How to make a manual knife sharpening machine with your own hands. It couldn’t be sharper: we study the most effective devices for sharpening knives The simplest device for sharpening knives
I continue to sharpen the knife. I've already shown mine homemade device to make slopes (tapering surfaces of the blade). At the same time, I made a polishing disc, sewing several discs together so that they would not diverge. Next, the task was to sharpen the knife - to make cutting edges that form the cutting edge.
An attempt to sharpen it with a whetstone did not give me the result I needed, because the metal of the blade is hard and sharpening takes a lot of time. Therefore, I decided to make a homemade device similar to the one I made for forming slopes.
I installed the main part of the device - the angle - at the point where the surface of the grinding wheel is at an angle of 75 degrees to the vertical line. I used a regular corner piece and made a hole in the central part. I aligned the corners at 90 degrees so that the existing small semicircle would not interfere with work. I drilled a hole in the center for a 16mm bolt. A nut in the form of a clamp was welded to the bolt. A channel is installed at the bottom, the structure is pressed with a bolt and nut of 12.
The device can be raised or lowered with two nuts on the top bolt. When ascending, the sharpening angle will be larger, and when descending, it will be sharper (smaller). Using a clamp, the device can be moved towards the disk (for example, when the disk is ground down) or moved away from it.
The design can be simplified and you can install one long bolt so that you can immediately make descents or, lifting it higher, sharpen the knife to the desired angle.
The cutting edges are very smooth, as if made on milling machine. If you correct the edges on a small block, the knife will be razor sharp. The result is an almost perfect sharpening. The advantage of this device is that it is very simple design, which can be assembled from scrap materials.
Every housewife dreams of sharp knives. It is difficult to do without such cutting tools in the kitchen. Not everyone succeeds in sharpening correctly: it seems like you tried your best, but the knife still doesn’t cut well or quickly becomes dull. Often the cause of this is improper sharpening. You can get out of this situation if you use a knife sharpening machine.
Modification of sharpeners
The stores sell a large number of all kinds of devices and machines, ranging from the simplest to automatic machines. However, many of them either do not bring sharpening to the final goal, or are too expensive. All machines can be divided into three categories:
- superhard;
- hard;
- soft.
To sharpen the tool, you need to manually move it over the abrasive, achieving the desired effect. Many people use this method, but not everyone succeeds. The reason is that for proper sharpening, the sharpening angle must be strictly observed. It depends on the hardness and volume of the material being cut.
For the tools below The following angles in degrees must be maintained:
- razors - 8-12;
- blades for cutting fillets - 10-15;
- kitchen knives - 15-20;
- hunting tools - 20-25;
- heavy knives (for example, machetes) - 30-50.
The next thing you need to pay attention to when sharpening knives is the grain size of the abrasive material. To sharpen very dull knives, abrasives with coarser grains are used. This will help remove excess metal faster. When leveling the surface, use medium emery stones, and for grinding you need very fine grains. Usually On sanding wheels and bars the abrasive size is indicated in numbers:
- 300-350 - very large, used for pruning;
- 400-500 - average, allows for basic sharpening;
- 600-700 - shallow, you can level the blade on it;
- 1000-1200 - very fine, with its help it is possible to polish the tool.
To sharpen a knife by hand, place a block or emery wheel on a table or workbench and secure it. The cutting tool is held on the abrasive with the blade facing away from you, and set at the desired angle. At first they use a protractor. Subsequently, when certain experience appears, it will be possible to do without it.
They begin to sharpen the blade, strictly ensuring that the angle is maintained. This kind of work requires attention and experience, so it may not work out right away. It will be much more convenient to do it if you make a device for sharpening knives with your own hands. A self-assembled product will cost much less.
Use of machines
The most simple device which can be done at home is wooden corner. A block will be placed in it. The base is made in the form of a box, the size of which is selected according to the abrasive. The second side of the corner has the same shape and is mounted in a vertical position. To make the device more stable, the base is connected to a wide board.
A block is inserted vertically into the device. In this position the angle is 0°. To create the desired slope, the lower edge of the abrasive begins to be moved away from the vertical, the angle is measured with a protractor. To prevent the block from “moving”, a stop is placed at the bottom (you can simply screw in a screw). To sharpen the blade, move it along the sandpaper strictly in vertical plane. For fine processing and grinding, the bars are changed. Since the stone is ground unevenly, they constantly need to be leveled using harder stones. Using sandpaper eliminates such hassle.
To do this, you need to take sandpaper with coarse, medium and fine grain, as well as a leather belt. A block of wood is cut to the size of the abrasive and processed with sandpaper. One blank is made from a leather belt. Each face of the bar is numbered, and numbers are placed near the top and bottom edges. A tape with a large grain is glued to the plane numbered 1, 2 - with a medium grain, 3 - with a fine grain, 4 - leather from a belt.
The tapes are attached indented from the edge. Thanks to this, the numbers will be visible, and the block will fit into the grooves of the box. They begin to sharpen the blade from 1 or 2 and then move on to the next edges. As the sandpaper wears out, it is cut off with a knife and a new one is glued on. Compared to bars, paper is much cheaper.
This device can be modified. Vertical rack attached to the base through a hinge so that it can tilt back, increasing the sharpening angle. On the side where the stand tilts, a stop is placed, for example, two plates fastened together through longitudinal slots with a wing bolt or nut. In this case, the lower edge of the bar will be motionless.
Convenient designs
Although the designs described above have a number of advantages, they have one significant drawback - you need to constantly monitor the vertical of the blade, and this is tedious. It is much easier to work with an electric machine for processing kitchen tools.
Emery, as the device for sharpening knives is called, makes the task much easier. The blade is brought to the circle so that it is directed against its rotation. But even in this case, it is necessary to monitor the sharpening angle.
To make it easier to work, you can make wooden stand. It consists of two parts: the base and the corner itself. The support helps raise the knife to the desired height; another workpiece with an inclined platform is placed on it; it is this that will give the necessary tilt to the blade. You can make several such corners; they will be designed for different sharpening methods. To fix the guide, you can use nails without heads. They are driven into the base, leaving 10-15 mm, covered with paint, and a corner is placed on top. The painted areas are drilled with a drill of the same diameter as the nails.
The device works well when there is no casing covering the emery stone, but it is not entirely safe. In the case of using protection, you can use another sharpening stand. On the side of the electric sharpener, a wooden block with a vertical slot for the knife is installed. The height is selected so that the angle of the blade being sharpened corresponds to the required condition. The knife is inserted into the cutout and slides along it.
This electric sharpener has a significant drawback - it is difficult to set the sharpening angle. To get rid of it, the design should be complicated. To do this, a three-arm holder with the ability to adjust the angle is installed. It is attached directly to the sandpaper, but can also be used as independent device. To make such a device you need skills and special machines, and this is not suitable for everyone.
Another disadvantage is that when using an electric knife sharpening machine, the stone is ground down. It will have to be constantly adjusted during operation to make the blade sharp. In addition, with this method, the sandpaper is used irrationally; it has to be changed, throwing away a significant part of the abrasive.
Homemade devices
Some owners use a manual knife sharpening machine with an adjustable sharpening angle. The essence of such a device comes down to the fact that one of the elements (knife or abrasive) is in a stationary state, while the other is made to reciprocate. There are two groups of such machines:
- with fixed abrasive;
- with fixed blade.
The first group includes a trolley machine. The abrasive is installed on a flat surface. Treated stone or thick glass can be used as such a surface. To make the holder, a board 2-3 cm thick is cut out, its length should be approximately 1.5 times the abrasive material, the width does not play a decisive role. For best view and a flat surface is treated with a plane and sandpaper. Along the long edges, stops are nailed and glued to provide strength.
Then you should make the wedges. To do this, take the treated board again and cut out a rectangle. Its thickness should be equal to the height of the abrasive material, the length should approximately correspond to the width of the holder. To calculate the width of the device, you need to subtract the length of the abrasive and the width of the two stops from the length of the holder.
When assembled, you get the following picture: an abrasive and a wedge should fit on the holder between two stops. After this, the rectangle is cut diagonally, but not from corner to corner, but with a slight indentation, so that triangles with cut off vertices are obtained.
When the wedge and abrasive are placed in the holder, they begin to lightly hit the bases of the triangles with a hammer. These parts must slide over each other, their overall width increases, and the abrasive is clamped. To prevent the holder from moving on the glass, its bottom is covered with thin rubber.
The dolly will allow the knife to move while maintaining a constant angle. The wheels can be anything, you can use bearings, the main thing is that they are smooth. A guide with a blade holder is attached to the trolley. Here too There are two ways to adjust the sharpening angle:
- changing the height of the abrasive;
- turning the guide with the blade (in this case the cart must have 4 wheels).
In the second option, you can use a rotating mechanism.
Other models
Machine tools in which the tool being processed is stationary have become very popular. A kitchen or other knife is mounted on an inclined platform. Secure fastening obtained by using a magnet; all kinds of clamps (spring or threaded) are also widely used.
A rod is attached to the platform on the opposite side of the knife. It is allowed to use a steel rod with a diameter of 8 mm. The inclination of the platform is selected so that it approximately corresponds to the desired angle of the tool being sharpened. A latch is attached to the rod, which can be moved if necessary, thereby more accurately setting the angle. A guide moves freely in it - the same metal rod as the rod. For better sliding, a plastic or nylon bushing is inserted into the clamp.
At the other end of the guide (near the tool being sharpened) there are two brackets that are tightened with a nut or wing. A block is inserted into them and secured with a wing or nut.
The machine operates as follows: a blade is placed in the clamps on an inclined platform, a block is tightened with brackets on the guide, and the desired angle is set using a clamp. The angle is measured with a protractor mounted on the blade. The bar begins to make forward movements, processing the entire surface. During grinding, the abrasive is moved in only one direction - from the heel to the blade.
Another machine uses a trapezoid. The long sides are made of steel bars connected to each other wooden blocks. One rod is attached through a bearing to rotary mechanism, the other is a guide along which the block moves freely. The knife stand is installed under the carriage on a flat surface. If the first rod of the trapezoid gets in the way when sharpening the tool, the stand can be raised higher.
Thin paper, such as newspaper, will help determine the quality of sharpening. You need to try to cut strips out of it with quick and smooth movements. If this succeeds, then the blade is sharpened correctly.
A DIY knife sharpener will be very useful in the household.
With the help of fairly simple ones, you can carefully and safely sharpen cutting tools, which is simply necessary in the kitchen, fishermen and hunters, and in the workshop.
Of course, a wide range of sharpeners are offered in stores, but homemade devices will save you from unnecessary costs.
A dull knife is a torment for a housewife when she slices bread, cooks food, or cuts meat. Cutting with them is not only difficult, but also dangerous, because... exactly blunt instruments are more likely to cause injuries. There is no point in proving the need for a sharp blade for a fisherman, hunter, shoemaker, etc. It is absolutely clear to everyone that a knife requires periodic sharpening. Another thing is how to provide it.
Many people use tools such as abrasive stones, emery wheels and sandpaper, files. Most often, abrasive or grinding stones are purchased for these purposes, and the procedure itself is carried out “by eye”. After such sharpening, the knife becomes sharp, but also dulls quite quickly.
Why is this happening? The knife blade is made of various steels, has different thicknesses and sharpening parameters. The process of high-quality sharpening should completely restore the shape of the blade, and only in this case will its sharpness meet the planned standards.
Ensuring uniform sharpening without fixing the position and guide elements is very difficult even for professionals. The task is much easier when using special devices that allow you to stabilize the processing mode (loads, directions, speed).
To mechanize rather labor-intensive work, it is better to use appropriate sharpening machines. Both devices and machines can be made with your own hands.
Basic principles of sharpening
When properly sharpening a knife, the basic condition must be met: forming a sharp edge of the blade while maintaining its shape, which is ensured by removing metal at a certain angle.
Turning is carried out with an abrasive material that has different grain sizes. Its choice is determined strength characteristics become. Proper sharpening implies a certain order of work.
Sharpening angle
The effectiveness and quality of the event under consideration is limited by a fundamental parameter - the sharpening angle. Depending on their purpose, knives have the following meanings:
- Straight razors have the smallest angle – (7-11)°;
- fillet knives – (11-14)°;
- kitchen knives for most products, incl. bread, vegetables, meat, etc. – (16-21)°;
- hunting tools and knives for general technical purposes – (21-26)°;
- universal hunting knives – (21-40)°;
- a special tool that is used for cutting and chopping (for example, a machete) – (29-50)°.
The sharpening angle largely determines the thickness of the blade. At the smallest angles it should resemble a razor, and at large angles the possibility of manufacturing extra-strong, massive knives is created.
Important. Holding the abrasive element and the knife itself in your hands, it is very difficult to ensure a given angle along the entire length of the blade, which leads to uneven manual sharpening.
The main task of the device is rigid fixation one of the elements and a clear direction of movement of the second element.
Types and choice of abrasive
To sharpen knives you need abrasive stone which will ensure the necessary cutting of metal. The abrasive ability is provided by a certain surface grain size, i.e. the number of abrasive grains per unit area. According to this parameter, the following stones are distinguished:
- very coarse abrasives (international classification - extra coarse) - have a grain size of less than 260;
- coarse abrasives – 310-360;
- medium abrasives – 390-510;
- fine abrasives – 590-720. This is the main category of sharpening stones used for cutting knives;
- very fine (ultra, extra fine) or grinding abrasives. They are used for sharpening razors and fine surface finishing of knife blades.
By nature of origin abrasive stones are divided into natural or natural(corundum, slates) and artificial (ceramics, artificial diamond). In addition, rubber elements are sometimes used for fine processing. When using abrasives, their surface moistened with water or soap-water solution(water instrument) and oil(oil stones).
The shape of abrasives can be round (discs) or rectangular (bars). The bars are most often used, and they are selected so that length significantly exceeded the length of the knife blade.
To fully sharpen the tool, it is recommended to have 2 bars of medium and fine grain. It is better to complement the set with a very small stone. The best option It is considered the use of double-sided bars, in which one side has a medium grain, and the opposite has a fine grain.
Manual sharpening procedure
Any devices are intended to facilitate work and improve its quality, and the general order manual sharpening remains the same:
- The process begins with a coarse or medium-grained bar, which is laid on a plane. It is advisable to ensure its fixation.
- The knife blade is brought to the abrasive surface at an angle equal to half the sharpening angle. The main task is to ensure a constant angle throughout the event.
- With a smooth movement with light pressure, the blade moves from the beginning to the end of the block in the direction “away from you.” The edge of the bar must always be perpendicular to the direction of movement of the blade. Do not allow the blade to break off at the end of the stone.
- After reaching the edge of the bar, movement is carried out in the opposite direction, while the sharp edge must always be on the surface of the abrasive. Changing direction is achieved by turning the handle.
- The process is repeated until back side the edge of the blade will not have a burr along its entire length. She should move to the opposite side when changing direction of movement.
- Next, take a medium-grained block, but with smaller grains. Sharpening continues, but the movements are carried out initially only “from oneself” until the metal shines on one side, and then the second side is also processed.
- A fine-grained block is taken and the blade is processed until a mirror surface appears.
- If a small burr remains, sharpening is completed by using a very fine grit sanding block. Some experienced people prefer to use instead of such a block leather belt. It polishes the knife blade perfectly.
Homemade devices
Home craftsmen make sharpening devices various designs, but they all include 2 main elements - abrasive stone and knife fastening mechanism. A ready-made abrasive block is best suited for the device, but you can also make it yourself.
To do this, sandpaper of different grain sizes is glued to glass with a thickness of at least 4 mm. The connection can be ensured with double-sided tape.
Fixed device
One of the most simple devices done from 2 wooden blocks triangular shape . They are fastened together with thumbscrews. Between wooden elements The abrasive stone is clamped at the desired angle. This angle is set strictly according to the protractor.
When sharpening a knife on such a device, the blade must be constantly held strictly vertical. Naturally, ensuring such a direction is much easier than constantly guiding the knife at an angle.
Movable structure
To improve the quality of sharpening, it is necessary to fix not only the abrasive, but also the knife. You can also make such a device yourself. It is assembled on a flat, horizontal, massive surface. The device consists of 2 parts - rigidly fixed abrasive stone at the desired angle(similar to a fixed structure) and trolleys on wheels(on rollers) with a knife fixed horizontally.
The trolley moves manually along a guide rail. Provided by hand light pressure on the blade to the abrasive surface. This ensures the desired sharpening angle and eliminates the need to provide the desired direction manually.
Direction changes can be made different ways. The simplest one is to make a cart with wheels at the top and bottom. When the bar ends, the cart simply turns over.
Dot machine
Sharpening machines have a more complex design that allows you to change the sharpening angle. There are several options for a constructive solution:
- A knife is fixed on the platform with the possibility of adjustment. It is adjusted to the required angle and fixed permanently. Abrasive stone installed on a movable rod mounted on a vertical support. It moves strictly horizontally. Sharpening is ensured by moving the abrasive relative to the knife blade.
- It is fixed on a fixed frame, but the block can be moved along the guide to set the desired sharpening angle. The knife is installed in a movable table and secured magnetic holder, which makes it possible to turn it over.
DIY example
An example is the technology self-made sharpening accessory - analogue Lansky sharpeners. It has a standard design.
The knife is fixed on a horizontal base, and its fastening is ensured by magnet. The sanding element is located on a rod along which it can move perpendicular to the knife. The guide rod is installed in the holes of the vertical post.
These holes are drilled at an angle to the surface of the post and thus set a certain angle for the rod. Several holes are drilled vertically in the rack and by moving the guide you can also change the sharpening angle.
Manufacturing adaptations are carried out in the following order:
- On the base plate (, board, a metal sheet) on the edge slats are installed, limiting the displacement of the knife in the transverse direction. One of them is mounted in the slots with thumbscrews for fixing knives with different widths blades. In the center of the knife location area is fixed magnet.
- The emery block is secured on two pieces of corner, which are fastened with pins. Holes are drilled on both sides of this part for installation on the rod.
- Steel rod with a diameter of 10-15 mm is passed through the indicated holes, and is installed at the end limiter to prevent the block from falling. The other end is cut thread.
- On an aluminum U-shaped profile 30-50 mm wide, 5-6 holes are drilled with a diameter 1-2 mm larger than the diameter of the rod. The holes are drilled at an angle corresponding to the sharpening angles, taking into account the height of the location on the rack.
- The rod is installed V required hole And fixed bolts.
This device works in the following way:
- the knife is fixed on the base and attracted by a magnet;
- a block of the required grain size is installed on the sharpening element;
- the rod is fixed in the desired hole on the stand;
- by hand, the block moves along the rod, processing the blade, and the movement is carried out “from oneself” and “towards oneself”;
- with the other hand, the knife gradually moves in the longitudinal direction.
See detailed drawings, descriptions and illustrations of a knife sharpener with and without a magnetic holder in the video below:
Scissor sharpener
With the help of knife tools you can also sharpen scissors, but such an undertaking has its own specifics. The sharpening angle is within (60-74)°. Tailor's scissors usually have an angle of (72-74)°. The cutting part at the point of contact of both parts is flat, and the bevel is made on one side. Main sharpening carried out from the outer, beveled side. Inner surface Only sanded with a fine stone.
The process is carried out in this order:
- Disassembling scissors. To do this, you need to unscrew the screw holding the halves together and carefully separate them. A negative screwdriver is used.
- Using a coarse abrasive, it is carried out sharpening at the right angle. Movements are made only in one direction - “toward yourself”. Half of the scissors is held by the ring, and turning begins from the tip of the blade.
- Using small block, is carried out fine-tuning.
Some scissors cannot be disassembled. They can also be sharpened, for which they open up as much as possible. The halves are sharpened one by one.
How to check the sharpness?
There are several popular methods for checking the quality of knife sharpening:
- Paper. Take a sheet of paper (for example, for a printer) and cut off a strip at the edge. If the knife is well soaked, the strip is easily cut and has smooth edges. A dull knife crushes the edge and cuts unevenly, with tatters.
- Tomato. A sharp knife cuts a tomato in half evenly, while a dull knife crushes it.
- Hairs on the arm. A sharp blade works like a razor and cuts hairs, while a dull tool only crushes them.
- Sharpness can be checked finger, remaining cautious. The presence of burrs indicates poor quality processing. Absolutely straight edges indicate high-quality work.
Knives tend to become dull, making them difficult to use. Sharpening devices and machines will help solve the problem by ensuring the correct sharpening of the blade, restoring the specified angle. There are many designs of simple knifes, and the owner must decide which one to choose.
The myth about supposedly self-sharpening knives was quickly shattered... About everyday life. This is not surprising, the laws of physics are laws of physics, and even marketers, so to speak, are powerless against them. If there are no sharpened knives in the house, if you remember the famous bard, there is nothing good. Today the editors of the site will help solve the problem of dull blades and tell you how and with what you can properly sharpen a knife at home. We will introduce our readers to different types devices for sharpening knives, we will tell you about their effectiveness, and also teach you how to make a simple sharpening machine at home.
Read in the article
Types of devices for sharpening knives
A whetstone for sharpening knives is probably the very first device of this type. Simple, and, most importantly, accessible tool successfully copes with its task for many millennia.
To this day, the classification of machine tools depends on this once uncontested sharpener. Depending on the type of abrasive material, they can be:
- bars;
- sharpening stones.
By drive type:
- manual;
- electrically driven.
By place of use:
- domestic;
- professional.
However, in modern world a whetstone can only sharpen a simple hunting knife. In other cases, the quality will leave much to be desired. In addition, only soft metals can be sharpened with a stone; if the cutting part of the blade has a hardness above 55 HRC, you cannot sharpen it with improvised means.
Important! Each type of blade has a different edge angle. And during sharpening it must be held along the entire length of the processed surface of the product.
Some types of modern whetstones are still used today. An example of this natural stones– Japanese water stone (we showed it in the photo above) or American “Arkansas”. Master sharpeners even conduct special master classes on sharpening knives using natural stone. It is interesting that before the processing process it is soaked in water, sometimes with a soap solution, and after work it is dried. The whole process resembles a sacrament for initiates. Therefore, it should not be surprising that these breeds are too expensive, and in most sharpening devices artificial abrasive surfaces are used.
Knife sharpening stones
These are artificially turned bars with an abrasive coating, which are suitable for manual sharpening of both carpentry and plumbing tools, as well as kitchen knives.
The bars, depending on the material from which they are made, can have varying degrees of wear resistance and grain size. Let's consider the main types of materials that are used in the manufacture of sharpening stones:
- Natural stones, such as novaculite or Japanese water stone. Working with such a tool is not very easy. They require certain skills and craftsmanship.
- Diamond(with diamond coating) – can be of different shapes and grain sizes. Wear-resistant. Reasonable price.
- Ceramic. They are a more modern type of sharpening stone. They combine the strength of diamond coating with the hardness of natural stone.
- Artificial: electrocorundum or carbide. Quickly grinding abrasive is of low quality and the same price.
Artificial abrasives are created by mixing diamond powders of different fractions, as well as electrocorundum and carbide.
Important! Of great importance in this case is the material used to glue the rock together, as well as the percentage of all elements. The stronger and better composition(this also applies to the particles themselves), the more durable the sharpening abrasive will be.
Moreover, there are two types of bonding of elements - galvanic bonding and soft bonding. In the first case, the crystals are glued strictly to the surface of their base, made of a nickel alloy. In fact, the crystals are located in a very thin layer on the bar. A soft binder is a chaotic arrangement of binding and abrasive elements. The second type is less wear-resistant.
Sharpening stones for knives
If we talk in more detail about sharpening stones, we need to talk about the main types used in such tools, this will help you understand the process in detail and understand how to sharpen a knife correctly. But before talking about them, it is impossible not to mention the stages of sharpening, which in this context will play a decisive role in the description different materials and machine tools.
| Stage | Description | Illustration |
| Sharpening | Restoring a blunt edge without adjusting the sharpening angle. |  |
| Finishing | Grinding the edge with fine grain abrasives. |  |
| Edit | Polishing bevels and cutting edges with a ceramic pencil, GOI paste or on a leather belt. |  |
| Resharpening (deep sharpening) | Complete restoration of the desired sharpening angle, blade profile geometry and elimination of chips on the edge. Most often, such work is carried out on special machines. |  |
Let's move on to a description of the main options for sharpening stones.
Japanese water stones Waterstone
They are used equally effectively at all stages of sharpening. There are artificial analogues (ceramic based), but professionals use original, natural materials. Stones require special care, after all most important rule masters - a perfectly smooth surface of the grindstone.
A comment
Ask a Question“To check the degree of evenness of the stone, use simple method. Wet the timber and place it on a sheet of paper on a flat surface. The imprint will allow you to assess the level of evenness of the stone.”
Novaculites, or “Arkansas”, “Turkish”, “Belgian” stones, are natural slates and chalcedony interspersed with tiny particles garnet and quartz. Today they are used as natural stones, and their artificial substitutes.
Important! Stones only work in combination with a special oil lubricant. The extraordinary and unique structure of the stones allows them to be used at different stages of processing.
Musat for sharpening knives
Musat is a kind of file, most often installed vertically. The peculiarity of this tool is that its surface is magnetized, which means that metal flour will not fall on you.
Musats come in different shapes: round, faceted, flat with beveled edges Each variation has its own merits. For example, round musat weighs little, but oval sharpens better, since its edges provide more complete contact with the surface being processed. Tetrahedral ones are more universal; here you can better refine the required sharpening angle.
Household manual knife sharpening machines
We can talk for hours about the options and varieties of hand-held machines used in everyday life. These include the usual home mini-sharpeners, known to almost everyone, and more specific devices with a polishing wheel.
The easiest way to work is with mini-sharpeners that control the stroke of the tool. In this case, the degree of sharpening depends on the effort the person makes.
Household electric knife sharpening machines
Electric sharpeners are more convenient. Working with them saves time. Most often, such drive machines have different operating modes, which are regulated by switches.
Typically, such machines are compact, safe, simple and reliable, since all the grinding wheels are hidden inside the housing. In this case, the sharpening angle is adjusted by a special spring, which completely eliminates errors in sharpening.
Professional manual sharpeners for sharpening knives
Professional hand tool A bit like a carpenter's vice. The object to be sharpened, the knife itself, is clamped with special clamps.
The sharpening machine itself is mounted on a stop. Here it is very important to properly secure the machine and avoid the device slipping during sharpening.
A comment
Tool selection specialist at VseInstruments.ru
Ask a Question“If you do not have the skills to operate this tool, it is better to use automatic sharpeners. In addition, such a machine cannot be assembled without certain knowledge.”
Professional electric knife sharpening machines
Professional machines are distinguished by their versatility. Usually this is a device with a massive abrasive disc. Such tools allow you to sharpen not only knives, but also locksmith tool, for example, planes and chisels.
The combination of low speeds and constant cooling provides high-quality processing of products already at the stage of forming the cutting edge. And on final stages works provide the blade razor sharp. IN professional instrument A large number of attachments and replaceable discs are provided. Moreover, the clamp where the blade is secured can move freely along the support in the horizontal direction. Moreover, you can adjust the sharpening angle.
How to sharpen a knife correctly
For high-quality sharpening of the machine, you need experience and certain knowledge. Let's start with the basics.
Optimal sharpening angles and degree of sharpness for kitchen knives
It's no secret that there are a lot of knives for different materials. A good housewife has her own knife for vegetables and meat. Let's look at the correct sharpening angles for different tools.
| Tool type | Sharpening angle |
| Razor and medical scalpel | 10-50° |
| Professional for chefs | 20-25° |
| Universal | 25-30° |
| For complex work | 25-30° |
| Kitchen cutlery | 55-60° |
| For fillet | 15-20° |
| Home universal | 30-35° |
| Deboning and cutting | 25-30° |
| Professional for fish | 25° |
| Professional for vegetables | 35° |
| Hunting and “Swiss” (spicy) | 30-35° |
| Hunting and “Swiss”, resistant to blunting | 40-45° |
For your information! The sharpest knives are considered to be blades with a sharpening angle of 50°; such versions, with a certain grade of steel, can cut nails. When sharpening knives, you can vary the angle at your discretion within the mentioned range.
In general, the sharpness of a blade depends on the shape of the blade. And it, in turn, must correlate with certain clear correspondences of the relationships between the blade and the blade.
How to sharpen a knife at home with a whetstone
The process is simple, but quite painstaking. Without sharpening experience, trying this process is pointless. Usually masters use two sharpening stones with different abrasive densities - with large grains and fine ones.
A comment
Tool selection specialist at VseInstruments.ru
Ask a Question“The knife blade must be wet. You can use special oils or sharpening lubricants.”
The next step is choosing the sharpening angle. Here we focus on the table above and take the range from and to. Don't forget, the smaller the sharpening angle, the faster the knife will become dull. For a beginner, it will be difficult to maintain the same angle. In order to successfully complete this stage, it is important to hold the knife with both hands.
We start working on a coarse-grained stone, and then, when the edge grinding stage begins, with a fine abrasive
How to sharpen a knife with musat at home
Sharpening takes place by weight. The blade is passed along the entire length of the instrument; usually several such “passes” are enough.
To prevent the blade from slipping, the musat is equipped with a special stopper or guard, which prevents the blade from injuring the hand.
How to properly sharpen a knife on an electric sharpener
The sharpening process is practically no different from manual sharpening. The only difference is that in this case it is not the blade that is wetted, but the sharpening disk itself. Usually this happens automatically, like in the machines we talked about above.
Typical mistakes when sharpening knives with your own hands
Everyone knows that it is better to prevent mistakes than to correct them later. That is why the editors of the site have prepared a list of the most common mistakes beginners make when sharpening knives:
- Incorrect level of sharpening angle.
- Blade sharpening. It occurs when excessive pressure is applied to the sharpener by the blade, which can cause it to become damaged or even crack.
- Sharpening an unprepared tool or a worn sharpening disc.
- Use of musat at all stages of work. As we remember, musat is used to polish the cutting edge.
- Use fine-grained abrasive.
It is important to take into account all these subtleties already at the stage of organizing work. To learn how to properly sharpen a knife with a whetstone, watch this video.
Making your own knife sharpening machine
Purchasing a ready-made knife sharpening machine is not always necessary. For household needs, you can make it yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you create a mechanical or electrical machine, be guided, as mentioned earlier, by already existing diagrams and drawings.
What tools are needed to make a knife with your own hands?
To make a simple machine we will need:
- A piece of chipboard 10-12 mm thick. Can be used from old cabinet furniture.
- Wooden block.
- Metal rod M8 or M6.
- Sheet steel 1 mm thick.
- Fastening screws or nuts with washer corresponding to the diameter of the stud used.
- Abrasive material.
- Metal hacksaw or jigsaw
- Screwdriver.
Step-by-step instructions for making a do-it-yourself sharpening machine
Let's consider assembling a simple knife with your own hands from scrap materials.
| Illustration | Description of action |
 | As we can see, the base here is quite simple - several chipboards. Size - 37x12 cm. Pressure board - 30x8 cm. When lifted - something about 7 cm. |
| Nut with a diameter of 6 mm for fixing clamping mechanism The blade is attached to the lamb. The clamp itself is made of a piece of plexiglass; you can use a metal plate. | |
 | A magnet is used, attached to 2 self-tapping screws in a special recess. |
 | A groove is drilled into the plexiglass with a drill for free movement. |
| You can use ready-made special stones as a bar or make it yourself. | |
 | The sharpening process does not cause problems, the main thing is to follow the recommendations outlined above |
We tried to introduce you to the main points related to the right technology sharpening knives with your own hands, as well as with the features of this whole process; in addition, you now know how to make the simplest manual knife sharpeners with your own hands. And if you have questions for the author of the article, ask them in the comments and tell us about own experience, which will certainly be useful to our readers.
Any knife, even the best one, requires careful care. If you neglect this, then over time it may stop cutting. Therefore, it is important to choose the right knife sharpening device. Currently, you can find a huge number of stones and sharpeners in stores.
Types of sharpening stones
There are mainly three types of sharpening stones:
Features of sharpening various knives
To sharpen it yourself japanese knives, you must have sufficient skills in this field. After all, Japanese steel is very fragile, so it requires special care. Manufacturers recommend sharpening such knives on Japanese water stones. It is advisable to use several stones with different degrees of grain at the same time, which will help maintain the sharpness of the knives for a long time. for a long time. Of course, this process is not easy and requires patience.
But to sharpen kitchen knife, everyone is used to using a special sharpener. With its help, you can quickly and conveniently make any knife sharp. Of course, no housewife would want to use several stones for sharpening. However, thanks to their use, the knife will cut much better.
Conditions for sharpening
Choosing and purchasing a device for sharpening knives is only half the problem. It is necessary to ensure that the knife remains sharp for several months. To do this, you should choose a favorable angle for sharpening. Some believe that the smaller the angle between the edges of the blade, the sharper the tool will be. But this is not entirely true, since such an action can lead to the fact that the knife will soon lose its properties again. cutting qualities. That is, the sharper it is after sharpening, the faster it will become dull. In this case, a pattern can be identified: the smaller the angle at which the knife was sharpened, the less strength it will have. cutting edge blade.
Sharpening task
The main objective of this operation is to restore the sharpness of the blade. At the same time, the correct sharpening angle must be maintained. Therefore, we can say that in its process the angle that was set earlier is restored. This angle must fully comply with all technological standards. The task is completed if the knife can be used to cut the material for which it is intended.
What problems may arise during the work process?
Of course, choosing the right angle for sharpening is difficult. Moreover, such a process is difficult if there is no special device for sharpening knives. After all, if you hold the blade with your hands, it will be very difficult to achieve a uniform sharpening with the correct angles. To eliminate this problem, you can use a homemade knife sharpening device. Moreover, making it at home is not difficult. And although there are currently a huge number of different sharpening devices, their design is not particularly complex, so it will take little time to manufacture such a device.
How can you sharpen a knife at home?
One of the main tasks of every man around the house is sharpening knives. Making your own device is not only convenient, but also effective. In this case, you can independently make a device that will resemble the factory one. You can also use some available tools:
- Hacksaw.
- Wooden block.
- Chisel.
- Sandpaper.
- Plane.
- File and the like.
In some villages, it is also practiced to sharpen knives on the foundation. It is made from cement-sand mortar and has a grainy surface. Of course, this method cannot be called an example to follow. But if you urgently need to sharpen a blade, and there is no device for sharpening knives, then this is a relatively good option.
Why are drawings needed?
Knife sharpeners are inexpensive. Nevertheless, many owners want to make a device for sharpening knives with their own hands. Such a device will be of higher quality than a store-bought one, since in the process of its creation only natural materials. In order for the production of a sharpener to be completed successfully, it is necessary to carry out the process according to the proposed plan:
- Purchase or make your own drawings for clamping jaws. It is very important to draw the future design in detail. Particular attention should be paid to small details.
- Draw a drawing of the left and right stop, which is necessary in order to assembled structure didn't fall apart.
- Prepare a drawing of the guide. There are several nuances here.
Guide drawing: features
To make the guide suitable size, follows:
As you know, there are two main types of knife sharpening: single-sided and double-sided. Naturally, the methods of work in one and another case differ from each other. When working with knives, the following factors should be taken into account:
Sharpening planing knives
Sharpening planer knives is a rather complex process. To complete it, you need to master some knowledge and skills. A device for sharpening planing knives is difficult to find on sale. Therefore, many improve their cutting qualities using conventional sharpeners. But for this you need to acquire a modern low-speed water-cooled sharpener. To easily sharpen a planer knife, you should find a smooth and ungreasy stone used in this area. It is better to use a water stone. You can find a sharpener in car workshops, where they can sharpen any blade for an additional fee.
