How to sharpen a knife yourself to a razor sharpness. How to sharpen kitchen knives with a bar at home How to land on knives on a sharpener

Every person who has cooked food at least once in his life knows how tiring it is to work with a blunt knife. But a sharp, well-sharpened tool provides not only speed and convenience in cutting blanks for various dishes, but also safety.

A dull knife often breaks off and cuts the hands of its owner. Therefore, it is so important to maintain the sharpness of the blade, using it carefully and sharpening it in a timely manner. This article is devoted to how to sharpen the knife correctly.

Basic rules for sharpening knives

The best way to sharpen knives at home is considered to be handcrafted using blocks of different grain sizes - starting with the coarsest.

They are sharpened until a narrow strip of metal appears along the entire length of the cutting edge - a burr. After that, they move on to using a finer-grained tool.

Sharpening a knife on a bar should be carried out according to the following rules.

The block should be 1.5 to 2 times longer than the blade.
The sharpening stone is placed on a table or other stable surface.
The bar is moistened with water or an aqueous solution of soap.
The blade, in addition to the cutting edge, is sealed with tape to avoid scratches, and it is better for an inexperienced craftsman to paint over the edge with a marker to make it easier to determine where the bar has gone and where not.
The cutting edge of the blade is located at right angles to the bar, so that the sharpening is uniform.
The pass is made with the cutting edge forward. They begin to sharpen from the point of attachment of the handle and, together with the movement of the blade along the bar, pull the knife towards themselves so that, reaching the end of the bar, they simultaneously reach the edge of the blade.
The angle of sharpening of the knife should be maintained between 20 and 25 degrees between the bar and the plane of the tools intended for cutting. This angle is slightly larger for those whose purpose is the felling. The main thing is not to change the angle along the entire length of the blade.
When the blade reaches the edge of the stone, care must be taken to ensure that it does not break off the block or get scratched.
These movements are repeated many times, while it is not necessary to put too much pressure on the blade, because this will not sharpen the knife faster with a bar, but the correct angle will be much more difficult to maintain.

After sharpening kitchen knives is completed with a coarse and fine-grained stone, you should start grinding them, the purpose of which is:

removal of burrs (to ensure the durability of sharpening);
making the blade flawlessly smooth.

Grinding is also carried out with a bar, but with the finest grain size.

Types of knives

For various spheres of human life, specific types of knives have been developed over a long history. For their manufacture, steel of various hardness is used, but the optimal indicator is 45 - 60 HRC. This indicator also determines what angle of sharpening should be done.

The most common varieties are kitchen and hunting.

Kitchen knives

This tool is present in every kitchen. With its help, housewives cut vegetables, meat, bread and other products.

Kitchen knives are such a broad concept that includes more than a dozen specialized tools.

For cheese.
For pizza.
Chef knife.
For bread and many others.

However, in most cases, you can limit yourself to three types.

Chef knife, the length of which is more than 200 mm, and the purpose is to cut vegetables and cut meat products.
Knife used to peel vegetables. It is pointed and has a shorter length - from 50 to 100 mm.
Saw knife. It is used to cut bread. In order not to crush or crush the bun, cutting even the thinnest slices, the saw blade is equipped with a serrator - special notches on the blade. Such a kitchen knife at home is very difficult to sharpen.

Two materials are used to make kitchen knife blades:

The best models are made from high carbon stainless steel. They are quite durable, they can be sharpened at home, and any food can be cut with such tools without fear of oxidation.

Ceramic blades are hard and keep sharpening well, but very fragile (they easily break into pieces when hitting hard objects). Their owners are interested in how to sharpen kitchen knives from this material correctly. This is quite difficult to do, because ceramics can only be processed with diamond wheels.

Hunter knives

Very high requirements have always been imposed on such tools, since a hunter can find himself in different situations, sometimes even life-threatening, from which only a faithful reliable blade will help him.

The requirements for it are higher.

Convenience combined with quality and practicality.
Mandatory presence of a "warm" wooden handle.
Minimal guard or complete absence of such, so as not to interfere with the butchering of trophies.
The blade must be made of Damascus steel, which has sufficient strength and, at the same time, does not crumble as a result of striking the animal's bone.
The optimal linear dimensions of a hunting knife are as follows: blade length 100 - 140 mm, its width up to 30 mm, butt thickness from 3 to 4 mm, steel hardness - more than 58 HRC.

For the convenience of processing prey, the butt of the tool is equipped with a special hook for skinning.

Other varieties

In addition to those listed above, there are a number of other specialized types of knives.

Combat (designed to equip the army and special services).
Tourist. The lightness and practicality of the tool is ensured by the use of synthetic materials for the handle and blade made of steel, which is easy to sharpen and correct correctly.
Foldable (convenient for hidden carrying).
Multitools are folding knives with many other useful tools hidden in their handles.
Special purpose. A category in which there are many different types - for divers, gardeners, surgical scalpels and many others.
Camp. These are fixed rods, suitable also for cutting small branches. They are used as small machetes.
Sports. Basically, this is a throwing equipment. They have no cutting edge or overhead handles.
Canteens (used for table setting).

We should also mention the relatively recent knives for survival. This multifunctional tool is a kind of multitool, which includes such unexpected components as a compass or a lighter.

How to evaluate the sharpness of the blade?

For any kind of knife, sharpness is the main requirement. A well-sharpened knife is a reliable and safe assistant in a variety of jobs. In order to determine how well a knife was sharpened at home, there are several simple ways.

Paper test

In one hand, a sheet of A4 paper, in the other - a sharpened blade. Try to cut off a piece of the sheet.

If the cut turns out to be even, then the turning was successful, and if the blade slipped off or the cut turned out to be uneven, then you need to think about how to sharpen the knife better.

The task can be complicated by using a thinner magazine sheet.

Tomato test

As a rule, it is used to determine how correct sharpening of kitchen knives is. However, any other blades can be tested this way.

The essence of the method is to cut a thin slice from the edge of a ripe tomato. If the blade did not slip, but cut off a piece of the required size, then the knife was sharpened well.

Hand hair test

The blade is guided without touching the skin against the growth of the hair on the arm.

If all the rules for sharpening a knife are followed exactly, it will easily cut hairs.

Why does the knife dull quickly?

Any blades, even the highest quality and most expensive ones, will become dull after a while. Simply, the better the tool, the longer it will take to use it without the need to sharpen it.

There are several reasons for the loss of the former sharpness of the blade.

Gradual slow wear of steel.
Side bending of the cutting edge. It occurs due to high lateral loads on it, when the blade deflects to the side during cutting.
Incorrect sharpening angle of a kitchen knife (however, as well as other types of blades).
Cutting edge strikes hard metal objects.
The effect of abrasive particles present in the material that is being cut, or on its surface (grains of sand on the fruit).

It is also believed that the knife will dull faster when washed with hot water. This can be justified by the action on the cutting edge of aggressive salts dissolved in water, the chemical activity of which relative to iron increases with heating.

What is the best way to sharpen knives?

The selection of a sharpening tool is no less important task than the selection of the knife itself. There are a great many of them on the market, but how and how to sharpen a knife correctly should be analyzed in more detail.

What is Musat?

This tool is similar to a regular file - a rod connected to a wooden or plastic handle.

Musat for knives performs a very important function - it is used to correct the cutting edge of knives, without complicated and time-consuming sharpening. Most often, it is used to care for kitchen utensils that are constantly in use. However, they are not suitable for sharpening those knives that have already lost their sharpness, they will have to be sharpened.

What is Musat? These are rounded or faceted tools, for the manufacture of which diamond dust, ceramics or high hardness steel are used. For straightening kitchen knives at home, it is enough to have a muff with a length of 250 mm.

Sharpening a knife with musat

Having picked up this tool for the first time, people naturally wonder how to sharpen knives with musat?

This is quite simple to do if you adhere to certain rules.

The knife to be sharpened should be taken by the handle, put it vertically, resting the point on the table.
The angle between the plane of the blade and the device should be 25 °.
The tool should be moved in an arc, from the handle to its point.
Treat the other side of the blade in the same way.
Excessive effort is not worth it.

To the question of how you can use musat to sharpen the order of dull knives, the answer is unambiguous - in such cases, it is better not to use it at all, since it will not be possible to correct the situation with it.

Sharpening bar (whetstone)

The most affordable and gentle way to tidy up the cutting edge is to sharpen it with a bar. Stones of different grain sizes allow you to cope with defects of any severity: from correcting serious chipping to grinding.

The device is as old as the world, but if the question is how to sharpen a hunting knife correctly, most people will do it with a sharpening stone.

The processing technology is as follows.

Take several bars with different grain sizes.
Before sharpening kitchen knives or any other blades, the surface of the bar is moistened with a special oil, which is usually sold with the product, or with plain water. It is undesirable to use sunflower oil for this, since it penetrates deep into the pores and it will no longer be possible to wash it out of there.
First, process the blade with a coarse grit, then medium, then fine, setting the tool vertically and holding it by the handle.
Guide the stone perpendicular to the blade, gradually moving it down. Repeat on one side two to three times, then start on the other.
The burr formed from a coarser stone is removed with a finer one.
Finally, the blade is sanded and washed with water to remove the remnants of small metal shavings.

If there is no grindstone at hand, at the right time, then he has a substitute called sandpaper. How to sharpen a kitchen knife with it? As well as a grindstone.

Grinder

Such a useful device as a knife sharpening machine is also quite popular. Although it requires a certain skill and decent work experience from the user.

On a grinding wheel rotating at high speed, in a split second you can overheat the blade, after which it will become unusable for further full use.

At what angle to put the blade to the disc, you will need to select it yourself, since the machine does not provide special mounts for fixing the tool in a certain position.

But an experienced person will be able to use such a machine for sharpening any knives as fast as possible.

Emery

In addition to the above methods, you can also sharpen a knife on emery.

This is the name of an electric machine that can be equipped with several types of wheels:

abrasive;
felt;
grinding.

Each of them has its own function. The emery machine is a professional equipment, and sharpening the blades on it requires high qualifications. It is not recommended for people with no experience to use it to work with blades, since they, in most cases, will overheat and render any knives unusable.

Other types of grinding equipment

The latest developments in blade sharpening devices are specialized mechanical and electrical sharpeners. Their main area of application is sharpening kitchen knives and household scissors.

Using a mechanical sharpener is simple, and its cost is low. But before you sharpen a kitchen knife with such a tool, you should know that it will not be sharp for long, due to the poor quality of the cutting edge processing.

As for the more expensive blades for hunting or sports, this device can only ruin them. Although there are pleasant exceptions to this rule. For example, the Edge Pro Apex sharpener model. This is a quality tool with which you can sharpen blades quite well.

Electric sharpeners are another matter entirely. A quality tool of this type is able to cope with sharpening both kitchen and sports knives with both straight and wavy blades, as well as scissors and screwdrivers.

The sharpening unit of the machine adjusts to the required cutting angle and precisely maintains it along the entire length of the blade. Modern units are able to restore the sharpness of even a very blunt blade. With their help, you can also perform delicate work - both to edit the knife and to grind it.

Electric sharpeners have now become quite compact and affordable, and at first only large catering enterprises could afford to purchase them.

At what angle to sharpen the blade

The angle of sharpening of the blades depends on the tasks that they will perform.

Scalpels and similar medical cutting instruments are sharpened at an angle of 15 °.
Kitchen - 25 °.
Tourist and kitchen cleavers designed for chopping bones and meat - 25 - 30 °.
Tools for cutting cardboard - 30 - 40 °.

The following video will tell you how to sharpen knives with a bar correctly, maintaining a given angle:

How to set the sharpening angle on a sharpener?

Let's take a look at how to sharpen a knife at a certain angle on the Edge Pro Apex sharpener, model year 2013, a fairly popular and useful unit.

To simplify the work for users, the manufacturer supplied this unit with a set of replaceable liners, changing which, you can set the required angle of sharpening of blades for any purpose.

For convenience, these earbuds are available in different colors:

blue - provides a 24 ° sharpening angle, suitable for thick blades of pocket and hunting knives;
yellow - an angle of 21 ° (for blades of the same types, but having blades of less thickness);
green - an angle of 18 ° (kitchen knives with thick blades);
red - 15 ° (kitchen tools with thin blades);
black - 10 ° (kitchen knives with serrated blades).

Changing the earbuds is straightforward. Thanks to these devices, uniform sharpening of the blade of the blades at one angle along the entire length is ensured.

What is the angle to sharpen kitchen knives?

The selection of the blade sharpening angle depends on three parameters:

the purpose of the tool;
blade thickness;
the quality of the steel from which it is made.

The rougher the work will be done with this tool, the greater the sharpening angle should be - from 10 ° for serrated blades, designed for fine cutting, to 30 ° for cleavers, with which meat and bones are chopped.

The thicker the blade, the greater the sharpening angle is suitable for it - from 10 ° for the thinnest, up to 18 ° for the thickest of those intended not for chopping, but for cutting.

The higher the quality of the steel, the smaller the sharpening angle can be set, since good steel guarantees a hard cutting edge.

How to sharpen a knife sharply?

Summing up, we can say that only a knife that has been processed in accordance with a certain technology and which has passed all tests for the sharpness of the cutting edge can be called qualitatively sharpened. It should be noted that this is also possible at home.

dombrat.ru

How to sharpen kitchen and not only knives by hand (with a sharpening stone, electric sharpener, bar, knife, musata, emery)? - instructions with photos and videos

Sharpening knives correctly is a very valuable ability. Any hostess will confirm that a poorly sharpened knife can significantly complicate any cooking process. In fact, sharpening knives is not difficult, the main thing is to choose the correct method with which you can sharpen them. Our article will help you choose this method, and also tell you how to sharpen kitchen, Japanese, ceramic, hunting and any other knives at home.

With a bar or grindstone

In order to properly sharpen knives with a bar or a sharpening stone, you need to stock up on two copies at once, one of which should be of a coarse-grained structure, and the second - a fine-grained one. Immediately before sharpening, you should thoroughly moisten the knife blade with clean water, tilt it 20 degrees, after that you need to fix a coarse-grained bar or whetstone on a table or any other flat surface. A block or a whetstone should also be moistened with water, and only then can you start sharpening a knife. This should be done until burrs form on the blade, which can then be easily smoothed out with a fine-grained bar. It is imperative to sharpen knives with a bar or a sharpening stone on both sides, after which they should be washed in clean water.

On the machine

In order to properly sharpen a knife on a special sharpening machine or, as it is also called, on an electric sharpener, you should have some knowledge and skills. Sharpening knives on an electric sharpener is not at all an easy task, since if you do it wrong, then the knife can be completely ruined, after which no sharpening will help. It should also be remembered that when the discs rub against the blade, they tend to heat up. Not every material can withstand high sharpening temperatures.

To sharpen the knife correctly on the machine, you should do it on the side of the grinding wheel. The blade of the knife should be rotated 25-30 degrees, and it should be sharpened until burrs appear on the blade. They will need to be carefully removed and the knife blade will need to be slightly adjusted with a fine-grained grindstone.

Electric knife

An electric knife is the most convenient way to properly sharpen a knife at home. Most often, she has two modes: sharpening directly, and also polishing. All you have to do to sharpen your knife is to insert it into the special hole and wait for a while while the electric knife sharpener does everything for you.

Sharpening knives with musat is quite difficult. Most often, musat is used to grind a knife sharpened in some other way. To sharpen the knife correctly, you need to choose a ceramic or with the addition of diamond chips. Then you just need to run the blade over the musat several times, having achieved the desired result, then wash both devices and put them on the table.

Sandpaper

To properly sharpen a knife with sandpaper, you need to put it on a flat surface, and holding the edge of the sandpaper with one free hand, take the knife in your other hand and start sharpening it with sliding movements. Do not wet the sandpaper or blade with water. But you will need double-sided tape if you want to secure the sandpaper to a flat surface.

How to sharpen different types of knives correctly

Any sharpening method will work for kitchen knives, provided the knives are not ceramic. The main thing is to sharpen correctly, following all the recommendations from our article.

Ice screw blades should only be sharpened with a sharpening stone. It can be of any shape, however, it should be understood that its surfaces must be flat. You need to sharpen ice auger knives as follows: set the whetstone on a flat surface so that it does not stagger or slide in different directions. After that, take a drill knife in your hands, attach it to the grindstone and make several circular movements. This will remove the burrs and prepare the knife for sharpening. Next, grab the blunt part of the drill knife and start sharpening it, rotating it in different directions. You only need to sharpen the outer part of the ice screw knife, otherwise there is a possibility to completely spoil the device.

Grinder knives can be sharpened with a bar. To do this, it must be installed on a flat surface, slightly moisten the upper part, and then put a knife on it, which should be sharpened. Now begin to gently rotate the grinder knife in different directions, sharpening only the outside of the knife. During sharpening, the block should be regularly wetted to ensure more efficient sharpening.

A hunting knife is usually sharpened by hand using a whetstone. In this case, it is advisable to immediately determine the degree of inclination of the blade during sharpening, as this will affect the final result. The optimum tilt for sharpening a hunting knife is about 15-20 degrees. In this case, the whetstone must be installed on a flat surface and pre-moistened with any oil. Then you need to take a hunting knife in both hands and attach it to the surface of the emery stone, and then forcefully hold the blade cross-to-cross. For each side, you need to make about ten movements in order to perfectly sharpen a hunting knife at home.

Japanese knives are of special quality and durability, so they need to be sharpened in a suitable way. In order to sharpen a Japanese knife by hand, the Japanese water stone designed for this business is ideal. It looks like a whetstone and has a double color: on one side, the water stone is white, and on the other, it is dark brown or orange. Before sharpening a Japanese knife with a water stone, it (the stone) should be immersed in water for a few minutes. When the stone will not emit bubbles, you can start sharpening. First, sharpen the Japanese knife on a coarse brown surface, and then polish it with a white one.

Ceramic knives can only be sharpened with a sharpening machine, and then provided that there is a diamond-coated attachment for it. In this case, it is desirable to have minimal skills in working with this tool, otherwise there is a possibility of permanently damaging the ceramic knife. To properly sharpen a ceramic knife with a grinder, you need to lean the blade against a diamond-coated abrasive wheel, tilt the blade 25 degrees and turn on the machine. Be careful: the smaller the angle of inclination, the sharper the sharpening will be.

The grafting knife should only be sharpened on one side. This is done as follows: turn the knife so that its blade is directed towards you, then start sharpening the upper section of the knife, gradually going down. Adjust the angle of the blade so that the blade is sharpest at the tip. It is necessary to sharpen the grafting knife using a bar and a whetstone, the surface of which should be regularly moistened with water.

Fringing circular knives, like hand planer knives, can only be sharpened with a sharpening machine. It is best to give such knives to professionals who will sharpen circular knives or hand planer knives as they should. It is better not to sharpen such knives on your own, especially if you do not have any skills when working with a grinding machine.

If our advice did not help you sharpen a knife correctly and effectively at home, then we advise you to watch a video tutorial for sharpening knives, as well as read a book or any other educational literature on this topic. Sharpening knives is not easy, and therefore requires at least minimal knowledge.

xcook.info

How to sharpen a knife to razor sharpness at home

We use a knife to cook food, cut food and do other household tasks. Therefore, it is very important that the knife blade remains sharp at all times. Theoretically, there is nothing difficult in sharpening knives, but in practice it turns out that not everyone is good at sharpening the blade. To have an idea of how to sharpen knives and how to do it correctly, we advise you to read our article.

The main types of knives

Before you start sharpening a knife, you need to find out what material it is made of. There are several types of knives:

Sharpening tools

Touchstone (whetstone)

Sharpening stones are available with different amounts of abrasive grains per square millimeter. Therefore, for coarse sharpening and finishing sanding, you need to use bars with a minimum and maximum abrasive content. In foreign-made whetstones, information on the amount of abrasive grains is on their marking. Sharpening stones of domestic production have to be chosen "by eye" or ask the seller which touchstone to use for the primary and which for the final sharpening.

Mechanical sharpener

Mechanical sharpeners are mainly used to sharpen kitchen knives. Although the sharpening process is fast, the quality leaves much to be desired. For this reason, other sharpening methods are recommended for hunting and sporting knives.

Electric sharpener

Modern models of electric sharpeners, allow you to achieve high quality sharpening, due to the built-in function, automatic determination of the angle of inclination of the blade. The electric sharpener is great for both domestic use and for sharpening knives in catering organizations. The range of electric sharpeners is presented in a wide range, so the price may vary, but if you want your knives to always remain sharp, then buy more "advanced" and expensive models.

Musat

Musat - designed to maintain the sharpness of the knife edge. In shape, the musat resembles a round file with a handle. Musat are included in knife sets, and many owners often confuse them with a tool for a full sharpening of the blade. Please note that with the help of musat you can maintain the sharpness of a sharpened knife, but if the knife is completely dull, you will not be able to sharpen it with musat.

Sharpener "Lansky"

This sharpener is used for sharpening small and medium sized knives. The design of the sharpener allows you to sharpen the blade at the angle you choose. The Lansky sharpener consists of a rod with a removable whetstone and two corners connected to each other. The corners simultaneously serve as a knife vise and a scale for selecting the sharpening angle. The sharpener also comes with ANSI-graded sharpening stones in various grit sizes.

Sharpening and grinding machines

Grinding machines are used mainly in manufacturing for high-precision sharpening of the blades of rotating shafts. In addition to high-precision machines, there are electrically driven abrasive wheels and rotating grinding discs. Sharpening of knives on such machines should be carried out only by an experienced craftsman, because due to the speed of rotation of the circle or disk and the high heating temperature, with any unsuccessful movement, the knife blade will become unusable.

The sharpening of the blade, produced by a sharpening bar, is considered to be of the highest quality, of course, provided that it was made by an experienced master. To sharpen a knife on a sharpening block, do the following:

Place a whetstone with a low abrasive grain content on a stationary surface. If the block is small, you can clamp it in a vice.
Keeping the knife at an angle of 20-25 degrees with respect to the surface of the block, begin the movement of the knife along the stone with the cutting edge forward.
Move the blade along the bar so that during movement it touches the surface of the donkey along its entire length.
Try to keep the same angle of inclination of the blade while driving.
After 2-3 strokes, turn the knife over and repeat the sharpening process on the other side of the blade.
Thus, alternating sides, sharpen the knife until an edge (burr) appears along the edge of the blade.
Swap the coarse whetstone for a grinding block.
Sand the knife blade until the edge disappears.
Test the sharpness of your knife by cutting a folded hemp rope several times, or try cutting a piece of paper.

How to sharpen a knife with a sharpening bar, see also the video:

Sharpening a hunting knife on a Lansky sharpener

Hunting knives are made from hard steel, so their initial sharpening requires sharpening stones with a low abrasive grain content.

How to sharpen knives in the Lansky sharpener, see the video:

Scissors sharpening

Sharpening of scissors must be done on a special sharpening machine. Sharpening the blades with the help of improvised (sandpaper, glass edge, etc.) can temporarily improve the sharpness of the scissors, but not for long. If you do not have the opportunity to sharpen scissors from a professional, then you can try to make your own sharpening with an abrasive stone. When sharpening, you need to follow a few simple rules:

When sharpening scissors, do not rush, patience in this matter will be your ally.

How to quickly sharpen scissors can also be seen in the video:

Sharpening planer blades and chisels

Sharpening of the planer blade and chisel practically do not differ from each other. Therefore, the sharpening process described below is applicable to both tools:

In addition to manual sharpening, the chisel can be sharpened on a machine with a rotating abrasive disc:

Do not forget that when sharpening products on the machine, a lot of sparks and small particles are formed that can get into the eyes, so be sure to work with protective glasses. And so as not to injure your hands on the spinning disc, wear gloves.

You can also learn how to sharpen tools from the video:

Tips for sharpening your blade quickly with handy tools

Stone

You can quickly add sharpness to the knife on a hike or on a picnic using an ordinary cobblestone. Use any stone lying on the ground instead of a whetstone and run the blade of a knife over its surface. You will not achieve razor sharpness, but you will return the knife to working condition.

It is quite possible to sharpen two knives at once, without sharpening stones and devices. To do this, you need to take a knife in both hands and start sharpening the blade of one knife on the blade of the other. After 5-10 minutes of such work, the knives will become sharper than before.

Glass objects

The knife blade can be sharpened slightly against the rough edge of glass or ceramic objects. For example, about the bottom of a glass or the edge of a tile. The main thing is that the surface is rough.

Leather belt

A leather belt is more suitable for finishing and shaving the blade of a knife than for rough sharpening. But if there is nothing at hand besides the belt, then you can try to sharpen the knife on it. To do this, you need to give the belt a stretch and start driving the blade along it, you may not achieve a strong sharpness, but you will polish the knife to a shine.
Having learned how to sharpen knives and tools on your own, you will acquire a skill that will be useful to you throughout your life!

remboo.ru

How to sharpen knives at home with a bar, musat or stone with video and photos

A sharp knife is a necessary and convenient tool in the kitchen for preparing any dish. Sharpening skill is an important skill that everyone must master. In addition, for the fair sex in our time, a lot of devices have been created that help to quickly and correctly make the device sharp without much effort and waste of precious time.

How to choose a knife sharpening angle

Before you sharpen your knives at home, you need to know the intricacies of this difficult craft. The most important nuance is the angle of the blade in relation to the working surface. This parameter is selected depending on the type and hardness of the material, as well as on the basis of what the device is intended for. For example, different tools are sharpened correctly under the following degrees:

10-15 - this is how it is supposed to sharpen razor blades and scalpels;
15-20 - suitable for vegetables, meat or bread;
20-25 - recommend sharpening cooking tools of various orientations;
25-30 - choose for hunting knives.

In the modern market of goods, a large selection of sharpening tools is offered for purchase. Choosing such a device is not so easy, because even classic sanding stones have a wide range of options. Prices sometimes reach several tens of dollars. Other popular devices include musats, electronic, mechanical sharpeners, special stones, and machine tools. Processing the blade with each of these tools has its own distinctive features. It is important to know in advance how to sharpen knives with this or that tool at home.

How to sharpen a knife correctly

Before you start processing knives, you should know one important rule - you do not need to save on tools. You can be sure that a quality bar at an average price will make the blade as sharp as possible. Low-level appliances will not only fail to provide the required level of pungency, but can also ruin your favorite kitchen item. Take a closer look at the different sharpening tools. The knowledge of how to sharpen knives correctly will be useful to everyone.

One of the most popular processing tools is musat (steel). He is a frequent guest of both home and restaurant kitchens. Musat is mainly needed for straightening the blades of knives, which are often used in cooking. It is very important that a few correct actions with the steel become a habit. It is necessary to trim the blades with musat before using the device and immediately after using it.

A file-like device is held with one hand, and the blade is held by pulling the blade from the tip to the handle with the same movement along the steel (similar to planing). It is necessary to sharpen on each side of the cutting object 4-5 times, but not more. It is necessary to edit the blades on the musat at a 20-25 degree inclination without much pressure and effort. Experts advise during the operation to keep the steel strictly vertical, resting one end on a hard surface, for example, a table.

How to sharpen a knife with a whetstone

The most popular tool for processing blades is sharpening stones, which are both artificial and natural. With this tool, you can sharpen your favorite knife quickly and efficiently. A common item in hardware stores and a very inexpensive item is boat-shaped stones. They differ only in grain size. For example, stones with a coarse abrasive surface are used to correct the shape of the cutting edge. Medium grains will be used to restore the blade, and fine grained - to fine-tune the sharpness.

It is advisable to buy a set of stones of different abrasives in order to process the required items in different ways at once. How to sharpen a kitchen knife correctly with a sharpening stone:

Wash the blade in cold water (cool steel is better sharpened).
It is required to place the blade over the stone at an angle of 30 degrees.
Drive the blade in the direction from the handle to the tip.
Sharpen each side of the hem evenly with 30-50 strokes.
At the end of the process, work the blade in the same way on a fine-grained stone (10-15 strokes).
Alternatively, for finishing, you can use a special leather belt, pre-lubricated with an abrasive paste.
Sharp-sharpened objects can be used.

How to sharpen a knife with a bar correctly

Bars are considered professional tools for sharpening knives. They are made from all kinds of materials, the best of which experts consider a diamond coated stone. This type of sharpener will process the required tool the fastest. The principle of correct processing of the blades is no different from the identical process with stones with a standard abrasive. In addition, you can choose products with alumina or silicon carbide spraying.

How to sharpen knives on a grinder

One of the fastest and most effective methods of sharpening knives correctly is using a special circular machine with abrasive discs (made of emery). Unfortunately, such machines are not often found at home. They are cumbersome and require some skill to use. Often such devices are found in factories that produce cutting tools. Blades sharpened with machine tools are heated to very high temperatures, so an important rule should be known - the number of revolutions of the device should be minimal.

The correct sharpening of knives is as follows: the blade must be pressed against the circle (cup, plate, straight profile) evenly, and the movements must be smooth. The sharpening angle is 25-30 degrees. The lower this indicator, the thinner and more fragile the blade will be. It will take a lot of time for the operation, in addition, there is a possibility of quickly damaging the point. It is undesirable for beginners and inexperienced people to start such a procedure at home.

How to sharpen knives on an electric sharpener

Electric sharpeners are becoming very popular in the market for goods. They are easy to use and the surface becomes sharp in minutes. An obvious plus of such devices is that they choose the sharpening angle themselves and are suitable for all types of blades - scissors, screwdrivers, etc. Many do not know how to sharpen a ceramic knife correctly. Devices made of this material are extremely fragile, and one awkward movement on a bar or musat can easily damage the blade. In this case, electric sharpeners do their job well.

Sharpening ceramic knives at home is very simple. You just need to set the mode, bring the blade to a special hole in the device, gently place it there, press it slightly. The electric sharpener with diamond discs will perform all other actions by itself. The mechanism can work even with the most dull blades, so experts recommend it for purchase. If earlier only well-known restaurants could afford such a tool, now it is available to everyone.

Prices for sharpening tools for knives

All knives sharpening devices can be purchased in household appliances stores, kitchen utensils departments, or bought in an online store. The last method is good because it is easy to choose the necessary device without getting up from your favorite couch. You can immediately appreciate the thing in the photo. The run-up in prices is very large, and the range is replenished every day. The highest quality - Japanese, German and domestic options.

The approximate cost of different sharpening tools, depending on the quality and the manufacturing company, to make it easier to order the desired model in the online store without overpaying:

Standard sharpening stones - from 80 to 200 rubles.
Diamond bars - from 450 to 10,000 rubles.
Musat - from 500 to 3000 rubles.
Grinding machines - from 2,000 to 20,000 rubles.
Electric sharpeners - from 700 to 10,000 rubles.

Video: how to sharpen a knife at home

Not everyone knows how to sharpen knives correctly with different tools at home. These skills will be useful to any person, regardless of their love or intolerance for homework. If you know the technology, the sharpening process becomes easy and effortless. In the videos below, experienced specialists will tell you how to sharpen knives at home and bring them to razor sharpness. Find out which tool and at what price it is better to choose, at which angle it is better to process the blades and which technology is desirable to use.

How to sharpen a ceramic knife at home

Sharpening kitchen knives

How to sharpen a knife to a razor sharp edge

How to sharpen a meat grinder knife

How to sharpen a hunting knife correctly

There are many ways to restore the sharpness of the blade. You can sharpen knives by hand or using special tools. Blade processing tools are divided into automatic and semi-automatic. With their help, damaged blades are restored, or the cutting edges are simply straightened.

IMPORTANT! It should not be forgotten that with each sharpening, the amount of metal on the blade decreases.

We will help owners of cutting tools figure out how to sharpen knives correctly using any of the proposed methods.

Blunt tool processing on a machine

The industry produces various electric sharpeners for.

The whole mechanism is in the case, which makes the work on the machine completely safe. No effort and special skills are required, so any housewife can easily cope with such a task.

The electric motor rotates an axis on which there are several circles for various purposes. From rough to give the initial shape or restore the geometry of the blade, to polishing, which is used for final finishing.

There was a time when the life of the whole family depended on this skill, and today a sharp knife is just a convenient tool for preparing an elegant dish. In this regard, the skill of owning a sharpener is a quality of hunters and weapon collectors. Anyone can figure out how to sharpen knives correctly, because there are a lot of devices and devices for this. This is a huge list of the arsenal, among which there are whetstones, and musats, and electronic and mechanical sharpeners, as well as grinding belts. Therefore, every man who knows how to sharpen a knife correctly will be able to choose for himself the ideal option for sharpening a knife.

Knife sharpening methods

Sharpening stones are of both natural origin and artificially made. Natural stones have a fine-grained structure and are used for finishing, but not for sharpening. Artificial stones are more versatile, they have two levels of grain, which are located on both sides of the bar. A detailed instruction on how to sharpen knives, a video with comments and a picture of the whole process will help you understand this difficult process.

Knife sharpening

Before proceeding to the sharpening procedure, it is necessary to grease the selected block with oil or moisten it with water and leave for 15–20 minutes. This procedure allows fine gaps in the stone grains to remain unblocked by steel particles. If you adhere to this rule, then the bar will last a very long time.

When using a double-sided bar, start sharpening from its rough side, which has a high grain size and will allow you to remove the layer of steel. For blade sharpening, the main condition for work is the correct angle of the blade relative to the stone used. An angle of 20 degrees is considered the most acceptable, but, according to experts, depending on the type and purpose of the knife used, the angle of inclination can change:

to sharpen the cutting edge on a hunting or folding knife, an angle of 30-35 degrees is used, and to make the blade resistant to blunting, it is sharpened at an angle of 40-45 degrees.
tactical knives are sharpened at an angle of 25-40 degrees.
professional chef knives, fillet knives and roll knives are sharpened at an angle of 25 degrees.
kitchen knives used in everyday life - at an angle of 25-30 degrees.
Japanese kitchen knives can be sharpened at an angle of 10-20 degrees.
razors - 10-15 degrees.

In order to understand how the sharpening angle affects, you need to know the basic rule: to sharpen it, you need to reduce the sharpening angle, and in order to prevent the knife from dulling, increase the sharpening angle.

It is necessary to sharpen in continuous movements with a slight lift of the handle at the moment when the bar reaches the bend of the blade, which will leave the same sharpening angle of the cutting edge. It is also necessary to follow the direction of movement of the blade, which should be perpendicular to the cutting edge, while pressing slightly on the blade.

Debugging

As you can see from the video, after working with the rough side of the grindstone, you can start finishing on the stone with a fine-grained structure. To create a very sharp blade after working with the fine-grained side of the donkey, you can use a special belt or any piece of leather that has been pre-treated with an abrasive paste.

Checking the sharpening level

There are several ways to check the sharpness of the blade.

You need to take a sheet of newsprint and try to cut it, as shown in the video. Or use any soft fruit or vegetable that cannot be cut with a mild knife.
To check the Japanese knife, you need to roll up the newspaper with a strong roll, wrap it with tape, put it on the edge of the table and cut it through. If the knife is sharp enough, the roll will split into two halves.
You can also check by touch, that is, run your finger along the edge of the blade, a dull blade will be rounded when probing.
The check can be done in the following way. Bring the pre-sharpened knife to the light and check for glare, if any, this means that the blade is not sharp enough.

Sharp knives must be used for cooking. Of course, it is easier to contact a specialist who can sharpen the knife correctly quickly and for little money, but you can do it yourself.

It is necessary to sharpen the knife according to certain rules, otherwise you can spoil the blade.

Correct knife sharpening angle

When sharpening kitchen knives, it is important that the objects are in a certain position in relation to the work surface. To do this, you need to choose the correct sharpening angle.

This parameter depends on many factors, for example, the type and level of strength of the metal from which the blade is made, as well as the purpose for which this tool is used. So, the degree of sharpening for different types of knives:

scalpel and razor blade - from 10 to 15 degrees;
vegetable, meat and fish knives - from 15 to 20 degrees;
other cooking utensils - from 20 to 25 degrees;
hunting blades - 25-30 degrees.

It is important to choose the right angle of sharpening, this is necessary to achieve the desired sharpness of the kitchen appliance.

What grit is needed for sharpening knives

When sharpening blades, special stones are used. Their surface is an abrasive consisting of grains of different sizes. The grain size of the stone depends on this indicator. Sharpening devices are divided into the following groups:

the most coarse-grained (especially coarse material);
ordinary coarse-grained;
medium-grained;
fine-grained (delicate abrasive);
micro-grained (material of increased fineness).

How to sharpen a knife correctly? A good craftsman knows that using only one type of stone is ineffective. According to the rules, sharpening is performed alternately, moving from coarse and rough to delicate, thin stones.

How to sharpen knives on a grinder

The use of a machine is considered an effective way of sharpening, however, the mechanism is cumbersome, and for this reason it is not available in every home. But if you have the opportunity to use it to sharpen dull kitchen appliances, you should know some of the intricacies of this work:

sharpening on the machine is carried out at high temperatures, therefore, it is necessary to set the minimum number of revolutions so as not to damage the blade;
the blade must be firmly pressed against the sharpening surface, and the movements during sharpening must be smooth;
when achieving a sharp cutting surface, it is important to keep the sharpened part at an angle of 25-30 degrees in relation to the grinding wheel.

Please note that you will need a lot of time to work. In addition, those who do not have sufficient experience in this matter should not take up sharpening on the machine.

How to sharpen knives with emery correctly

If you have some experience and know how emery works, sharpening knives will not be difficult for you. So, when sharpening blades on emery, adhere to the following rules:

when applying the blade to the abrasive, do not apply large mechanical forces;
the trajectory of rotation of the abrasive should be in the direction from the butt to the edge;
a knife on emery is moved across the circle, smoothly moving from the handle of the device to the edge of the blade;
when sharpening from both sides, you cannot change the angle of fixation of the blade, you just need to rearrange it to the other side;
at the end of the work, edit the knife with a bar, musat or sandpaper.

Of course, true craftsmen prefer manual sharpening, which allows for maximum effect. But if it's not about giving the blade the sharpness of a scalpel, but just making it pretty sharp, using emery will achieve decent results.

How to sharpen kitchen knives with a sharpener

Today you can buy special devices to sharpen knives - these are blade sharpeners. These devices are mechanical and electrical. If you are not very experienced or have not tried to sharpen knives yourself at all, it is better to use the electric option.

This sharpener independently chooses the angle of sharpening, and it is used to sharpen any kind of household blades. The work is done like this:

Set the required mode.
Place the blade in the special hole.
Press a little to create a tight contact between the blade and the sharpening surface.

After completing these steps, you no longer need to worry about ruining your knife. The sharpener will do the work on its own, and you will get a remarkably sharpened blade. This is the best way to achieve the desired sharpness of your kitchen appliance at home.

How to use the round disc knife sharpener

There are various accessories for sharpening knives, including sharpeners with round discs. The difference is that the grinding material in this case is a special rotating roller that grinds the cutting surface at an angle of 45 degrees.

The main advantage of such devices is that after sharpening there is no burr left on the blade, and the work is done simply. In addition, roller sharpeners stay sharp for much longer than V-shaped sharpeners.

Most often, such sharpeners are adapted not only for knives, but also for scissors.

So make sure to choose a sharpening cavity first.
Take the sharpener in your left hand and the knife in your right.
Place the blade of the knife in the area of the handle between the discs and forcefully slide it to the tip.
Repeat the same thing several times.
Be careful not to cut yourself.

How to sharpen damascus knives

Damascus steel knives have been popular at all times, they are considered the most durable, and their sharpness can hardly be compared with anything. But even this material tends to become dull.

It is important to know that no electric sharpeners can be used here, only manual processing is needed. When sharpening a Damascus steel knife, you must adhere to the following principles:

First, determine the strength of the metal. This can be done by paying attention to the sharpening angle, the stronger the material, the sharper it will be.
Use fine-grained abrasives, gradually moving to micro-coatings.
Sharpen the blade only along the cutting surface.
If there are nicks, the entire length of the edge must be grinded.
If it is necessary to polish the slopes, this must be done before the cutting edge is sharpened. If you are processing an already sharpened blade, the point may simply round out.

If you are not sure that you will do everything correctly, it is better not to risk it and contact a specialist.

Is it possible to sharpen a knife without a stone

It so happens that a knife needs urgent sharpening, but there are no suitable tools. But do not be upset, you can solve the problem in the following ways:

sharpen a dull knife on the blade of another cutting device;
sharpen the raw edges of the bottom of the plate or mug;
sand the blade with sandpaper, processing only one side;
take any stone that you find on the street and sharpen it in the same way as with a bar.

This will allow you to briefly sharpen a blunt device, but such methods cannot be called full-fledged sharpening. Remember that these measures are best reserved as a last resort and not used all the time, otherwise the blades will quickly deteriorate.

How to sharpen a knife on a knife

What to do if the blade is dull, and there is neither a bar nor an electric sharpener at hand? Sharpen the knife on the knife! This procedure is performed as follows:

attach the cutting surface of a dull blade to the back of another knife;
take the devices so as to sharpen "away from you", that is, the cutting edges should be directed to the sides;
perform 10-15 vigorous movements, swiping one blade against the other.

This will briefly "revive" a dull knife, however, such a procedure is not a full-fledged sharpening.

How to sharpen a knife to a razor sharp edge

Almost any blade can be razor sharp. To do this, use one of the following methods:

Treat the surface with GOI paste and a piece of natural leather, after removing the jaggedness with a fine-grained stone. Remember that you need to carry out the finishing, moving from the handle to the point, without changing the direction, and keep the blade at an angle.
Sew the edge down until the notches are fine, then work the other side of the blade in the same way. This will add spice, but not for long.
use ceramics, for example, turn the plate upside down and sharpen the appliance on the untreated, non-glazed areas on the bottom.

Be careful not to cut yourself or damage the blade when working.

How to sharpen a serrated knife

If you have serrated knives in your kitchen, then you need to know that these tools cannot be sharpened with ordinary sharpeners. To make this option of the cutting surface sharp, you need to do the following:

Prepare a special tool for serrated blades, namely a tapered sharpening rod, preferably made of ceramic.
Determine the side of the beveled teeth and sharpen that part of the blade.
Install the sharpener at an angle to the beveled part of the blade.
Sharpen each cavity with a few movements, moving the blade away from you.
Remove the resulting burrs using sandpaper or the same rod, only do not press on the surface, but act gently.
Sharpen the smooth side of the blade with a suitable tool.

Remember not to use a shank that is used to trim the jagged surfaces on the side of the blade where they are missing, otherwise you will ruin the knife.

Not really

Sharp knives must be used for cooking. Of course, it is easier to contact a specialist who can sharpen the knife correctly quickly and for little money, but you can do it yourself.

It is necessary to sharpen the knife according to certain rules, otherwise you can spoil the blade.

Correct knife sharpening angle

When sharpening kitchen knives, it is important that the objects are in a certain position in relation to the work surface. To do this, you need to choose the correct sharpening angle.

scalpel and razor blade - from 10 to 15 degrees;
vegetable, meat and fish knives - from 15 to 20 degrees;
other cooking utensils - from 20 to 25 degrees;
hunting blades - 25-30 degrees.

It is important to choose the right angle of sharpening, this is necessary to achieve the desired sharpness of the kitchen appliance.

What grit is needed for sharpening knives

the most coarse-grained (especially coarse material);
ordinary coarse-grained;
medium-grained;
fine-grained (delicate abrasive);
micro-grained (material of increased fineness).

How to sharpen knives on a grinder

Please note that you will need a lot of time to work. In addition, those who do not have sufficient experience in this matter should not take up sharpening on the machine.

How to sharpen knives with emery correctly

If you have some experience and know how emery works, sharpening knives will not be difficult for you. So, when sharpening blades on emery, adhere to the following rules:

when applying the blade to the abrasive, do not apply large mechanical forces;
the trajectory of rotation of the abrasive should be in the direction from the butt to the edge;
a knife on emery is moved across the circle, smoothly moving from the handle of the device to the edge of the blade;
when sharpening from both sides, you cannot change the angle of fixation of the blade, you just need to rearrange it to the other side;
at the end of the work, edit the knife with a bar, musat or sandpaper.

How to sharpen kitchen knives with a sharpener

This sharpener independently chooses the angle of sharpening, and it is used to sharpen any kind of household blades. The work is done like this:

How to use the round disc knife sharpener

Most often, such sharpeners are adapted not only for knives, but also for scissors.

How to sharpen damascus knives

Damascus steel knives have been popular at all times, they are considered the most durable, and their sharpness can hardly be compared with anything. But even this material tends to become dull.

It is important to know that no electric sharpeners can be used here, only manual processing is needed. When sharpening a Damascus steel knife, you must adhere to the following principles:

First, determine the strength of the metal. This can be done by paying attention to the sharpening angle, the stronger the material, the sharper it will be.
Use fine-grained abrasives, gradually moving to micro-coatings.
Sharpen the blade only along the cutting surface.
If there are nicks, the entire length of the edge must be grinded.
If it is necessary to polish the slopes, this must be done before the cutting edge is sharpened. If you are processing an already sharpened blade, the point may simply round out.

If you are not sure that you will do everything correctly, it is better not to risk it and contact a specialist.

Is it possible to sharpen a knife without a stone

It so happens that a knife needs urgent sharpening, but there are no suitable tools. But do not be upset, you can solve the problem in the following ways:

How to sharpen a knife on a knife

What to do if the blade is dull, and there is neither a bar nor an electric sharpener at hand? Sharpen the knife on the knife! This procedure is performed as follows:

attach the cutting surface of a dull blade to the back of another knife;
take the devices so as to sharpen "away from you", that is, the cutting edges should be directed to the sides;
perform 10-15 vigorous movements, swiping one blade against the other.

This will briefly "revive" a dull knife, however, such a procedure is not a full-fledged sharpening.

How to sharpen a knife to a razor sharp edge

Almost any blade can be razor sharp. To do this, use one of the following methods:

Be careful not to cut yourself or damage the blade when working.

How to sharpen a serrated knife

Prepare a special tool for serrated blades, namely a tapered sharpening rod, preferably made of ceramic.
Determine the side of the beveled teeth and sharpen that part of the blade.
Install the sharpener at an angle to the beveled part of the blade.
Sharpen each cavity with a few movements, moving the blade away from you.
Remove the resulting burrs using sandpaper or the same rod, only do not press on the surface, but act gently.
Sharpen the smooth side of the blade with a suitable tool.

Remember not to use a shank that is used to trim the jagged surfaces on the side of the blade where they are missing, otherwise you will ruin the knife.