A sharp knife in the kitchen is the key to peace in the family. After all, blunt cutlery can irritate the hostess, which will certainly affect not only the cooking process and the appearance of the dish, but also the mood of loved ones.
Of course, you can take the knife to the workshop, where it will be processed with high quality. But, firstly, it will take some time, and secondly, the head of the family may feel disadvantaged, having lost the opportunity to show his skills. Therefore, experts recommend purchasing at least one abrasive stone for home use.
Classification
There are 5 types of abrasive stones for sharpening knives:
- ceramic;
- diamond;
- from Japanese water stone;
- artificial water stone;
- from Arkansas stone.
Each of them has its own characteristics, which will be discussed later. In any case, the tool is usually presented in the form of a three-dimensional rectangle of special stones or with a surface of abrasive material.
Ceramics
Bars of this typemade from microscopic electrocorundum grains or silicon carbide. Their undoubted advantage is the slow wear of the abrasive material. These bars will last a long time if used to straighten a blade.
And experts call a negative moment a rapid change in the grinding properties of the surface of the bar due to clogging of the gaps between the microparticles with metal shavings. Such stones require constant cleaning and the use of lubricating fluids.
To prolong their life, masters in the field of sharpening recommend periodically lapping the bars under running water. Good care will allow you to edit home knives for a long time without visible material costs.
Diamond Bar
The surface of the bar consists of natural material or artificial chips, similar to diamonds in strength. There are two ways of coating the bar.
In the first case, small granules of nickel alloy are sort of smeared over the working part of the tool. Due to the high degree of graininess of the bar, the knife is sharpened at a high speed, but leaves visible scratches. And besides, unlike ceramic samples, the surface of the tool itself is ground off without the possibility of further restoration.
The second uses organic-based crystals to reduce scratches and increase bar life.
Japanese stone
This natural instrument hastheir terms of use. So, before use, experts recommend soaking the stones in water - each sample in a separate container - and waiting until they stop emitting bubbles. After that, they are taken out, fixed on a stand and proceed to sharpening. It is first made on a coarser bar, periodically wetting it with water, and then polished on a fine-grained one.
The complexity of working with natural stone, the high degree of wear and high cost do not contribute to the spread of such sharpening among the townsfolk. But through the use of Japanese water stone, you can sharpen any stubborn knife in a professional workshop.
Artificial Water Stone
This material is slightly inferior to natural samples, but has the same degree of grain throughout the structured surface, which greatly facilitates the turning process and reduces the cost of the material.
Despite the second place among water samples, these stones have proven themselves well in home use.
Arkansas stone
This most expensive tool for home use contains quartz particles. When working, it performs minimal surface grinding, which ensures an excellent result.
The only drawback experts call the need to use a specialized lubricant, without which the abrasive bar will deteriorate in the very first sharpening. Operation without service oil will result inclogging of the surface with processing waste that cannot be removed from the pores by any means. As a result, an expensive tool will simply have to be thrown away.
Bar parameters
The quality of sharpening a knife depends not only on the material of the tool, but also on the following indicators:
- forms;
- grit;
- hardness.
Abrasive boats are widely used. The shape of a regular rectangle is also quite popular, which, although easier to handle, slightly reduces the quality of processing.
The grit setting determines the amount of metal removal. Thus, the most powerful removal of the working part of the knife provides a material with an indicator of 200 microns.
Different hardness is used for different sharpening. So, softer abrasives are used for roughing, and the hardest materials are used for final processing.
How to choose a tool?
In order to sharpen a knife efficiently and without problems, you need to purchase the right tool. The abrasive stone must meet the following conditions:
- be 2 times longer than a knife blade;
- do not have chips and cracks on the surface;
- have the correct geometric shape.
It is better if there are several bars at home with varying degrees of graininess. To polish the cutting part of specialized knives after sharpening, it is necessary to use GOI paste.
How to sharpen
For the first time, even having a super stone made of high-quality abrasive material, it is recommended to sharpenthe knife you don't mind ruining.
In addition, experts advise following a number of rules:
- Wet the bar with water and grease with any cleaning solution.
- Place the sharpening tool on a hard surface at a 45° angle towards you.
- Give the desired angle to the knife so that the connection between the knife and the handle is outside the stone and perpendicular to its long part.
- Slide a few times away from you, and then 40 times towards you.
- Turn the knife to the bar with the opposite cutting side, and repeat the movements.
- Sliding to remove the burr, which is not always visible visually, but is determined by touch.
- If a double-sided abrasive bar is purchased, then the knife is finished with the second side with a smaller grain size. The same manipulation can be done with another tool or musat.
The procedure for sharpening the tool should be accompanied by periodic wetting in order to eliminate small metal debris. If you need a perfectly sharp device, then editing can be provided with a piece of leather treated with GOI paste. The movements of the leather device in this case should go in the direction from the cutting edge of the knife.
Sharpening bar analogues
Of course, buying abrasive stones is ideal for a good owner. In the absence of such, you can resort not only to the services of specialized workshops, but also to purchase special knife sharpeners:
- hand roller;
- mechanical V-shaped;
- electric;
- knife turning system.
The penultimate option, despite the high cost, leads to a quick grinding of the blade. Manual devices require the use of certain efforts. Specialized systems are expensive, but they allow you to give the correct shape and sharpening angle to the kitchen knife, as well as keep the cutlery in working condition for a long time.
A final word
There are a lot of people who find any reason not to do housework. This also applies to knife sharpening. And if a man does not have a soul for this, you should not purchase expensive stones or entire grinding systems. It is enough to buy a cheap hand tool for emergency needs and make it a rule: carry knives to the workshop, and spend your free time on your favorite activities with your family.
