The ability to sharpen knives is useful to most modern housewives, because the thickness of the cut and the mood with which you start cooking depend on the sharpness of the blade. How to sharpen knives so that this tool is always perfectly sharp? You can apply several fixtures. Let's consider each of them.

This is a rod with a handle that will sharpen the knife to absolute sharpness. Musat can be divided into several different types - metal, diamond or ceramic. Musat made of metal has notches that align the deformed edge of the blade. The last two options have a fine structure and are used for grinding and fitting the surface and the point.

The shape of the musat can also be different, but it does not affect the result. You need to use it like this:

1. Take a knife in one hand, hold the musat in the other. Musat is held with the rod down, resting on the table with its end.
2. Move the knife along the musat either with one side or the other, without changing the angle of inclination.
3. Move in an arc, sharpening the knives from handle to point. Do not apply special efforts - the blade should slide.

Musat is perfect for frequent use, therefore it is included in knife sets. Another advantage is the magnetized surface, thanks to which all the ground elements simply stick to the rod, leaving the knife clean.

whetstones

Sharpening knives with a bar is within the power of each of you. This is a well-known method that allows you to complete sharpening.

Grinding stones are made from artificial and natural materials. The surface of each of them has a different grain size. Coarse-grain sharpeners are suitable for grinding large pieces of metal, while fine-grained whetstones are more useful for grinding and sharpening.

The bars are also divided according to the method of processing - water or oil. Depending on it, the surface of the grindstones should be soaked in water or smeared with special oil (machine or vegetable oil is prohibited!). This will not allow metal filings to clog the surface of the abrasive and reduce the quality of the sharpener.

For high-quality sharpening in the house, you should have several types of bars. Now let's move on to the process:

1. Fix a coarse-grained bar on the table. During operation, it should not move.
2. Place the blade on the stone near the handle, choosing the desired angle.
3. Make a smooth movement on the stone with the blade of the knife, shifting the tip to the side.
4. At the bend of the blade, slightly raise the handle of the knife so that the edge of the blade is sharpened evenly.
5. Repeat several times, swiping the knife in the same direction.
6. Now turn the knife over and sharpen from the back.
7. Install another stone - with a medium grain size. It will remove the "burrs" on the metal and make the blade sharp.
8. Grind a kitchen knife on a fine-grained stone.
9. At the end of the process, rinse the stone with water to wash out the remnants of chips that clog into the pores.

The whetstone can be replaced with sandpaper with varying degrees of grit. It is firmly fixed and the same manipulations are carried out as when working with a bar.

Sharpening set

Sharpening knives at home is impossible without a set. It consists of a bed with clamps for blades, as well as whetstones. The kit is easy to use:

1. Attach the blade to the clip. The cutting edge should "look" up.
2. Insert a whetstone into the hole.
3. Make several running movements from the handle to the tip of the knife. We hold the knife perpendicular to ensure the desired sharpening angle.

The sharpening set includes several different whetstones for sharpening and straightening.

Mechanical sharpener

A sharpener of this type is a body with a very comfortable handle, in which several special discs are placed. You can sharpen knives with a knife sharpener not only at the first, but also at the last stage, when editing is necessary. Most devices have a sharpening angle that is perfect for a kitchen knife. The use of the sharpener is also simple and convenient:

1. Immerse the knife in the cell between the discs.
2. Swipe firmly from the handle to the point.
3. Repeat several times.
4. Rinse the sharpener with water and let it dry completely.

electric sharpener

One of the most convenient, efficient and safe ways to sharpen a knife. An electric sharpener can make a knife perfectly sharp in a couple of minutes. This sharpener consists of several different holes with diamond discs for sharpening, finishing and polishing the blade. Expensive tools are also suitable for sharpening serrated knives.

How to sharpen knives with an electric sharpener?

1. Insert the knife into the desired hole.
2. Pass it between the discs from the handle to the tip, applying light pressure.
3. Repeat several times.

Grinder

The sharpening machine is able to sharpen a dull blade to razor sharpness and retain its cutting properties for a long time. But lack of experience and inability to use this complex unit can lead to the fact that the blade will be damaged. The grinder is only suitable for professionals.

It is equipped with two fast-rotating discs that perform knife sharpening and grinding. The machine can sharpen any kind of blade, but you need to choose the sharpening angle yourself. The main thing is to monitor the heating of the steel so that it does not overheat.

We sharpen a ceramic knife

Recently, ceramic knives have become more and more popular, because the stores claim that they are not dull at all. Still how stupid, you understand after 3 weeks! How to sharpen a ceramic knife at home and can it be done?

Ceramics can only be sharpened on a machine - the material tolerates high temperatures. For these purposes, a diamond or corundum disk is useful. The regular one won't work! Sharpening should be done at the lowest possible speed to minimize tool runout. You need to press the knife gently, without making any effort.

At the end of the process, rinse the knife with water to wash off the remaining chips. Be very careful - you can cut yourself quickly!

How to check the result...

Now everyone knows how to sharpen knives properly. It remains only to check the result of your work. This is very easy to do - cut a fresh tomato. If the blade does not crush, but quickly cuts through the skin, the knife is sharpened well.

Another interesting and non-standard method:

…and keep the knife sharp?

In this case, proven tips will help you:

• Do not store knives together with other cutlery (forks, spoons, etc.) - the blade will rub against the surface of other objects, microscopic nicks will appear on it, which will dull the blade. The best place for a knife is a wooden stand, a magnetic strip, or a special case;
• Do not leave the appliance dirty - it takes a lot of effort to wash dried food. This may scratch the cutting edge of the knife. In addition, many products contain acid, which will lead to metal corrosion;
• Control the duration of contact of the knife blade with water. Long lying in a bowl of water has a bad effect on the metal, as well as the material of the handle;
• To keep your knife sharp longer, wash it only with cold water and try to cut very hot food less often.

This tool is very similar to a file: a long rod of round section, with a notch and a handle. It is mainly used for straightening the cutting edge of a knife. The thing is useful, as it allows you to constantly keep the knife in working order. But if the blade is already very dull, the musat will not help you - capital sharpening is necessary.

2. Mechanical sharpener

cook-r.ru

A good thing that every housewife should buy. Well suited for sharpening kitchen knives, as it does it quickly and easily. True, the quality is not always pleasing, and the knives get dull as quickly as they sharpen. For a kitchen knife, this method is suitable, but no more.

3. Electric sharpener

klevin-knife.ru

A great way to quickly and at the same time sharpen knives with any type of blade, as well as scissors and even screwdrivers. The device is able to sharpen and then grind any blade in two minutes. It is important that it automatically determines the desired sharpening angle, but we will talk about this below. Such a thing will cost from 2 to 50 thousand rubles, depending on the speed of sharpening, the guide system and power.

4. Machine with an abrasive wheel

kak-eto-sdelano.livejournal.com

This is a professional tool, with its help sharpen and grind blades in industrial enterprises. Without experience, it is better not to climb to the machine: steel is hardened at a certain temperature, so uncontrolled heating on the machine during sharpening can irreparably damage the knife. Leave this method to the professionals.

5. Whetstone

tojiro.spb.ru

Sharpening with a whetstone is one of the most effective ways. This process is not easy, but entertaining. Requires perseverance and some experience with the bar. For sharpening, two stones are needed: with small grains and large ones.

There are two types of whetstones: natural and artificial. The difference is in the grain size: natural stones are usually fine-grained, they are used for grinding. And artificial ones are initially made more versatile, with different degrees of graininess on different sides of the bar.

How to sharpen knives

vottak.net

Before proceeding to the sharpening process, dip the whetstone for 15 minutes in oil or water. This will extend the life of the bar, since steel particles will not clog between the grains.

Start sharpening with a coarse-grained stone. It is important to correctly position the blade relative to the surface of the bar, since the final result largely depends on this. The correct sharpening angle is also important: experts advise sharpening the blade at an angle of 20 degrees, but this can vary depending on the type of knife.

• Professional chef's and fillet knives require a 25 degree angle.
• Japanese kitchen knives should be sharpened at an angle of 10-20 degrees.
• For hunting blades, an angle of 30 to 45 degrees is used. A larger angle is required for greater resistance to blunting.
• For household kitchen knives, an angle of 30 degrees is enough.

The rule here is simple: if you want to make the knife sharper, we reduce the sharpening angle, and for greater resistance to blunting, we increase it.

It is necessary to sharpen in continuous movements, lifting the handle at the moment when the bar reaches the bend of the blade. This will maintain the sharpening angle of the cutting edge. It is important that the movement of the blade is perpendicular to the edge, while it is necessary to apply a little pressure on the blade.

Grinding

lastday.club

When the main sharpening has been completed, we start grinding. This will require a fine-grained stone. Grinding is necessary in order to level the surface and remove the burr. The technique remains unchanged.

Conclusion

In theory, everything is quite clear, but in practice, the process of sharpening a knife is far from the easiest. You will have to stock up on patience and attentiveness: one awkward movement, and all the work is in vain. Theory is great, but without practice in this matter nothing. And the process itself is not cheap, since good whetstones cost a lot of money.

If you just need to sharpen your knives, without all that fetish, get an electric sharpener. The result will be the same, and this method will save your nerves and time.

The useful skill of sharpening knives will be useful to you for life, because their owner is also judged by the sharpness of the knives. In the old days, the owner of the house was judged by the sharpness of the knives. After all, it is a whole science to sharpen the blade without damaging the kitchen utensils. It has its own subtleties and tricks. And blades, as you know, tend to dull again over time. Therefore, having mastered once such a useful skill as sharpening your kitchen and household knives at home, be sure that it will come in handy for you throughout your life.

• • Why do knives get dull
  • Other ways to sharpen knives
  • Checking the quality of sharpening
  • Conclusion

Why do knives get dull

This unpleasant phenomenon has two main reasons:

Even the strongest steel begins to crumble in the process of friction. This is impossible to see with the naked eye, but becomes noticeable during cutting. The blade wears out, and each time you have to make more effort to chop food.

It is inconvenient to wield a knife, holding it at a right angle to the board. When the blade is deflected, an increased load is created on one of its sides. From this, the knife is bent, and the tip is licked off and becomes dull faster.

The more blunt the blade of the knife, the more effort must be applied in the cutting process.

You can check whether it is time to start sharpening with paper. Take the sheet in one hand, and run the knife over it with the other. If the paper does not cut and tears, the tool is dull.

You can take your cutting tools to the workshop. But it should be borne in mind that grinding on a grinding machine heats up the steel greatly, and this accelerates the process of its wear. If you do it yourself at home using a bar or other gentle method, you will extend the life of the knife.

Knife sharpening tools

In order to sharpen a knife at home, you will need a whetstone or an ordinary sharpener. The main thing is that its surface is smooth, without chips and dents. In addition, machine oil is required.

The bar for sharpening a knife should not be short

When sharpening knives, the main thing is not to overdo it.

For sharpening knives at home, bars with different grain sizes are used.

The bars differ not only in size, but also in characteristics:

• coarse stones with coarse grit are used to sharpen the cutting edge and restore the correct angle;
• middle ones are used to restore the edge;
• thin bars make fine grinding and dressing of the knife.

For everyday sharpening, a medium-grained surface is most often used.

How to sharpen a knife with a bar yourself

Not every owner knows all the subtleties of how to properly sharpen knives with a bar at home. It will help you figure it out detailed instructions:

The surface on which the bar will lie must be stable.

A rubber sheet or newspaper is placed under the bar so that the stone does not slip.

A few drops of oil are applied to its surface.

The knife blade is dipped in cold water.

With the working hand, the knife is taken by the handle, the fingers of the other hand are placed on the blade.

Sharpening angle matters. Knives that are designed for fine work are held at an angle of less than 20 degrees relative to the bar. Tools for rough cutting and utility knives - up to 30 degrees.

The knife is driven along the bar with the cutting edge forward from the handle to the point.

The process is repeated 15-20 times, changing the sides of the knife.

As the metal shavings become contaminated, the bar is washed with water and oils are added.

Finally, sand each side of the blade several times on a fine-grained stone surface.

When sharpening a knife with a bar, it is important to observe the correct sharpening angle recommended for the type of knife being sharpened.

Other ways to sharpen knives

A bar is the classic and easiest way to process a blade. There are other, less traditional, but also effective techniques for restoring the sharpness of a knife.

Musat is a sharpening tool, which is often included in the kit if you purchase knives in a set. It is a faceted or round metal rod with a handle.

For sharpening, follow the instructions:

Musat lean perpendicular to the table.

A knife blade at the handle is applied to the upper part.

Alternately, each side is carried out over the surface with arcuate movements.

Musat, as a rule, is included in the standard set of metal knives

The quality of the knife blade suffers from the frequent use of a mechanical sharpener.

You can use the blade of another knife to sharpen a knife.

For the home, you can purchase a mechanical sharpener. This is a universal mini-machine with metal circles in a plastic case. The knife is inserted into the slotted hole and pulled with force towards itself.

This method is used when you need to quickly sharpen a knife. But often it is not recommended to use it, as the quality of the knife suffers from this.

Sharpening a knife at home will also help:

• ceramic mugs and plates. To do this, the knife makes sliding movements on the surface of the dishes;
• some grind the tool on emery at home. This method is used to bring the sharpness to perfection or to slightly sharpen the knife;
• a file is a good option for small knives;
• you can sharpen a knife with a piece of genuine leather, which is previously treated with GOI paste;
• hard stone - such a primitive method can help out if the knife failed with its sharpness in the country, but there were no suitable tools at hand.

Knife can be sharpened with ceramic utensils

You can use emery to sharpen the sharpness of a knife.

Do ceramic knives need sharpening?

There is a widespread belief that ceramic knives cannot be sharpened. It is only partly true. This is a very fragile thing, so at home it is problematic to sharpen it in the usual way. It is easier to give such a tool to a workshop where there is special equipment for processing ceramic surfaces.

The blade of a ceramic knife at home can only be ground, as special equipment is used to sharpen it, which is equipped with workshops

If you use a grinder, you can grind the blade at home. Unlike a steel blade, a ceramic blade will not be spoiled by an increase in the temperature of the material. For these purposes, a disk with a diamond or corundum coating is used.

Checking the quality of sharpening

After the tool is sharpened, it must be rinsed with water and wiped. Gently run your finger along the blade of the knife. It should be slightly rough to the touch.

The quality of sharpening can be checked by holding the knife to a bright light with the blade up. If there are no sharp highlights from this, everything is done correctly.

Sharpening a knife at home (video)

Conclusion

Now that you know the basic methods and subtleties of sharpening, it remains only to master the theory in practice. This process is quite easy and even pleasant. From now on, your knives will always remain in excellent condition, and the hostess in the kitchen will always be in a good mood.

The most popular method of sharpening a knife at home is sharpening on a whetstone. Everyone no doubt knows this method, but most people do not know how to do it correctly. We will figure out how to do it right without any extra effort and without special equipment.
Over time, even with the most proper use, any knife becomes dull. And its cutting edge, which is at the end of the blade, becomes rounded.

This is absolutely normal. Not normal, this is when notches or chips appear on the tip, indicating the improper use of the knife. Such a tool is more difficult to fix.
Now for the whetstone, which is a stone that has one side that is rough with a high grit and the other side that is smoother with a fine grit. The rough side is needed to form the cutting edge of the knife, and the smooth side is needed to polish the edge to smoothness. Well, this is certainly a good example, more often I see how stones with uniform surfaces are used, but that’s not the point.

So, before sharpening, it is necessary to fix the stone well. It is important.
This can be done using a wooden block with nails hammered in the shape of a stone that do not protrude beyond its limits.

We install the stone with the rough side up, and fix the piece of wood in a vise if possible.

We sharpen a knife on a stone

The sharpening process requires a little skill, but if you have absolutely no experience, it doesn’t matter, the knife will be sharpened anyway, although not so correctly and skillfully.
Imagine that you need to cut off a thin layer of butter from a piece. In the same way, the sharpening movement occurs. We put the knife at a slight angle closer to the handle. And with a longitudinal movement we draw the blade along the stone with the blade moving towards the point.

Unlike cutting butter, you need to walk with a stone over the entire surface of the knife: from the handle to the tip.
It was one move. Now turn the knife over to the other side and move on to the other side of the stone. In the same way, we are trying to cut off an imaginary thin layer of oil with the knife moving towards us in order to sharpen the entire plane.

We repeat the process many times: one movement - one side, one movement - the other. There are amateurs who do three movements in one direction, three in the other. This is not correct, since the center of the cutting chamfer may then move to the side.
It is not worth putting much pressure on the knife when sharpening, we distribute the efforts evenly, without unnecessary pressure.
Next, turn the stone over to the smooth side.

Here things are the same as with the rough side. Except that the polishing time is slightly less.

As you can see, the method is very simple, but skill is required. And already over time, when you, as they say, “fill your hand”, the knives sharpened by you will cut no worse than a razor blade. Be sure to watch the video to more accurately understand how the whole process takes place.

Every kitchen has a set of knives. Very often there is a situation where the tools lose their sharpness. If the knife is dull, you can use another one. But you need to remember that sooner or later all of them will cut badly, and therefore you still have to sharpen them. Many do not know how to sharpen knives with a bar. Why does a blade become dull over time? Regardless of the metal from which it is made, in the process of constant operation, its wear begins.

With prolonged use of knives, they require timely sharpening.

This occurs as a result of friction against the surface of another object, which contributes to edge wear. Often there are situations when the cutting edge breaks off. This is observed with increased lateral load, while the cutting edge begins to bend. The process of tearing off the smallest particles of metal occurs imperceptibly. If knives are used to cut hard objects at right angles, then the blade will dull much faster. Let us consider in more detail how knives are sharpened with a bar, the main stages of work.

Varieties of sharpening tools

The easiest option for sharpening a knife at home is sharpening with a bar.

To learn how to sharpen knives properly, you need to know the basic methods of sharpening. In the household, you can use various devices and tools:

• musats;
• whetstones;
• electric and mechanical sharpeners;
• grinding devices.

Choosing one or another tool, you do not need to save. A quality sharpening device will last for many years, while a cheap one can even ruin the blade. Grinding machines can be attributed to professional tools. They are used in repair shops. In the absence of skills, this method of sharpening is better not to use. The easiest way to sharpen a knife is to purchase a mechanical type sharpener. It is used for sharpening kitchen tools. If the knife has a thick blade, then this option will not work.

To edit the cutting edge, you can use musat. But they will be useless in a situation where the blade has already become blunt during use. The most popular today are whetstones. Sharpening knives with a bar is very simple and cheap. The bar is a stone, which consists of abrasive grains. Their number and size may vary. Bars of foreign manufacture are marked by which you can determine the grain size.

Back to index

Tool sharpening technique

How to sharpen knives at home? To do this, you need to know a few basic rules. Firstly, for work you need to have at hand not one, but two whetstones at once. The first should have a coarse-grained structure, and the second - fine-grained. In this case, one bar will be needed for sharpening, and the other for grinding. Secondly, before sharpening the knife, the blade must be moistened with water or special mineral oil. Thirdly, the angle of inclination of the tool to the whetstone is of great importance. Fourthly, the work is carried out in such a way that the grinding tool lies, and the blade moves on its surface, and not vice versa.

The angle of sharpening may be different. It is in the range from 15 to 45 degrees. Its optimal value is 20-25 degrees. The angle largely depends on the nature of the material from which the tool blade is made. If you sharpen the knife at a small angle, it will soon become dull again. This is due to the rounding of the cutting edge. How to sharpen a knife, always keeping the same angle of inclination? Everything is pretty simple. First, it is recommended to fix the grindstone on a flat surface. The blade is best positioned transversely. After that, you need to move it along the bar, observing the correct angle of inclination. It is advisable to do this only in one direction, for example, away from you.

Back to index

The movement of the blade on the whetstone

You need to sharpen your knife properly. It is recommended to move the blade along a bar moistened with water or oil. It is necessary to sharpen until burrs appear along the metal blade. Sharpening is carried out on both sides. Each time the burrs will be directed in one direction. They are easy enough to identify, for this you need to run your finger along the back of the tool. At the beginning, it is necessary to sharpen the knife with a coarse-grained bar, then with a finer one. This will reduce the size of the burrs.

You need to use a fine-grained bar twice. After resharpening, some kind of leather product is used, for example, an old belt, the back of which resembles suede. This will ensure that the blade is polished. Of no small importance during the work are the dimensions of the whetstone. It is desirable that its width is 5 cm, and the length is 2 times the size of the blade. The instrument must be guided smoothly.

The blade must be placed across, and the movement of the blade itself must be directed towards the cutting surface.