical sharpener... Affordable, but not entirely effective. Mechanical sharpeners are popular because of their simplicity, low cost and ability to restore the sharpness of the blade. And yet it is impossible to achieve with a mechanical device perfect result... In addition, the blade after it soon becomes dull again.
- Abrasive wheel machine... This is a professional tool that is usually used in industrial plants. I do not recommend working on a grinding machine without experience. At a certain temperature maintained on the machine, the material of the knife is hardened, and improper heating will cause irreparable harm to it.
- Grindstone... One of the most effective instruments for sharpening knives. But the process of using it requires certain skills.
There are several types of tools: diamond, ceramic, Japanese water stones, natural. Between themselves, they differ in the degree of surface graininess (like sandpaper). In natural stones, the frequency of grains is usually finer, while artificial ones are produced with varying degrees of grain on both sides of the bar.
Sharpening a knife with a whetstone
How to sharpen with a sharpening stone to get a high-quality result? You need to know which block is better to choose and at what angle to hold the knife.
Choice of stone
In order for sharpening with a stone to be successful, you need to pay attention to it:
- The size... The length of the tool should be approximately one and a half to two times the length of the blade. In extreme cases - equal to the length of the knife;
- Surface... Examine the surface of the tool carefully - it should be flat and free of chips;
- Functional... You can purchase universal tool medium hardness. But it is better to buy a stone with two types of grain at once.
Tilt angle selection
To achieve the desired result, you need to choose correct angle sharpening. It depends on the type of knife:
- 25 ° - for professional chefs and sirloin;
- 10 ° –20 ° - for Japanese knives;
- 30 ° –45 ° - for hunting blades;
- 30 ° - for kitchen knives.
5 steps to sharpening a knife with a stone
So, instructions on how to properly sharpen a kitchen knife with your own hands using a double-sided bar:
| Illustration | Description of actions |
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Step 1. Preparation of the stone... Before sharpening knives with a bar, it must be prepared. To do this, rinse the instrument in water or vegetable oil. |
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Step 2. Installing the support... Place the wooden kitchen board or another object that can act as a support for the bar. For convenience, you can build a small holder from wooden block and a few nails as shown in the photo. |
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Step 3. Fixing and getting started... Adjust the kitchen knife to the desired angle. Remember to keep the same slope throughout the entire work. Make sure the top of the handle is in contact with the bottom of the block. Follow the trajectory shown in the photo. You shouldn't put too much pressure on the blade, but you don't just need to iron it either. |
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Step 4. Basic work.
Drive alternately with both sides of the blades until a kind of "burr" appears on it. This is a signal that the excess metal is worn out, and there is no point in grinding it further. During the sharpening process, the surface will appear metal dust, which will need to be rinsed with water from time to time. |
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Step 5. Finishing. Flip the block over to the finer grain side. Sand the blade with the same strokes. |
You just have to check the sharpness of the blade by cutting a sheet of paper or a tomato with it.
Finally
Now you know that correct sharpening knives - an easy task. The main thing is to choose the right tool and learn how to use it. Visual instructions you will find on sharpening knives in the video in this article.
If any nuances on the topic remain unclear, ask questions in the comments - I will be happy to help.
During general cleaning at home, you can pay attention to those things that you have been putting off all the time, referring to the fact that they are not of paramount importance. These processes include dismantling cabinets with things, preventive maintenance of the sewer, washing batteries or sharpening knives.
Today we want to talk about how to sharpen a knife at home, how to do it correctly, what devices to use, work with a bar, stone or sharpen on emery. We will try to tell you how to sharpen knives correctly using a bar, musat, a sharpening stone, a machine and a special sharpener.
Sharpening a long knife on a bar
And it's a trifle that the knives are not sharpened
In the life of each of us there has probably been a case when it is necessary to cut food at a fast pace, but this cannot be done, since all knives are dull, and not a single kitchen cleaver can help us. It is at this moment that the realization comes that they need to be sharpened from time to time.
The easiest and most affordable way of sharpening for everyone is to demolish the knives to the master, who will quickly and skillfully sharpen all the knives for you on a special machine, emery. But, firstly, you will have to go somewhere from home, and secondly, the specialist will need to be paid for the work, and this is not included in our plans. It's very good that this is not the most difficult task, which can be solved at home with the necessary items.
Cutting vegetables with a normal tool is easy
By the way, when sharpening knives on a machine, there is another unpleasant moment that is worth mentioning. Majority good knives during production, they are tempered, this is done in a simple and reliable way, the metal is heated, and then sharply cooled. After such a procedure, the metal becomes stronger at times.
During sharpening on a grinding machine, the reverse procedure takes place, the metal heats up strongly, and then cools down in calm conditions, losing part of its strength qualities.
Thus, such a sharpening is not suitable for every knife; it is much better to sharpen such objects with a regular bar or musat. With such manual sharpening in a quiet mode, the metal will not heat up, its characteristics will remain the same, and you can hardly damage the blade much. In addition, at home, you can also sharpen the blades sharply, no worse than a machine.
Types of sharpening devices
During operation, the knives become dull in any case, since when cutting any products, microscopic particles of material are separated from them. The well-known friction force is to blame for everything, despite the fact that the products are much softer than the knife itself, they still contribute to the abrasion of its blade. This process takes place constantly, with each use of the knife, no matter how sharp and well you sharpen it, it will still dull.
Thus, we have nothing to do but sharpen our knives from time to time. To do this, we can use a variety of devices:
- Sharpening stones, an old-fashioned tool, proven over the years, easy to use and reliable. It is easy and convenient to work with a bar, it is inexpensive, and serves long time... A bar, or as it is also called a grindstone, can be used by anyone.
- Musata are used more for dressing the blade than for sharpening it. These simple tools come with a set of knives, you can look at it at home. It is very easy to use such a tool correctly, because it is very similar to a file in handling.
- Mechanical and electrical knife sharpeners, the best way for housewives today. Sharpeners cannot handle only the thickest blades, while others they sharpen perfectly. However, even when used correctly, the knives will become dull quickly.
- Grinding machines are mainly used by professionals in workshops and require certain skills in their work.
The simplest household knife sharpener
Let's take a look at using all of these tools in turn, starting with the whetstones.
Bars
Sharpening stones are available at hardware stores and come in various rectangular shape... In order to sharpen the knife blade with their help, it is necessary to carry out the following manipulations:
- Before sharpening, the knife blade must be moistened with water, or use mineral oil specially produced for this purpose.
- It is necessary to firmly grip the bar by its lower edge; we plan to sharpen the knife in one direction, away from us. It is very important that it is the knife that moves along the bar, and not vice versa.
- Then we lean our knife against the beginning of the grindstone with a sharp edge at a certain angle, and smoothly move it to the end, pressing it evenly. Depending on the type of knife, the sharpening angle can vary from 15 to 45 degrees. For optimal sharpening of ordinary kitchen knives, it is best to use 20-25 degrees. If you take a smaller angle, then in the near future you will have to sharpen your knife again.
- Then we repeat the movements many times, gradually increasing the speed of the knife and constantly wetting the bar with water.
- From time to time we change the side of the knife and repeat the above steps. Burrs, which will be directed exclusively in one direction, will become a guide for the end of sharpening, their size will depend on the size of the grain on the bar. It is advisable to have at your disposal not one whetstone, but several. Sharpening stones with coarse grains must be used for direct sharpening of the blade, and with fine ones for grinding it.
Note that the block should be at least 5 centimeters wide and at least twice the length of the sharpened blade.
The technique of working with a bar
To determine the level of sharpening of the blade, you can take a regular sheet of paper and try to cut it by weight. If the knife goes tight on the paper, tears it, bends, then it is worth continuing sharpening, if it goes smoothly, then it is sharpened sharply and ready to be used for its intended purpose.
You should not check how sharp the blade is with your finger; in this case, cutting yourself is a trifling matter. It is better to take an ordinary tomato, put a knife blade on top of it, and pull it towards yourself without effort and pressure. If the sharpness of the blade is enough for the knife to enter the tomato, then you sharpened it perfectly, if not, you should return to repeated procedures.
Experienced craftsmen assess the sharpness of knives visually by holding them up to the light. If there are reflections on the blade, then there are poorly sharpened areas.
Musat
The original name musat has an item used for sharpening and dressing the blades of knives. It looks like a metal cylinder on a handle or a strip with two edges. Musat is very similar to a file, it is even used the same way... In most cases, there is such a tool in every set of knives.
There are a lot of varieties of musats, among them there are round and faceted, diamond and ceramic, metal. However, the way they are used is always the same.
Musat technology
To sharpen a knife with musat, you must install it vertically, holding the handle. The knife blade must be leaned against the surface of the musat near the handle at an angle of 20-25 degrees, and then hold the knife in a circular motion, smoothly going down. Thus, it is necessary to sharpen the blade from both sides to the required state.
Sharpener
To facilitate sharpening knives at home, for example, ordinary housewives have long thought of simple sharpeners... They consist of metal circles with notches, fixed in a plastic case. To sharpen the blade of a knife, it must be placed in a special hole and pulled with some force. Rotating metal discs will remove some of the steel and sharpen the blade.
V recent times electric knife sharpeners began to appear in stores. They work on a similar principle, but you don't need to pull the knife out of the hole until it is sharpened. The quality of work of such devices is quite acceptable, but the knives later quickly become blunt again.
Electric knife sharpener
Ceramics
Literally ten years ago, no one heard of ceramic knives, but now they are in almost every home. It is believed that ceramics does not dull at all, and always remains in excellent shape, at least the manufacturers swear about this.
However, in practice, we see that the ceramic knife also dulls, its cutting characteristics deteriorate with use, even if you use it correctly, solely for its intended purpose. Therefore, many people are interested in the question of whether it is possible to sharpen ceramic knives at home.
Sharpening a ceramic knife on a grinding machine
Various experts say that you can't sharpen a ceramic knife at home, but our craftsmen have figured out how to do it. It has long been known that it is impossible to sharpen a ceramic knife on a machine with an ordinary disc, and otherwise you cannot sharpen it corny, but you can use a circle with corundum or diamond dusting and then everything will work out.
The mode for sharpening should be taken to the minimum in order to minimize the beating of the device against the blade, while pressing the ceramic knife with force is not necessary, a small touch is enough. Yes, it will take a lot of time to work with a knife, but the result will be good and will remain so for a long time. After all the sharpening work, the knife can be washed in water, and it is ready to cut our favorite vegetables again.
As you can see, there are no big difficulties in sharpening a knife, be it a kitchen or a hunting knife, there is not much difference. This is a simple and systematic work that must be carried out from time to time so that the cooking process does not take a lot of energy and nerves. It is best to use a regular whetstone, abrasive stone, or special sharpeners at home.
This tool is very similar to a file: a long rod with a round cross-section, with a notch and a handle. It is mainly used to straighten the cutting edge of a knife. The thing is useful, as it allows you to constantly keep the knife in working order. But if the blade is very dull, it is not an assistant for you - you need a major sharpening.
2. Mechanical sharpener
cook-r.ruNot a bad thing that every housewife should buy. Well suited for sharpening kitchen knives, as it does it quickly and easily. True, the quality is not always pleasing, and the knives dull as quickly as they sharpen. For a kitchen knife, this method is suitable, but no more.
3. Electric sharpener
klevin-knife.ru A great way to quickly and at the same time sharpen high-quality knives with any type of blade, as well as scissors and even screwdrivers. The device is able to sharpen in two minutes, and then grind any blade. It is important that it automatically determines the desired sharpening angle, but we will talk about this below. Such a thing will cost from 2 to 50 thousand rubles, depending on the sharpening speed, guide system and power.
4. Machine with an abrasive wheel
kak-eto-sdelano.livejournal.com This is a professional tool used to sharpen and grind blades in industrial plants. Without experience, it is better not to climb to the machine: steel is hardened at a certain temperature, so uncontrolled heating on the machine during sharpening can irreparably damage the knife. Leave this method to the professionals.
5. Sharpening stone
tojiro.spb.ru Sharpening with a sharpening stone is one of the most effective ways... This process is not easy, but entertaining. Perseverance and some experience with the bar are required. For sharpening, you need two stones: with small grains and large ones.
There are two types of sharpening stones: natural and artificial. The whole difference is in grain size: natural stones usually fine-grained, they are used for grinding. And artificial ones are initially made more versatile, with different degrees of grain for different sides bar.
How to sharpen knives
vottak.net Before proceeding to the sharpening process, lower grindstone 15 minutes in oil or water. This will prolong the life of the bar, since particles of steel will not be clogged between the grains.
Sharpening should start with a coarse-grained stone. It is important to correctly position the blade relative to the surface of the bar, as the final result largely depends on this. The correct sharpening angle is also important: experts advise sharpening the blade at a 20-degree angle, but this can vary depending on the type of knife.
- Professional chef knives and fillet knives require a 25 degree angle.
- Japanese kitchen knives should be sharpened at an angle of 10-20 degrees.
- For hunting blades, an angle of 30 to 45 degrees is used. A larger angle is required for greater resistance to blunting.
- For household kitchen knives, an angle of 30 degrees is sufficient.
The rule here is simple: if you want to make the knife sharper, we decrease the sharpening angle, and for greater resistance to dullness, we increase it.
It is necessary to sharpen in continuous movements, raising the handle at the moment when the bar reaches the bend of the blade. This will maintain the angle of the cutting edge. It is important that the movement of the blade is perpendicular to the edge, with a little pressure on the blade.
Grinding
lastday.club When we have completed the main sharpening, we start grinding. This requires a fine-grained stone. Sanding is necessary to level the surface and remove the burr. At the same time, the technique remains unchanged.
Output
In theory, everything is pretty clear, but in practice, the process of sharpening a knife is far from the easiest. We'll have to be patient and attentive: one awkward movement, and all the work down the drain. Theory is great, but you can't do without practice in this matter. And the process itself is not cheap, since good whetstones cost a lot of money.
If you just need to sharpen your knives, without all this fetish, get an electric sharpener. The result will be the same, and this method will also save your nerves and time.
Hello again!
One day he comes up to me, my comrade:
- Tyomich, - he says, - went all over the Internet and did not find information on how to sharpen a knife. Will you write an article?
- Yes, no problem, Lech! - I say to him, - just something I can't believe that you, a well-known "hacker" in narrow circles, could not find the necessary information.
To which Lech replies to me:
- Yes, I found it, of course, but it’s somehow clever, and you’ll explain it on your fingers ...
Well, I think, why not. So an article about sharpening knives was born.
Introductory
Sharpening was carried out on a simple kitchen knife, produced by unknown comrades from the Middle Kingdom. The knife was cleaned of dirt, slightly polished and, of course, sharpened. You can see what happened below.
It is unlikely that everyone uses Japanese Damascus kitchens, although the principle of sharpening is the same. Still, it doesn't matter what to sharpen: a Chinese knife for 100 rubles or a Japanese (German) knife made of VG steel10 thousand for 15 rubles, or even more expensive.
The only question is how long the knife will keep sharpening. And this just depends on the quality of the steel and the geometry of the blade.
Theory
A bit of theory. As in any business, we cannot do without theoretical knowledge.
Knife geometry
If you still do not know the anatomy of a knife, that is, what a knife is, I advise you to read. The article is encyclopedic, but the basic terms, I hope, will be clear.
Take any knife and look at it from the side of the edge.
What do you see? Well, except for the tip. Can't you see anything? Weird! Must see WEDGE. Have you seen it now? Here's something similar:
The cross-section of the knife is a wedge formed by the slopes. Which allows the knife to cut or chop (it all depends on the purpose of the knife).
And since the slopes form too sharp an angle, somewhere on the order of 10 degrees, this will not allow the knife to remain sharp for a long time (the cutting edge will necessarily curl up or crumble, depending on the steel). In order to prevent this from happening, they do carts, which form the cutting edge (RK).
For some steels, such a "feint with the ears" is also used, such as micro leads. Micro leads allow to increase the service life of the RK on some steels, but this feint does not always work.
Thus, the task of sharpening is to create the correct lead-in angle. This angle can be different. Different tasks require different sharpening angles.
For example, a fillet knife (designed for thin cutting of meat and fish) is sharpened at an angle of 30-40 degrees,
A machete or a survival knife, which is most often used to chop something, is 50-60 degrees. But most often, knives are sharpened at an angle of 40-45 degrees, which is recognized as optimal for solving most household tasks.
Let's move on to physics.
Physics of the sharpening process
Did everyone study physics at school? How does the hard interact with the soft, if the softer material is rubbed against the harder?
Most often, soft, under the influence of frictional force, wears out. This is also the case for sharpening. Soft, in our case, is a knife, and hard is an abrasive bar.
Under the influence of solid inclusions of a grindstone, metal particles are abraded. Which, in turn, leads to the appearance of a sort of micro-saw on the cutting edge of the knife.
This micro saw can be seen on the cutting edge of any knife if you look closely. It can be seen especially well on new knives. I tried to photograph her.
Do you see vertical transverse stripes on the cutting edge? These are the marks of a whetstone. In the picture below, you can see in more detail.
Thus, it turns out than smaller size hard inclusions of a whetstone, the finer the microsaw will be on the cutting edge. Accordingly, the finer the micro-saw, the longer the knife will stay sharp. Which is what we need.
That's all physics ... And now it's time to move on to practice.
Practice
Theory is good, but you need to practice as much as possible, then your hands will remember and the whole process will settle down in your head.
The most important thing in sharpening is correct retention of the angle. And that takes practice. The more you practice, the better you get. Well, as in any business that requires skill and patience. I dare to assure you that the first time you will not be able to sharpen the knife. But with due diligence ... you get the idea.
Tool
So, for sharpening you need a sharpening stone, a little of any machine oil and a knife, which we will sharpen.
Grindstone
At any hardware store, buy a plain bar. It comes in the shape of a boat, but it is better to buy a double-sided and longer one. When you start to succeed, you will acquire something more solid. Diamond bars, for example ...
The bar should not be shorter than 150 millimeters. Why so, you can be convinced just by trying to sharpen on bars of different lengths. The longer the block, the more convenient it is to sharpen.
Butter
We need machine or weapon oil. Oil is needed to lubricate the bar during the sharpening process, so that the bar is not clogged with metal particles.
In no case should you use organic oil, such as sunflower oil. The bar will instantly become greasy and can be thrown away.
For the first time, do not take a new knife or one that you use constantly. Find a knife you don't mind ruining. And train on this. My experimenting knife was this old, old kitchenette.
Well, there is a tool, let's start sharpening.
Sharpening process
We sit down more comfortably. We put the block on the table in front of us, with the short side facing us. You can put something like a rubber mat or newspaper under the block so that it does not crawl on the table when sharpening.
We take a knife and begin to sharpen it.
The sharpening process takes place on whetstones of different grain sizes. From large to small. The coarser the grain, the faster metal is removed from the blade. And the smaller the grain, the finer we get a micro-saw on the cutting edge, and the finer the micro-saw on the RK, the longer the knife will stay sharp.
Since we sharpen a kitchen knife, we do not need a razor sharpness, it is enough for the knife to cut food well. I will tell you about checking the sharpening result below. And now I will repeat myself.
The bar lies on the table with the short side facing you and the coarse grain facing up. Easily and naturally, without much pressure, we begin to form the cutting edge. Pre-dripping a few drops of oil on the bar.
Moving away from you, shown in the picture below.
Please note that the movement of the knife on the stone should be clear and consistent. From mouth to tip.
They brought it to the edge, tore it off again. Repeating this movement many times, we achieve the formation of a burr with back side blades, along the entire length of the cutting edge.
Many times - I “bent” it a little, of course. Kitchen knives, if they are not "Japanese", are made of fairly soft steel, it will be enough to make 40-50 movements to get the desired result. Do not forget to add a few drops of oil as the bar gets dirty.
The burr can be seen or felt. Slide your finger across the cutting edge, feel that your finger is clinging to something. Some roughness is felt. This is the burr, which should be uniform along the entire length of the cutting edge.
Well, we're done with one side. Now you need to perform the same actions on the other side.
You can sharpen the other side by holding the knife by the handle with your left hand, but for example, it's not convenient for me, because I keep the knife in right hand, but I do not sharpen from myself, but to myself.
We carry out the procedure for obtaining a burr along the entire length of the cutting edge on the other side of the knife.
Now you can go to the shallower side of the grindstone. On the shallow side of the bar, you need to repeat all of the above.
That's the whole sharpening process. It seems to be not difficult, but it requires certain skills and a lot of patience.
Sharpening angle control
It is very difficult to hold the knife in the right position. After all, the most important thing is to keep it at a certain angle during the entire sharpening process. And if on the one hand it is even more or less convenient, then on the opposite side it is quite difficult to get to the right corner.
You can use the "crutch method". That is, some improvised devices or techniques.
Crutch first
Simple stationery clip... We put it on the blade and get an approximate angle of 20-25 degrees (meaning half of the total sharpening angle).
Instead of a clamp, you can make small templates at the desired angles, for example, from wood.
Second crutch
This is not an adaptation, but a technique. Take a simple permanent marker and paint over the carts. When sharpening, the paint will be erased at the points of contact between the carts and the sharpening stone, which will allow you to see what needs to be done - raise the butt or lower it.
Crutch third
A technique for experienced grinders, but the most effective.
The correctness of the angle is determined by the highlights on the leads. When illuminating the sharpened side at a certain angle, glare appears on the leads. These highlights clearly show where the corner is filled up.
I can't show you a picture, it's quite difficult to photograph it, and you can't explain it with words. This is a must see ...
There are several more devices and techniques, but I will talk about them in another article. After all, we still need to check what happened. How good, after all the efforts, we sharpened the knife.
Checking the pungency
A well-sharpened knife should shave off forearm hair with ease.
After sharpening the next knife, from wrist to elbow, I don't have a single hair left, and only on my left hand. Looks cool - one hand is hairy, and the other is carefully shaved)))
The poems are taken from an excellent public brutalica.ru
The knife should shave off the hair, and what is called, “with a rebound”. That is, without pressure and at the slightest touch.
But in fact, such a sharpness is not needed.
Especially women will swear. After all, they should cook delicious dinners using a knife. And with such a sharpness, you can cut yourself like hello. And you will not feel anything, you will notice only when the blood flows. Checked on myself.
Therefore, a well-sharpened kitchen knife should easily cut a soft, fresh loaf of bread, shred tomatoes for salad (just not shop balls from abroad, but such good juicy tomatoes with thin skin, you can find these on the market with grandmothers) and easily cope with cling film, stretch film is also called (if the knife is dull, it is easier to tear this stretch film with your hands than to cut it).
Does the knife pass all three tests, or at least one of them? Congratulations! You have managed to sharpen the knife properly. If not, then you will have to work more ...
Conclusion
What can I say. When sharpening, you need to develop certain skills. This is not a bicycle where I learned once and remembered for my whole life. This requires constant training so that the hands remember the position of the knife and the angle of its inclination.
In general, sharpening a knife - good method relaxation and distraction. Hands are busy, and the head turns off. You sit ... shirk ... shirk ... shirk ..., turned it over ... and again - shirk ... shirk ... shirk ... The most important thing is that your wife doesn't need a sharpened knife at that moment ... to chop up the salad :-)
So, I advise you to sharpen (it is to sharpening, there is also such a thing as “editing a knife”, this is a little different) to approach thoroughly, and not from a running start.
In this funny picture, let me take my leave until the next article ...
How to sharpen knives with a bar correctly? To answer this question, you need to understand that this tedious task is necessary so that there is always a well-sharpened knife in the kitchen, which is extremely necessary when preparing food.
Damascus steel has long been considered the best for blades.
Correct sharpening of the cutting edge of this object requires the presence of the knife itself made of high-quality steel and a sharpening tool (bar). Along with this, when carrying out the operation, you should be patient.
How to check the sharpness of a kitchen knife?
Even if this item is of high quality (branded), sooner or later it will become dull and it will have to be sharpened again. But before that you need to check how sharp its blade is. How to do it at home?
There are several methods for this. A hemp rope is taken and folded in four. If you manage to cut this "lace" with a knife in one go, then the blade is still sharp.
If you don't have a rope, you can try to trim a hair on your forearm. If this succeeded the first time, then you can continue to use the knife.
If the above methods show that the cutting edge is worn away, then the tool must be sharpened.
Knife steel that is too hard is brittle.
The blade steel usually has a hardness of 45-60 HRC. Too soft metal will bend, and very hard metal will crumble. The angle of sharpening of the blade directly depends on the hardness index - the harder it is, the more the blade should be inclined during turning.
At home, you can check the hardness of the knife in this way: you need to take a file and hold it along the blade. If the tool slides when pressed lightly, and when pressed hard, it scratches the surface of the blade, then the hardness is normal.
Back to the table of contents
How to sharpen knives at home?
To sharpen the blade, you need to choose a quality sharpening tool, and this is a rather complicated matter. On modern market a variety of tools are presented: a variety of grinding stones, musats, abrasive stones, mechanical and electric sharpeners.
Cost at professional tool quite high, but you cannot save on it, since a bad block can ruin the knife blade. Cheap sharpening tools are not worth buying - they do not provide the required level of sharpening of the blade, but only create the illusion of sharpness.
A good, high-quality bar has a rather high price - it can reach several tens of American dollars. Well-established manufacturers of these products offer the buyer professional stones for sharpening blades with a different number of abrasive grains for each cubic millimeter of the tool. This indicator is usually given on the packaging of the bar, but it must be taken into account that in different countries grain setting systems are different, so you must first understand the standards that exist in a particular state.
The combined bar contains abrasives of different sizes.
To make a high-quality sharpening, you need to purchase a set of two bars. The first is for sharpening the blade, and the second is for grinding it. For professional use, it is best to purchase 3-4 bars with different grain sizes.
Russian manufacturers offer the consumer sharpening stones with undefined markings or even completely without them. Therefore, when choosing (especially when you need to keep within the scanty budget), Russian bars have to rely on luck.
You can also use sharpening tools when sharpening - they are needed for dressing the cutting edge without sharpening. Such a tool looks most like a file and is sold at any hardware store. Most often, musat is used to straighten cutting blades used in the kitchen, which are often dull due to constant work. But this can only be done until the knife loses its sharpness. Then only sharpening with a bar will help.
It must always be remembered that to obtain a high-quality cutting edge with a rectangular sharpening stone, it is necessary to spend at least ½ hour. If you need to sharpen a long forged knife or a dagger to get perfect shape master blades take more than 25 hours. So patience is the main thing in this work.
Sharpening machines are only suitable for rough sharpening of knives.
Professional abrasive wheel machines and grinding belts can be used. But this requires special skills. If they are not there, then at any attempt to sharpen a knife on them, a person will simply ruin it. At the same time, on such machines, the cutting edge is very sharp and quickly breaks down.
Mechanical sharpeners are used in everyday life for quick sharpening kitchen knives and scissors. They have a relatively low cost, and even a child can use them. However, the quality of work on this device leaves much to be desired, so hunting blades or daggers cannot be sharpened with it.
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How to sharpen a knife correctly?
At the beginning of the process, a coarser block is used. This continues to be done until a burr forms on the edge of the blade, which goes from the edge over the entire surface. After that, they switch to processing the knife blade using a bar with finer grains.
For the correct performance of the work, it is necessary to put a whetstone on a stationary surface (most often a table is used for this). This allows you to constantly monitor the entire sharpening process. It is only necessary to place a flat object under the block before starting the operation in order to prevent scratches on the supporting surface. The whetstone itself should be longer than the blade of the knife. The most optimal option when this ratio is 1.5: 1 or 2: 1.
Manual sharpening -optimal option for a knife.
Start the first pass with a knife on the grindstone with the cutting side forward, trying to ensure that the direction of movement approaches the perpendicular with respect to the edge. This is necessary to obtain good cutting properties. The blade should be at an angle of 20-24 ° to the surface of the grindstone. It must be kept within these limits when sharpening. To do this, raise the handle of the knife to the point where its blade begins to bend. The angle itself may have a different value, for example, when sharpening cutting blades, this indicator is higher. The main thing is that in the process of work the value of the angle does not go beyond the required limits.
During the movement of the blade along the bar, it must be moved perpendicular to the direction of movement in such a way that, at the moment of reaching the end of the stone, at the same time reach the edge of the knife. In this case, care must be taken that the cutting edge does not break off, otherwise it will be damaged. side surface blades.
The described movements should be repeated many times for both sides of the knife. We must beware of strong pressure on the whetstone - this will not speed up the work, and the processing accuracy will drop. You need to guide the blade along the bar evenly and accurately, without changing the angle; any inaccurate movement can ruin all the work. Learning how to sharpen a knife blade properly takes practice.
To do this, you will have to sharpen a lot of blades.