Do-it-yourself knife sharpener dimensions. Homemade and manual machines and devices for sharpening knives

Every man, and sometimes a woman, regularly faces the need to sharpen a knife. Every knife, regardless of quality, can dull over time, so it needs careful maintenance. On the shelves of stores there is a large selection of sharpeners and stones for sharpening, so making a choice is not difficult.

Types of stones for sharpening

There are several types of stones that are used to sharpen knives:

  1. Oil - such stones imply the use of oil on the surface, which saves material consumption.
  2. Water stones - have the same principle of operation, but water is used in working with them.
  3. Natural stones are natural materials that have undergone industrial processing.
  4. Artificial stones, respectively, are made from an unnatural component.
  5. Rubber stones, such material is rare, as it is not convenient to work with them.

Some features of knife sharpening

Each knife has its own sharpening feature.

For example, a Japanese knife, for self-sharpening, requires the attention of an experienced craftsman, since Japanese steel is very fragile. Manufacturers recommend using several types of Japanese water stones for sharpening, with different grain sizes.

For housewives, for sharpening a kitchen knife, it is easier and more convenient to use a special sharpener. However, the use of several stones will keep the sharpness of the knife for a longer time, which is especially appreciated. Although this will take more time and effort, it will prolong the life of the tool.

Conditions for the correct sharpening of knives

For proper sharpening of a knife, it is necessary to create conditions under which the knife will be sharp for several months. For such sharpening, choosing the right angle will help. There is a rule that defines the correct principle of work - a smaller angle for sharpening a knife will create a lower cutting edge strength. That is, it should be remembered that the sharper the knife is immediately sharpened, the faster the time will come for re-sharpening, and the more difficult it will be to bring the knife to its original working condition.

What is sharpening for?

The main point of sharpening knives is to restore the sharpness of the blade itself. Why is it necessary to observe the correct angle when sharpening. Or rather, the restoration of the previously set angle, which must comply with technological standards. To check the sharpness of the knife, it is necessary to cut the material for which it is intended, if the knife cuts it without problems, then the technique is followed correctly.

Problems that may arise when sharpening

Without a doubt, in order to choose the appropriate angle, experience is needed, without which it is quite difficult to cope with this task. Especially without the necessary adaptation, since, holding the knife with your hands, it is difficult to sharpen it evenly on both sides. To fix the problem, it is recommended to build a homemade knife sharpening machine, which is easy to do at home. After all, already existing devices, in their design, are quite simple and do not differ in their complexity.

How can you sharpen a knife at home?

There are situations when you need to sharpen a knife very quickly at home, for such purposes you can use the following available materials:

  • wooden block;
  • hacksaw;
  • sandpaper;
  • file;
  • ceramic plate;
  • chisel and some others.

Particularly sophisticated village men can generally sharpen a knife on a foundation made from a solution of cement and sand. Nevertheless, it is not recommended to follow this example, but to use in practice the most proven methods that are suitable for quick sharpening.

The best way would be to make a homemade device, as it is effective and very convenient, and besides, it will not differ much from the factory one.

What are drawings for?

Of course, it is much easier to buy a ready-made knife sharpener, and they are not so expensive. Nevertheless, most homely owners prefer to do everything with their own hands, this is both pleasant and you can be sure of the quality of workmanship. After all, only natural materials are used. To make the manufacturing process pleasant and easy, you need to prepare a plan and follow it.

  1. To begin with, a ready-made drawing for clamping jaws is made or purchased. When making a drawing, it is necessary to pay special attention to the smallest details and to think over and draw the entire structure.
  2. The next step will be drawing a drawing of the right and left stops, for the strength of the assembled structure.
  3. Make a drawing for the guide, which has its own subtleties.

Guide drawing

All you need for a guide that fits perfectly is the following:

  1. A bobbin with an M6 thread, which must be sawn off using a hacksaw, so that it turns out to be 16 cm long. The main thing is to make sure that there are no burrs so that they do not slow down the sharpening process itself.
  2. Also, electrodes with a soft and elastic cylinder can be useful in work, they must be bent with the letter “g” using pliers. The main thing during the period of work is not to forget to periodically look at the drawing of the product.
  3. Metal scraps are useful in using clamps, they need to be sawn and holes installed using a drilling machine. A hand tap will help in basting the thread. And in order to reduce friction, use a drop of oil, which is then easily removed with soapy water.
  4. Finishing work with the guide, according to the drawing, twist all the details and for fixing, drip ordinary nail polish onto the junction of the clip and the stud.

There are two types of knife sharpening - it is bilateral and one-sided. The way the two work is, of course, different. All you need to consider when working with knives are criteria such as:

  1. The abrasive stone used when working with knives should not be very fine or, conversely, with very large grains, choose something in between these two criteria.
  2. In the case when there is no necessary device for sharpening the knife, and the tool needs to be sharpened, you can use such an improvised tool as a ceramic mug. All you need to do is turn the spontaneous sharpening over and draw along its bottom with movements towards yourself. But it should be borne in mind that its bottom should have a rough surface.
  3. Do not forget that ceramic knives do not need to be sharpened. Their surface is coated with a special coating made of special alloys, which protects it from damage and wear.
  4. A serrated knife should not be sharpened without special equipment; there is a high probability that you will not sharpen it, but spoil it. For this kind of knives, a special laser is used.
  5. In order for the knives to stay sharp longer, they should be washed in cold water.

Knife sharpening errors

Features of sharpening planer knives

Only an experienced craftsman with certain skills and knowledge can handle this kind of knives. Since this is a very complex process, sharpening equipment is difficult to find in a regular store. However, many people use conventional equipment to sharpen planer knives. But you need to remember that this requires a modern low-speed tool that has water cooling. And you should also use a new stone, with a flat surface, a stone that has a water principle of operation is better. If you are not a specialist and you do not have the necessary equipment, you can sharpen a planer knife for a fee at car workshops where you can find such a sharpener.

Video

The process of sharpening a knife or any tool does not require any outstanding skills or knowledge of special movements. In most cases, sharpening a knife, even the most original and expensive one, can be done with ordinary abrasive stones or sharpeners. But under one condition - it is necessary to try to follow the recommendations of specialists involved in sharpening tools in an industrial environment.

How to sharpen a knife

To the question of how to sharpen a knife, there can be several answers:

  • You can restore the tool using a whetstone or a set of triangular files with a fine notch;
  • Use a knife sharpener. The main difference between this method and the previous version is that the lodgement under the blade allows you to maintain a stable edge sharpening angle;
  • Use a knife sharpener.

For your information! Whatever hand sharpening enthusiasts say, a properly set up machine or miniature machine will do a much better job of shaping the edge angle than a hand whetstone.

For ordinary people, sharpening knife edges is a daily chore, and if there is a choice between using a do-it-yourself knife sharpener or sharpening a blade with a manual cutting edge for several hours, then, apparently, common sense will choose a sharpener.

How to get a sharp edge on a kitchen knife


The movement and tilt of the blade relative to the bar is not as obvious as it might seem at first glance. To properly understand the sharpening technique, you can use the video about sharpening knives:

For your information! Modern knives are made from a wide range of carbon and alloy steels. Hardened forged steel must be sharpened with an abrasive stone, and relatively viscous stainless steel only with a trihedral file.

Blades made of soft and tough steels with low chromium and carbon content can be sharpened with a file, while at the same time they clog the surface of the abrasive bar very quickly. Flexible forged blades must be fixed with a stop and sharpened with a bar, sliding movements. Regular use of a kitchen knife sharpener will lead to a greasy surface, which must be restored by roughing.

The old device for sharpening forged knives was made in the form of two wedge-shaped bars of bog oak. The bars were laid on both sides of the blade so that the cutting edge remained free, the “sandwich” was tied with twine and sharpened to a razor sharpness with an ordinary whetstone. Hardwood wedges made it possible to correctly guide the block and obtain the required sharpening angle.

According to the above recommendations, manual sharpening of planer knives is performed. A fine-grained emery cloth is glued onto thick glass, but it is installed with the beveled part of the cutting edge on the surface of the abrasive and sharpened in a circular motion.

The sharpening of a ceramic knife turns out to be more difficult; manually, the cutting edge can be corrected with a diamond-coated needle file, or a special grinding paste can be used.

Homemade knife sharpening options

The simplest tool for sharpening knives is shown in the diagram. For its manufacture, a hardwood block is required, the upper plane of which is sharpened at an angle of formation of the cutting edge. This solution helps to properly maintain the edge processing angle. To make it more convenient to sharpen the blade, you can wrap a pair of self-tapping screws to fix the blade in the plane of the bar.

To sharpen planer knives, you can make your own tool for the sharpener shown in the photo. This solution simplifies the process and allows you to sharpen the blade as sharply as possible, but the lack of mechanization requires a certain skill and skill from the master.

Devices and machines for dressing and sharpening knives

Sharpening knives is certainly a creative activity that requires a lot of patience and skill. But is it worth spending time and effort on solving a problem that a specially designed machine or knife sharpener can successfully handle? If for knives, household tools, for example, planers, kitchen or carving blades, you can try to restore the cutting edge of the blade with your own hands, then even sharpening devices will not help for industrial volumes. You will need a powerful and productive machine.

Machines for sharpening blades of carving knives

The highest form of a sharp knife blade is non-rare models with chrome-plated blades and handles made of rare woods. These are rather museum exhibits or their cheap imitation. A cutting or boning knife is considered a model of blade sharpness, with which raw meat and skins are cut for 12 hours a day. It is in such conditions that the edge of a forged knife made of high-quality steel dulls unusually quickly.

For small volumes of cutting work, you can sharpen knife blades on simple machines with automatic control of the angle of the cutting edge.

KNECHT USK 160 professional equipment is most often used for cutting sections of meat processing enterprises. The machine has a high degree of versatility, which allows you to sharpen the entire range of cutting tools, from fillet blades to carving scissors.

Machines for sharpening cutting elements of carpentry tools

Sharpening knives for woodworking machines requires the mandatory use of specialized machine tools. If you can sharpen a relatively short blade of a home knife or a hand planer manually using the simplest device, then long and sharp blades of jointers and planers must be sharpened using a mechanical drive for the supply of a grinding tool.

If you try to sharpen the tool with your own hands on a grinding cup without support and guide slides, sections with different sharpening angles are formed on the cutting edge. When processing wood, this leads to the formation of an uneven wavy surface of a board or an array.

Small flat knife blades can be sharpened on a simple vertical type machine.

Circular saws are usually sharpened on machines equipped with a divider and a turntable.

Universal grinding machines

In the work of small carpentry workshops, woodworking sites, repair offices, universal grinding machines are used that can sharpen a very wide range of cutting tools, including sharpening guillotine knives.

An example is the desktop model of the VZ-319 machine. Thanks to a rigid frame and properly selected gear ratios of the mechanical drive, the unit can sharpen almost any tool, from planer blades to cylindrical cutters.

Conclusion

Sharpening knives has long gone beyond the scope of craftsmanship into the category of a simple mechanical operation. A large number of various machines and devices, desktop machines and automatic machines are able to perform difficult work within a few minutes. A high-quality sharpener bought once in a lifetime can last for several decades, eliminating the problems of resharpening knife blades.

Almost every home craftsman has cutting tools available. Over time, the cutting edges lose their former sharpness, and working with such a product becomes unbearable. There are two options for solving this problem: give a tool for sharpening and pay a lot of money, or assemble a device for sharpening knives yourself and sharpen the products yourself.

Reasons for a dull blade

Blade blunting can be explained as follows. During cutting, the smallest abrasive particles, whether fruits or vegetables, act on the blade. The cutting edge of the blade is gradually erased, and the knife becomes dull. Another reason is the retention of the blade when cutting at a certain angle.

On some parts of the blade, the load increases, and increased wear occurs.

There are types of knives that cannot be sharpened on their own because of the embossed blades. Also, knives made of ceramics cannot be sharpened. But, as a rule, the quality of steel for such products is high, and they rarely become dull. There is a variety of knives of low quality, and they have to be sharpened very often. As practice shows, if the steel is of poor quality, then sharpening will solve the problem for a while, and then the blade will become dull again.

To sharpen knives, you will need abrasive wheels. If it is not possible to purchase ready-made circles, then you can make them yourself using wooden bars and sandpaper of different grain sizes.

The standard sharpening angle is 20 - 30 degrees. It is quite difficult to maintain the angle during sharpening, and therefore it is necessary to make a simple knife sharpener, in which it is not necessary to maintain the optimal angle. The basic rule in this process is the observance of a precisely set constant angle. Strength is not required here. The main thing is that the bar and the blade meet at a certain angle. This is the basic rule of sharpening technique.

Basic Mistakes

As it may seem at first glance, sharpening is simple, but if you delve into the process itself, you can notice a fairly large number of different nuances. Most people make commonplace mistakes when sharpening knives, which leads to uneven sharpening or damage to the knife. Common Mistakes when sharpening:

  • The cutting edge has not been sharpened. As a result, small burrs form on the sides, which temporarily sharpen the blade, and after a short work with the knife, the blade becomes dull again. To prevent this problem, carefully sharpen both edges, and then, as you sharpen, use sandpaper or a circle of different grain sizes.
  • The presence of paint, oil, dirt on the tip. The bottom line is that when turning, grease, dirt, oil and other components are mixed with grinding abrasives and lead to scratches and micro-splitting of the blade. After such sharpening, the blade becomes dull quickly.
  • Pressure plays an important role. It is necessary to remember one simple rule: sharpness does not depend on the applied force, but on the duration of sharpening. Excessively strong pressure leads to chipping of microparticles from the blade and to poor-quality sharpening.
  • Wrong choice of angle. The angle may vary - depending on the grade of steel and on the purpose of the tool. For home kitchen knives, it is 20 - 25 degrees. For other types of blades that have to withstand heavy loads and work with hard materials, the angle will be 40 degrees.

Guided by simple, but at the same time relevant rules for sharpening, you can not only save time, but also not spoil the product.​

Sharpener "House"

Nice tool for sharpening knives. Despite the simple design, the sharpener does its job well. This design consists of a rectangular bar, the upper face of which is made in the form of a gable roof. The angle of inclination of one face is 20 - 25 degrees, which is optimal. The product must be installed with a blade close to one of the ridges of the roof, then take an abrasive wheel or a bar with emery and move along a horizontal line. This ensures a constant angle of inclination, which leads to uniform sharpening of the blade.

There are also complex designs of a homemade grinder. For the manufacture will need the following materials:

  • A piece of board measuring 500x150x20 mm.
  • Threaded metal stud that will serve as a guide for the bar.
  • M8 bolts and nuts and wood screws.
  • Clamping nuts or nuts - "lamb".
  • Ordinary textolite or plexiglass, which will serve as a substrate for a knife and a kind of movable bed.
  • To attach the knife, you should take a neodymium magnet. The usual one will not work, since its downforce is quite small.

The board must be cleaned, processed, and then made into a rectangle. Another board should be made in a rectangular shape, which will serve as a stand or support. Its height should be such that the slope of the main board is 20 degrees. You can fasten them together with wood screws. Then attach the resulting structure to the workbench or cut out the tabletop in advance, to which one of the studs will be attached. After securely fastening the stud to the tabletop, you need to take a 200x100 bar and make two holes in it: one for the main stud, on which the movable carriage with a sharpener will be attached, and the other for the stud, which is attached to the tabletop.

Now you can start assembling the carriage with the sharpener holder. On the pin that will hold the carriage, you need to make two clips made of wood, plexiglass or metal. Drill holes in the clamps, put them on the stud and fix them on both sides with nuts. The carriage will rotate freely on its axis.

The next step will be the installation of a neodymium magnet on a previously prepared plate. It is necessary to make a longitudinal groove in it - so that the tripod can be moved up and down. Drill a hole in the middle of the bed and insert a bolt with a nut, which, in turn, will press the plate. At the end of the plate, you can simply glue a neodymium magnet to hold the knife.

Homemade device is ready to use. With it, you can sharpen chisels and planers.

It should be noted that sharpening is carried out without water, so the abrasive paper or wheel will wear out a lot, but this option is quite suitable for sharpening knives and tools at home.

home knife sharpener

If the farm has a grinding machine, it will facilitate the process, but there is one circumstance. When sharpening on the machine, it is almost impossible to evenly press on the knife. Therefore, it is possible to make a knife sharpener that will serve as a guide for the blade and provide uniform pressure. Get a simple but effective electric sharpener. For its manufacture you will need the following components:

  • Bar.
  • Four bolts or four studs with M8 thread.
  • Four lambs.
  • Wood screws.

Opposite the electric grinder, a guide is attached along which the slider will move. The guide itself can be attached to a workbench or pre-made frame. She must be mobile. To do this, you can cut a longitudinal groove in the frame and fix the tripod with two pins. Then take two bars, drill holes on the sides, insert the studs and tighten them with lambs on both sides. The next step will be the mount on which the cutting product will lie. This can be done using small pieces of timber, which should be attached to the sides of the moving carriage.

After that, you can start sharpening. Set the movable carriage to the desired height and clamp it with the lambs. Move the tripod itself to the desired distance, securely fasten and sharpen the product by moving the knife along the side guides.

Sharpener LM

If in the future it is planned to engage in professional tool sharpening in large quantities, then you can make a sharpener, which is called: Lansky-Metabo. Fixture drawings for sharpening knives with your own hands are as follows:

If the product is clamped in the clamps by the root part, then the sharpening angle will be the largest. A knife with this angle can be used as a "cleaver" and processing hardwood. You can also easily sharpen knives from a jointer. Clips for a knife can be made from a corner or from a tree. The disadvantage of this design is the complexity of the assembly and the large number of parts.

If it is not possible to assemble a complex tool for sharpening knives, then you can get by with improvised means and make manual knife sharpeners. A simple sharpener can be made from a corner frame in which a whetstone is mounted.


If the sharpener is supplemented with a sliding carriage, then you do not have to hold the knife at a certain angle, which, in turn, will have a good effect on sharpening the blade. To make a movable carriage, you will need a triangular bar and a magnet. It is best to use a neodymium magnet, which allows you to attract the knife and fix it securely. If there is no such magnet, then you can take components from the HDD (hard disk).

Before you give a knife or other product for sharpening, you should familiarize yourself with the material that will help not only in making a sharpener with your own hands, but also save a certain amount. The main aspect is to gain additional experience that will come in handy in the future.

If you thought that self-sharpening knives existed, this is a myth invented by marketers to sell their products. Any knife will dull sooner or later. So, you will have to look for solutions to correct this situation. Today, the editors of the site will tell you what methods and tools you need to use for this and in general what to do when your knife is dull.

Read in the article:

Types of devices for sharpening knives

Stone has existed since the earliest days of modern civilization. And almost the same amount of metal. That is why the grindstone became one of the first devices that came to the rescue of a reasonable person. A simple, and most importantly, affordable tool has been successfully coping with its task for many millennia.


However, in the modern world, only a simple hunting knife can be sharpened with a whetstone. In other cases, the quality will leave much to be desired. In addition, only soft metals are sharpened with a stone, and if the cutting part of the blade has a hardness above 55 HRC, then you cannot sharpen it with improvised means.

Consider the types of devices for sharpening knives. If we talk about what kind of abrasive material is used, then the tools can be made in the form of bars or grindstones. By type of drive: manual or electric. Usually in home kitchens you can find a simple mechanical machine.


And it is this angle of sharpening that must be maintained. However, not all household tools are able to sharpen a knife correctly. And that is why in this article the editors of the site will tell you what options can be used in order to sharpen a knife for specific purposes.

Important! Each type of blade has its own edge angle, and during sharpening it must be held along the entire length of the workpiece surface.

Master grinders even conduct special master classes on sharpening knives using natural stone. Breeds of real natural whetstones cannot be bought in a regular store. Interestingly, before the processing process, it is soaked in water, sometimes with soapy water, and dried after work.

Blades for sharpening knives

Knife sharpeners are one of the most affordable devices for any housewife. Usually they are special rectangular bars with a special abrasive coating. Such bars are useful for sharpening carpentry tools in the garage, as well as household utensils.


Grinding stones, depending on the material, can be either natural or synthetic. Their wear resistance and type of grain size depend on this. And that means the quality of sharpening. Consider the main types of materials that are used in the manufacture of whetstones:

  • 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 coated bars. Synthetic, have a high degree of wear resistance. Differ in affordable price;
  • ceramic. They belong to a more modern type of sharpening bars. Combine the strength of diamond coating with the hardness of natural stone;
  • artificial: electrocorundum or carbide. Fast grinding abrasive, low quality and the same price.

On the other hand, artificial abrasives are much cheaper than their natural counterparts. They 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, as well as the percentage of all elements. The stronger and better the composition (this also applies to the particles themselves), the more resistant the grinding abrasive will be.


Bundle variations can be soft type and hard type. In the first case, the crystals are glued strictly on the surface of their base, made of nickel alloy. In fact, the crystals are located in a very thin layer on the bar. A soft bond is a chaotic arrangement of bonding and abrasive elements. The second type is less durable.

Sharpening stones for knives

As we noted earlier, natural stones are more effective means of sharpening knives. Their effectiveness has been proven at all stages of sharpening. Artificial analogues, although they are distinguished by wear resistance and affordable price, however, cannot boast of ideal sharpness. Natural whetstones require special care, because the most important rule of the master is a perfectly flat surface of the whetstone.


Expert opinion

Tool selection consultant LLC "VseInstrumenty.ru"

Ask a specialist

“To check the degree of evenness of a stone, use a simple method. Wet the timber and place it on the paper sheet on a flat surface. The print will allow you to assess the degree of evenness of the stone.”

Novaculites, or "Arkansas", "Turkish", "Belgian" stones are natural slates and chalcedony interspersed with the smallest particles of garnet and quartz. Today, both natural stones and their artificial substitutes are used.

Musat for sharpening knives

Musat from the side is somewhat reminiscent of a file. In any case, such a comparison comes at first glance. The peculiarity of this tool is that its surface is magnetized, which means that metal flour will not fall on you.


Each type of musat is designed for sharpening a certain type of tool, and has a different degree of versatility. So, for example, round musat weighs a little, but oval sharpens better, since its edges provide more complete contact with the surface to be treated. Tetrahedral - more versatile, here you can better refine the required sharpening angle.

Household manual knife sharpeners

A variety of options for sharpening knives allows you to choose the tool that you need. These are the usual home mini-sharpeners, known to almost everyone, and more specific devices with a polishing wheel. Like more professional, household systems, knife sharpeners can use a moving or stationary abrasive. The sharpening angle in this case depends on the position of the cutting tool. Hand tools of this type, despite their simplicity and relative cheapness, are laborious in operation.

Household electric knife sharpeners

Electric grinders are more convenient. Working with them saves time. Most often, such drive machines have various modes of operation, which are controlled by switches.


Inside the sharpener is a grinding disc with an abrasive coating. When electricity is applied, the disk begins to rotate. The grinding wheels are hidden inside the protective cover. Despite the presence of a disk, such machines are quite compact. And the angle of sharpening is regulated by a special spring, which completely eliminates errors in sharpening.

Professional manual knife sharpeners

A professional hand tool is a bit like a carpenter's vise. The subject of sharpening, in fact, the knife, is clamped with special clamps.

Further, the master, by means of a certain movement, begins sharpening, moving along the abrasive plate. The grinding machine itself is installed on the stop. Here it is very important to properly fix the machine and avoid slipping of the device during sharpening.


Such manual grinders allow you to use different abrasives, it is possible to adjust the sharpening angle in a wide range.

Professional electric knife sharpeners

The professional tool provides a large number of nozzles and interchangeable discs. The electrocorundum stone and the finishing leather disc rotate at 90 rpm, with the former placed in a tray of water. The combination of low speed and continuous cooling results in high-quality workpiece processing already at the stage of incisal formation.


Professional machines are distinguished by their versatility. Usually this is a machine with a massive abrasive disc. Such tools allow you to sharpen not only knives, but also metalwork tools, for example, planers and chisels. And at the final stages of work, they provide the blade with razor sharpness.

How to sharpen a knife

However, before starting the blade sharpening process, it is important to understand the sharpening technique. And the basics.

Optimal sharpening angles and sharpness for kitchen knives

There are dozens of types of knives for different purposes: these are kitchen knives, knives for metal work. In general, the sharpness of a blade depends on the shape of the blade. And it, in turn, must correlate with certain clear correspondences between the blade and the blade. Consider the correct sharpening angles for different tools.

For your information! Some types of knives can be so sharp that they can cut through metal. Blades with a sharpening angle of 50 ° are considered the sharpest of them - such versions with a certain steel grade can cut nails.

How to sharpen a knife at home with a bar

This process is simple, but rather painstaking. Without sharpening experience, trying this process is pointless. Typically, craftsmen use two whetstones with different abrasive densities - with coarse grain and fine.

Advice! The knife blade must always be wet. You can use special oils or grinding lubricants.

The next step is to choose the angle of sharpening. Here we are guided by the table above and take the range from and to. Remember, the smaller the sharpening angle, the faster the knife will dull. For a beginner, it will be difficult to maintain the same angle. In order to successfully pass this stage, it is important to hold the knife with both hands.


Gently place the blade on the blade, lower its corner to the grinding surface and begin work. We start work on a coarse-grained bar, and then, when the stage of edge grinding comes, we continue with a fine abrasive.

How to sharpen a knife with musat at home

Sharpening passes on weight. The blade is carried out along the entire length of the tool, usually several such “rides” are enough.

The process of sharpening with musat is quite simple. The tool is held in one hand, the knife in the other.


How to sharpen a knife on an electric grinder

The sharpening process is practically the same as manual sharpening. The only difference is that in this case it is not the blade that is wetted, but the grinding disc itself. Most often, a special tray is used to cool the disk. And the whole process is automatic.

Common 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 newcomers make when sharpening knives:

  1. Incorrectly maintained sharpening angle level.
  2. Blade regrinding. Occurs when excessive pressure is applied to the sharpener with a blade, due to which it can be damaged or even crack.
  3. Sharpening an unprepared tool or a worn grinding wheel.
  4. The use of musat at all stages of work.
  5. As we remember, musat is used to finish the cutting edge. Use of fine grit abrasive.

All these subtleties are important to take into account already at the stage of organizing work. For information on how to sharpen a knife with a bar, see this video.

Do-it-yourself machine for sharpening knives

Buying a ready-made knife sharpening machine is not always necessary. For domestic needs, you can do it yourself. It doesn’t matter if you create a mechanical or electric machine - be guided, as mentioned earlier, by existing diagrams and drawings.


What tools do you need to make a do-it-yourself knife

For the manufacture of the simplest machine, we need: an ordinary chipboard bar, you can use elements of old cabinet furniture. Prepare for work: a metal rod, a small piece of sheet steel 1 mm thick, several screws for fixing the structure, any abrasive material, a jigsaw and a screwdriver.

Do-it-yourself step-by-step instructions for making a grinder with your own hands

Consider assembling the simplest do-it-yourself knife sharpener from improvised materials.

IllustrationAction Description

As we can see, the base here is quite simple - a regular chipboard 65 × 25 mm

Bar for fixing the base. Don't forget to sand it down.

We mark the places of fastenings.

We fix the bent pin at a certain angle. Guide angle from 65 to 70°

We cut out a pressure plate from fiberglass. We mark the places of fastenings for countersunk bolts.

We fix the plate on the base. Press with a hex wrench.

From the same material we grind a plate for fixing the guide.

We press the structure with the help of an ordinary lamb.

We grind an ordinary steel bar, attach a handle from an old file to it. Length 57 cm.

From the plumbing clamp we take fasteners-corners for the grindstone. We also use a bunny with a clamping screw for its further fixation.

Sharpening stones can be made from a regular piece of laminate. We cut it into strips 2.5 cm wide, 20 cm long. Next, paste the sandpaper on double-sided tape and you can work!

So, our grinder is ready to go. We hope that our story will be useful to you. With the help of them you can make the simplest sharpening knives.

Almost every person in life is faced with the question of sharpening knives. After all, any knife, regardless of its quality, sooner or later becomes dull. Therefore, the blade must be carefully looked after.

In stores today you can choose any sharpener among a huge variety.

What are sharpening stones?

In general, there are several main types of such devices. Namely:

Oil, on the surface of which there is oil, especially to save material.

Water, similar to the previous one, but water is used here.

Natural, industrially processed.

Artificial, made from non-natural materials.

Rubber, extremely rare. Completely inconvenient to use.

Nuances in the issue of sharpening

There are moments in sharpening every knife.

For example, a Japanese self-sharpening type requires special attention from a rather experienced specialist, since the Japanese type of steel is quite fragile. To sharpen them, manufacturers give a recommendation to use different water stones, endowed with a variety of grain sizes.

Mistresses use sharpeners bought in the store for sharpening. When using several knives, their sharpness lasts longer.

But this is very important, even though it takes a lot of time and effort.

How to sharpen knives properly?

For this, special conditions must be created. Thanks to them, the knife will remain sharp for a very long time.

Therefore, it is important to choose the right angle at which you will sharpen your knives. According to the basic rule in this matter, the smaller the angle at which the knife is sharpened, the stronger the cutting edge will be.

It is important not to forget that the next sharpening depends on the maximum sharpness. The sharper the knife, the faster it will need to be sharpened. At the same time, it will be much more difficult to make it “workable” again.

Why sharpen knives?

The purpose of sharpening is to restore the sharpness of the blade. To do this, take care of the correct sharpening angle. That is, it is necessary to restore the previously set angle that meets the standards from a technological point of view.

To check how well the sharpening is done, cut the material that is cut with the blade of this particular knife. If the material is cut elementarily, you will do everything absolutely right.

Possible problems during the sharpening process

In order to choose the right angle correctly, it is important to have some experience, without which it is quite difficult to cope with this issue. And even more so if there is no special equipment for this.

After all, if you hold the knife with your hands during the sharpening process, it is quite difficult to achieve its ideal “sharpness” as a result.

How do you sharpen knives at home?

Sometimes it happens that the knife needs to be sharpened quickly. A block of wood, a hacksaw, sandpaper, a ceramic plate, a chisel, etc. can come in handy here.

And there are even those who can sharpen on the foundation of cement with sand. But, this method is not recommended at all. After all, there are many other and more proven ones!

The best of all is to make a homemade device. It is not only convenient, but also indistinguishable from the factory.

How to sharpen a planer knife

An experienced professional master who has not only knowledge, but also skills in this matter can handle knives of such a plan. The process is quite complicated actually.

At the same time, in a simple store, equipment for sharpening such a knife is quite difficult to find. You should know that a modern tool will help here, in which you can set low speeds with water cooling.

It is necessary to apply a new stone on which a flat surface. The best will be exactly the water type of stone.

In addition, without having certain experience and skills in sharpening planing knives, you can also contact the service station, where you probably have equipment such as a sharpener.