Kitchen knife is an indispensable item for every housewife. Women often ask how to sharpen a kitchen knife. Some men also struggle when it comes to sharpening appliances. You should find out what devices are used in our time, as well as what sharpening methods are available at home. Much depends on the type of knife. Some use simple ones, others prefer purely Japanese kitchen knives. Next, consider how you can sharpen the blade with your own hands.
What is the difficulty of sharpening knives at home?
Before you sharpen kitchen knives at home, you should find out the difficult points of this procedure. The difficulty is that you need to maintain the original sharpness of the blade for a long period of time. An important nuance is that you can’t remove a lot of steel from a knife, so you need to seriously approach the issue of choosing a sharpening. It is also necessary to take into accountthe correct angle of sharpening a kitchen knife. What to do if it is difficult for a person to follow all the rules at work? You can buy a device for sharpening kitchen knives. It will help keep your blades sharp without the hassle.
How to choose a stone?
When people want to figure out how to sharpen a kitchen knife, they also need to get good at choosing the right stone.
Sharpening stones are divided into:
- Ceramic bars. For a beginner in this business, simple ceramic bars, such as a “boat”, are suitable. They are made of their ceramics. This type of sharpening is probably in every home. They can also be purchased at the hardware store. Ceramic bars are considered the most durable, they serve for many years. The only disadvantage of this stone is its uneven grinding.
- Diamond.
- Natural sharpening.
- Japanese kitchen knives can only be sharpened with Japanese water stones.
The most expensive sharpening items are diamond and Japanese water stones.
What to look for when buying a bar?
When buying a sharpening bar, you should pay attention to the following points:
- What kind of person needs a stone, its dimensions. It should be about one and a half times longer than a kitchen knife. The width of the bar can be chosen at your discretion. The form doesn't matter. You can choose any you like.
- The stone needs to be examined. It must be flat. A person should not detect chips and damage on the bar.
- Beginners are advised to purchase a universal sharpening bar. Need a medium hard version. On sale you can find bars, the sides of which have different grain sizes.
- You can find stones produced in the USSR. They are reliable and have a good binding material. As a rule, the stones have the same grain size.
- In addition to the bars, you can use abrasive paste.
What is the main goal of a person who sharpens?
People often ask how to sharpen a kitchen knife to razor sharpness. It is important to understand the main purpose of the work. It is necessary to remove a layer of metal from the blade to such a level that the edge is very sharp. It's best to start on the side that has coarse grit.
What knife sharpening principles should I use?
To understand how to properly sharpen a kitchen knife, you need to read the basic recommendations:
- The main task of a person who is going to sharpen kitchen knives is to choose the right sharpening angle. It will need to be held on the entire edge when the knife "walks" on the bar.
- It is important to keep the movements smooth. No pressure is required on the edge of the blade.
- Each stone must be sprinkled with water. Experts advise using a soap solution. In this case, slip will improve. Metal crumbs will not clog pores. At the end of the work, it is necessary to clean the bar from contamination.
- It's better for a beginner to practice on a knife that can be damaged.
Step by stepinstructions
To sharpen a knife, you need to proceed in stages:
- Rinse the grindstone with water using soapy water. It is acceptable to use a small amount of dishwashing liquid.
- The bar must be placed on a wooden board. A cutting board works well for this job. You can use a towel. The stone must be placed at an angle of 45 degrees to itself. Others place it perpendicular to themselves.
- It is necessary to choose a suitable sharpening angle. It is worth considering that the smaller the angle, the sharper the blade obtained after the procedure. When working, you need to fix the position of the knife. The greater the sharpening angle, the better the sharpness of the blade is maintained.
Detailed description of the sharpening angle of kitchen knife
It is important to choose the right angle at which it is convenient to sharpen the knife. As we said earlier, the smaller it is, the sharper the blade.
If it's a regular kitchen knife, it's best to stop at a 40 or 45 degree angle. When it is necessary to sharpen a knife for cutting fish, meat, then the angle should be chosen at 30 degrees.
To determine the angle to be held between the blade and the grindstone, you need to divide the selected value by two. If a person chooses an angle of 45 degrees, then you need to sharpen the sides of the blade at an angle of 22.5 degrees to the surface of the whetstone. Once the angle is selected, it must be held while working with the knife.
How to put a knife on a bar?
Before sharpening a kitchen knife properly,it is necessary to correctly place the bar. The element is placed across the grindstone. The upper corner of the handle should be placed exactly above the lower edge of the bar. A person should take the handle of the knife in one hand, and hold the blade in the other, which slides along the bar. Movement comes from you.
Nuances
It is important to keep the cutting edge perpendicular to the selected direction of sharpening.
To prevent the angle from changing, it is necessary to lift the knife handle on the bends of the blade. Do not put pressure on the knife while working. It must be held firmly throughout the grinding process.
It usually takes about 50 strokes over a whetstone to make the blade sharp. When a “burr” appears on the edge, then the process must be completed. Further sharpening the blade is pointless. After that, the knife is turned over and this work is repeated.
Under the "burr" refers to the roughness that has appeared, which is palpable to the touch. If you run your finger near the edge of the blade, you can find it. Carefully check the degree of sharpening of the knife. You can not run your fingers along the very edge. In this case, there is a high probability of a cut. When a person works with a grindstone, a special metal dust appears on the knife blade. It is easy to remove with water.
Final stage
When "burrs" are found on the blade, you can proceed to the final stage. It is often referred to as finishing. To do this, a whetstone is taken, the graininess of which is smaller, and the previous manipulations with the blade are repeated.
There is also an alternative to this method. This will require musat - a special steel rod. It is usually presented with an oval or round section. It has longitudinal grooves. This item is needed in order to maintain a certain sharpness of the kitchen blade. Musat is suitable for dressing a knife, after butchering meat and other work.
How to get the sharpest blade possible?
To get a sharp knife, similar in its sharpness to a razor, you need to find a piece of leather. You can take a leather belt. It needs to be coated with an abrasive paste. GOI and Dialux will do. You can use analogues. It is necessary to repeat the sharpening manipulations, only with the skin. It is required to choose the direction from the edge of the knife.
How to check the quality of sharpening work?
Everyone wants to check how well he will do the job. He will be interested in how sharp the blade of the kitchen knife turned out. To check, you can cut the tomato. Some try to cut paper.
What other ways are there to sharpen a kitchen knife?
Many are interested in how to sharpen a kitchen knife on sandpaper. But this is not the only alternative to bars. In addition, you can sharpen a kitchen knife on a sharpener. These methods are suitable for any type of blades. For simple appliances, you can use an electric sharpener. It is safe, even a beginner can use it.
Before you sharpen a kitchen knife on an electric sharpener, you need to find out the pros and cons of this method. The main plus is that the electric sharpener quickly sharpens knives to the desired sharpness.
The disadvantage of this unit is that it removes a lot of steel from the blade. The knife will last less than it should be for this model. Electric models are unreasonably expensive, not everyone can afford such a purchase. The easiest option costs from 6 thousand rubles.
An inexpensive option is a roller cutter. It is easy to use for people who have never tried sharpening knives at home before. The work is going fast. The blade will stay sharp for a long time. The Fiskars sharpener has proven itself well.
What are sharpening systems good for?
By purchasing such a system, a person can set the desired angle for sharpening knives. Some can even lock the blade.
In some models, you can independently choose not only the angle, but also control how the knife is held throughout the entire sharpening process. The most popular system these days is the Edge Pro Apex Knife System.
Each sharpener is suitable for a specific type of knife. For example, on devices that fix the blade, it will not be very convenient to sharpen wide knives for cooks. For simple kitchen blades, the triangle system is more suitable. It is easy to use.
The downside of the Edge Pro Apex Knife System is that it's expensive. This system has Chinese analogues, which are affordable for a consumer with an average level of income.
Alternativehomemade method
If you don't have a suitable knife sharpener at hand, you can use the rough risk on the back of the plate or mug. It is important to choose ceramic dishes for this work.
When sharpening, you must hold the selected angle. Movements should be done smoothly, without jerks. The cutting edge must be kept perpendicular to the direction of the knife at all times.
Conclusion
So, we looked at how you can sharpen a knife. You can perform this operation in several ways. But still, most people still prefer to use an abrasive stone. This is a reliable, simple and proven method, familiar since the days of the USSR. Well, for those who do not want to mess with the hem with a bar, a roller sharpener is suitable. It is more compact and sharpens the blade faster.
