How to Sharpen a Knife From a Trimmer

How to Sharpen a Knife From a Trimmer

There was a time when the life of the whole family depended on the possession of 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 sharpening is the quality of hunters and weapon collectors. Anyone can figure out how to sharpen knives correctly, because for this there are a lot of devices and devices. This is a huge list of arsenal, among which there are grinding whetstones, and garbage, and electronic and mechanical sharpeners, as well as grinding belts. Therefore, every man who knows how to sharpen a knife correctly can choose the perfect option for sharpening a knife.

Knife sharpening methods

  1. Musat – This is a certain number of metal disks embedded in each other. They are not used for sharpening, but are used for editing. The blade is inserted between the discs, so it has a better angle and becomes sharper. Often, musat is used only as a temporary measure, so that the sharpening level of kitchen knives does not decrease. But if the blade is dull, then a special sharpening is already needed.
  2. In order to sharpen the knife use two whetstones, they are distinguished by the grit indicated on the package. The use of a coarser bar with high grit is necessary for shaping the edge, as well as for direct sharpening of the knife blade. Bars with medium grit are used to restore the edge, and with fine grit – for grinding. To date, there are so-called measures of graininess, such as Fera, Ansi, Grit and others.
  3. Mechanical sharpeners present a specially equipped device with which you can easily sharpen the blade of a knife. They are used in cases where you need to sharpen the blade quickly and without much effort, as shown in the video. As a rule, they are intended for domestic use.
  4. For sharpening knives, there are also special electrical appliances, which can sharpen not only the kitchen but also other types of knives with serious damage. To date, electric sharpeners have been used in enterprises where catering was provided. However, in modern conditions, each device becomes available to various users for convenience and comfort at home. The main property of electric sharpeners is an independent determination of the angle of sharpening and its intensity. The scope of their application is quite extensive, they can also restore the sharpness of scissors, screwdrivers and other tools of this purpose.
  5. For sharpening the blade, you can use professional devices, for example, abrasive wheels. Their use is limited by industrial enterprises, and for safety reasons it is not recommended to use the machine to persons who do not have special knowledge and skills in working with it. Because, without knowing certain sharpening rules, you can spoil the blade. The rotation of the machine causes the abrasive disks located on it to heat up, so using the machine at high temperatures can damage the blade and sharpening will be detrimental to it.
  6. But the most effective way to sharpen is to use whetstone. This is a process of painstaking and hard work that requires certain skills.

Sharpening stones come in both natural origin and artificially made. Natural stones have a fine-grained structure and are used as a refinement, but not for sharpening. Artificial stones are more universal, they have two levels of granularity, which are located on two sides of the bar. The detailed instructions on how to sharpen knives, a video with comments and an image of the whole process will help to understand this difficult process.

Knife sharpening

Before proceeding to the grinding procedure, it is necessary to lubricate the selected bar with oil or moisten with water and leave for 15-20 minutes. This procedure allows small gaps in the grains of stone to remain unbounded particles of steel. If you adhere to this rule, then the bar will last a very long time.

When using a double-sided bar, sharpening starts from its rough side, which has a high grit and will 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. The most acceptable angle is 20 degrees, but, according to experts, depending on the type and purpose of the knife used, the angle of inclination can vary:

  • 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 chefs, sirloin 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.

Video: How to Sharpen a Knife From a Trimmer


In order to understand how the sharpening angle affects, you need to know the basic rule: to sharpen it is necessary to reduce the sharpening angle, and in order for the knife not to become dull, increase the sharpening angle.

Sharpening is necessary with continuous movements with a slight lifting of the handle at the moment when the bar reaches the bend of the blade, which will allow to maintain the same angle of sharpening of the cutting edge. It is also necessary to monitor the direction of movement of the blade, which should be perpendicular to the cutting edge, while slightly pressing on the blade.

Debugging

As seen from the video clip, after working with the rough side of the grindstone, you can start fine-tuning on a 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 pre-treated with abrasive paste.

Check sharpening level

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

  1. You need to take a piece 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 sharp knife.
  2. 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 fall into two halves.
  3. You can also check for touch, that is, hold a pillow of your finger along the edge of the blade, a blunt blade when probing will be rounded.
  4. Verification can be done in the following way. Present the sharpened knife to the light and check for glare, if any, this means that the blade is not sharp enough.

Each house has kitchen knives, but they are not always ground. The new knife is very sharp, but dulls over time. But not many people know how to return his severity to him.

How to grind home kitchen knives? There are several ways to sharpen kitchen knives at home, which will help keep them sharp. It is about the basics of knife sharpening and its effective methods that will be discussed in this article.

The first way. Grindstone

A whetstone helps sharpen knives, but you need to do this using a special technique. It is necessary to start sharpening from the handle to the beginning of the knife. To prevent the center of the cutting edge from shifting, both sides must be sharpened simultaneously, alternating between them.

Sharpening the knife will not work correctly if you first sharpen one side, and then only the other. Ideal sharpness will help to make single movements from the handle to the "nose" on each side in turn. This method is quite simple and does not require much time and effort, the main thing is to follow the above rules for sharpening and then the knives will always be in perfect condition.

The second way. Special sharpener for scissors and knives

This method very quickly gives the desired result, since a special sharpener for knife scissors is quite easy to use. It does not require any knowledge and tremendous effort.

This method of sharpening knives is a force even for those who are engaged in this business for the first time. In order to sharpen a kitchen knife with the help of such a special sharpener, it is necessary to study the instructions and act strictly on it, then sharpening will be ideal, and the knives sharp for a long time.

The third way. Sharpening

There are such cases that at hand there is neither a special sharpener for a knife, nor a grindstone, and knives need to be sharpened urgently. What then to do? You can take any plate or glass (neither iron nor plastic), turn it over so that the bottom of the dishes is on top.

Then carry out the same movements as with the knife sharpening method using a grindstone – from the handle to the nose. In this way, to get a perfectly sharpened knife, of course, will not work. But in order to sharpen the knife when there are no tools at hand, this method is just perfect.

The fourth way. Electric sharpener

Modern models of electric sharpeners allow 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 perfect for both domestic use and for sharpening knives in catering organizations. The range of electric sharpeners is presented in a wide assortment, so the price can be different, but if you want your knives to always stay sharp, then buy more “advanced” and expensive models.

The fifth way. Drill or screwdriver

This method is improvised, it absolutely lacks safety precautions. Using a drill or screwdriver, sandpaper and very strong glue, you can make a home mini machine for sharpening knives. To do this, it is necessary to cut a strip from sandpaper and glue it onto a chuck of a drill or screwdriver using strong glue.

The machine is ready. You can turn on the drill and start sharpening the knife. It is done on the same principle as sharpening with a grindstone. It is necessary to start from the handle to the nose, be sure to alternate the sides of the knife. With this method, you need to be careful and attentive, since this is still electrical appliances and a kitchen knife.

The sixth way. Sharpener Lansky

This sharpener is used for sharpening small and medium-sized knives. The device of the sharpener allows you to sharpen the blade at any angle. Sharpener "Lansky" consists of a rod with a removable donkey and two corners connected to each other. Corners simultaneously perform the functions of a vise for a knife and a scale for choosing a sharpening angle. Sharpeners of different grains with ANSI marking are also included in the kit.

Using the above methods, you can sharpen knives without much effort and skill. The main thing is to follow the rules of sharpening and carry it out in a timely manner, then home knives will always be in perfect condition.

If there is no possibility and desire to sharpen knives with your own hands, then they can be attributed to professionals who will do their job quickly and efficiently.

Or purchase kitchen knives that do not require any sharpening and always remain sharp, such as ceramic ones.