A device for sharpening knives with your own hands, drawings. Devices for sharpening knives with your own hands: types and drawings Homemade knife sharpening machine

Sharpening knives is a process that even gentle female hands can handle. Indeed, in our time there are many devices that make this task easier. Ceramic knives, for example, do not require sharpening, which is very convenient, but steel knives require periodic sharpening because the material becomes dull. To sharpen your knives, you can use abrasive stones or a knife sharpening machine.

• Grinding whetstone.
• Files with a special notch.
• Sharpening devices.
• Knife sharpening machines.

Note.

Sharpening knives the old fashioned way is, of course, a good and effective way, but a finely tuned machine for household use gives a better result with the desired angle of formation of the blade edge.

Rules for sharpening knives

Experts recommend following a number of rules in order to obtain high-quality knife sharpening at home, which in turn will reduce the number of blade sharpenings.

If you are a supporter of using an abrasive-coated whetstone, start working with the sharpest part of the blade, and end with the duller part, namely the one that is little involved in the process of slicing products. Often the process starts from the middle, moving towards the tip of the blade with a slight turn. The shape of the knife and its thickness affect the sharpening angle of the blade. A sharpening machine for kitchen knives performs sharpening at an angle of 25°, the blade is tilted above the block by 12 - 13°.

The type of sharpening machine for thicknesser knives and the material from which it is made also affects the quality of the work.

On various Internet resources, you can find special videos that clearly show the process of sharpening a knife blade.

Note.

Knives are produced mainly from alloy and carbon steel. Hardened steel needs to be sharpened with an abrasive stone, stainless steel with a triangular file. This is due to the fact that relatively soft metals, during the sharpening process, the surface of the bar with the abrasive is forgotten. The forged blade is quite flexible, so it is advisable to fasten it and sharpen it with a whetstone using casual movements. Frequent use of abrasive stones contributes to the formation of a greasy film on the surface, which must be rubbed off.

Previously, table sharpening machines for knives were made from wedge-shaped bars and oak. The bars were placed on both sides of the wooden blade, so that the cutting edge was free. The structure was tied with rope and, using a whetstone, the blades were sharpened to extreme sharpness, thereby obtaining an excellent sharpening angle.

Sharpening knives used in planes is performed as follows: on thick glass, apply sandpaper with a fine fraction, the beveled part of the cutting edge onto the abrasive and sharpen in a circular motion.

Sharpening knives at home

For this purpose, you will need to take a block of hard wood, the surface of which is formed by sharpening at a certain angle necessary to form the edge of the blade. This makes it possible to maintain the angle of the processed edge. For ease of sharpening the blade, fix the blade in the plane of the block using self-tapping screws.

Make a sharpening machine for jointer knives with your own hands, this will make the process easier and the quality of work much higher. The main thing is to follow the rules and nuances in your work, and there will be no problems.

A DIY knife sharpening machine is designed to make it easier to work with metal products. You can sharpen a home tool with your own hands using available tools, but in production you can’t do without a machine. There are larger volumes and more advanced tools.

Professional knife sharpening machines

The sharpest tool is considered to be a boning knife or carving knife.

This is what butchers use to cut up animal carcasses and cut skins. With such intense work, the tool blade becomes dull extremely quickly. If the amount of work is not too large, sharpening can be done on a conventional machine, which is equipped with control over the angle of the blade edge. Knife sharpening machines in the meat processing industry mainly use KNECHT USK 160. Such machines are universal, so absolutely any knives can be sharpened on them.

At enterprises involved in woodworking and carpentry shops, they install equipment that can cope with large volumes of work. Tools used here include jointers with long blades, as well as planers. Metal sharpening occurs on equipment with a mechanical drive, which supplies the tool for sharpening.

When trying to sharpen a tool yourself using a sharpening bowl

...without the use of fixation and guides, then zones with different sharpening angles will form on the blade. When processing wood with a poorly sharpened tool, you will get an uneven cut and a wavy surface. The sharpening machine for flat knives has a simple vertical design. The discs are sharpened on machines with a divider and a rotating table.

Universal knife sharpening machine

This type of equipment in the best possible way Suitable for enterprises that perform large volumes of work per day. No one will tinker with metal by hand, since it is hard work. The VZ-319 desktop machine is equipped with a rigid frame and a precisely adjusted mechanical drive. Therefore, it copes with sharpening any type of tool - planes, cutters, knives, etc.

The Tormek T7 model is suitable for domestic use. The equipment of this unit is large; there are many attachments and additional elements for sharpening kitchen knives, scissors and other tools.

Making a knife sharpening machine with your own hands

Do sharpening machine for knives for household use is quite simple, for this you will need a piece, or, wooden slats, sandpaper, wing bolts. The first step is to make a knife holder; for this purpose, cut a piece of material. To avoid the block clinging to the holder, you need to sand the edge at a certain angle using sandpaper. Make a mark on the vertical stand and cut off the top, this will serve as the basis for. The angle is set to half that required to sharpen the blade.

For household knives, the angle is 10 - 15°. To make it easier to build a knife sharpening machine, make a drawing, it will be much easier for you. Take into account the fact that the height is affected by the transverse base. At the final stage, all elements need to be cut and sanded. Then, you need to make holes for the bolts in the plate that will secure the blade. When making markings, determine the distance of the holes from the edge of the base. This will allow you to sharpen blades of different thicknesses.

At the next stage, the plate must be secured using bolts. The vertical posts are fixed with screws. It is important to remember that the pressure on the bottom is small, so thermal glue can be used to fix the elements. The horizontal crossbar is attached in the same way.

To make a bar, you need to cut a strip of a certain length. Sandpaper with a sufficient fraction of abrasive particles is attached to one edge. In order to achieve better results in your work, you can make more bars with different abrasives. A good grit range is considered to be P600 – P2000.

Note.

In order to protect your hands from injury when sharpening a tool, screw the handle onto the top of the rack. Thus, you will receive a machine for home use with good functional qualities.

In the process of sharpening knives, the device receives support on the table, which in turn makes working with it easier.

With the help of a knife we ​​prepare food, cut food and perform other housework. Therefore, it is very important that the knife blade always remains sharp. Theoretically, there is nothing difficult in sharpening knives, but in practice it turns out that not everyone can sharpen a blade well. To have an idea of ​​what to sharpen knives with and how to do it correctly, we recommend reading our article.

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

• • Carbon steel knives are the most affordable, made from an alloy of iron and carbon, easy to sharpen and remain sharp for a long time. Among the disadvantages, it can be noted that the knife blade oxidizes from interaction with food or an acidic environment, due to this, rust and stains appear on the knife, and food acquires a metallic taste. Over time, after plaque forms on the blade, oxidation stops.

• • Low carbon stainless steel knives are made from an alloy of iron, chromium, carbon and in some cases nickel or molybdenum. Stainless steel knives are less hard than carbon steel, so they quickly become dull and require regular sharpening. The advantages include corrosion resistance.

• • Knives made of high-carbon stainless steel are a higher class of knives, with a higher carbon content and additions of cobalt or vanadium. Due to the higher quality alloy, this type of knives does not require frequent sharpening and is not subject to corrosion.

• • Damascus steel knives are mainly made as edged weapons, but there are also kitchen options. A Damascus steel knife is a multi-layer blade made of different high quality alloys. The disadvantages include the high cost of knives.

• Ceramic knives have gained popularity because of their sharpness and ability to remain dull for a long time. But in addition to their advantages, ceramic knives have a significant disadvantage, which is their fragility when dropped from a height and poor resistance to fracture.

Sharpening tools

Touchstone (sharpening stone)

Sharpening stones are available with different amounts abrasive grains per square millimeter. Therefore, for rough sharpening and finishing grinding, you need to use bars with a minimum and maximum abrasive content. In foreign-made whetstones, information about the number of abrasive grains is on their labeling. You have to choose domestically produced sharpening stones “by eye” or ask the seller which whetstone to use for initial sharpening and which for final sharpening.

Mechanical sharpener

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

Electric sharpener

Modern models electric sharpeners allow you to achieve high quality sharpening due to the built-in function of automatically determining the angle of the blade. The electric sharpener is perfect for both household use and for sharpening knives in catering establishments. The lineup There is a wide range of electric sharpeners, 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. Musats are included in knife sets, and many owners often confuse them with a tool for fully sharpening a blade. Please note that with the help of musat you can maintain the sharpness of a sharpened knife, but if the knife has become 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 touchstone and two corners connected to each other. The corners simultaneously serve as a vice for the knife and a scale for selecting the sharpening angle. The sharpener kit also includes sharpening stones of different grits with ANSI markings.

Sharpening and grinding machines

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

Do-it-yourself blade sharpening

Sharpening a knife with a whetstone

Sharpening of a blade made with a sharpening stone is considered to be of the highest quality, of course, provided that it was carried out by experienced master. To sharpen a knife on a whetstone, do the following:

1. 1. Place a low abrasive grit sandstone on a stationary surface. If the block is small, it can be clamped in a vice.

1. 1. Holding the knife at an angle of 20-25 degrees relative to the surface of the block, begin moving the knife along the whetstone with the cutting edge forward.

1. Move the blade along the block so that during movement it touches the surface of the whetstone along its entire length.
2. As you move, try to maintain the same blade angle.
3. After making 2-3 movements, turn the knife over and repeat the sharpening process on the other side of the blade.
4. Thus, alternating sides, sharpen the knife until an edge (burr) appears along the edge of the blade.
5. Swap the coarse whetstone for a grinding whetstone.
6. Sand the knife blade until the edge disappears.
7. Test the sharpness of the knife by cutting a hemp rope folded several times, or try cutting a sheet of paper.

How to sharpen a knife using a sharpening stone, see also in the video:

Sharpening a hunting knife on a Lansky sharpener

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

• Clamp the knife in a sharpener vice.
• Place a sharpening stone with a low content of abrasive grains on the rod.
• Select the angle of the block (for hunting knives it is usually from 20 to 30 degrees).
• Insert the rod into the desired hole.
• Lubricate the whetstone with the special oil included in the sharpener set.
• Start moving the block along the knife blade, from the base to the tip.
• Flip the sharpener over and repeat the process on the other side of the knife.
• Once the edge is formed, change the stone and do the final sanding.
• Since hunting knives are mostly made with a double-sided blade, after finishing sharpening on one side, change the position of the knife in the vice and begin the sharpening process on the other side.
• Once you've finished sharpening, polish the knife blade with felt.

How to sharpen knives in a Lansky sharpener, watch the video:

Sharpening scissors

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

• The sharpening stone should be fine-grained.
• The blade is sharpened over the entire surface of the edge at the same time.
• The angle of the blade should match the factory edge.
• The movement of the blade along the stone should be from the screw to the tip.
• Scissors need to be sharpened disassembled.

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

You can also watch the video on how to quickly sharpen scissors:

Sharpening plane and chisel blades

Sharpening the blade of a plane and a chisel are practically no different from each other. Therefore, the sharpening process described below applies to both tools:

• Place the chisel on the whetstone at an angle of 30-40 degrees.
• Holding the chisel with your hand, fingers free hand press the chamfer against the touchstone.
• Start running the chisel over the whetstone until a burr forms on the smooth side of the chisel.
• Change the whetstone to a fine-grained one and do the final grinding of the chisel.
• Check the sharpness of the chisel blade by removing shavings from the corner of the block.

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

1. Turn on the machine and let the disc reach full speed.
2. Holding the chisel with both hands, place its bevel against the sharpening wheel.
3. Be sure to maintain the angle of the chisel, otherwise you will damage the blade of the tool.
4. Do not press the chisel with great force and do not hold it on the blade for too long, this will lead to overheating of the metal and destruction of the blade.
5. While sharpening, wet the blade with water.
6. The final grinding of the chisel blade is best done by hand, using a fine-grained stone or sandpaper.

Do not forget that when sharpening products on a machine, a lot of sparks and small particles are generated that can get into your eyes, so be sure to wear safety glasses. To avoid damaging your hands on the rotating disk, wear gloves.

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

Tips for quickly sharpening a blade using improvised tools

Stone

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

Second knife

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

Glass objects

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

Leather belt

A leather belt is more suitable for finishing and shaping a knife blade razor sharp than for rough sharpening. But if there is nothing at hand except a belt, then you can try to sharpen the knife on it. To do this, you need to tighten the belt and start moving the blade along it; you may not achieve strong sharpness, but you will polish the knife to a shine.


By learning to sharpen knives and tools yourself, you will acquire a skill that will be useful to you throughout your life!

I continue to sharpen the knife. I've already shown mine homemade device to make slopes (tapering surfaces of the blade). At the same time, I made a polishing disk, sewing several disks together so that they would not diverge. Next, the task was to sharpen the knife - to make cutting edges that form the cutting edge.

If you thought that self-sharpening knives existed, this is a myth invented by marketers to sell their products. Any knife will become dull sooner or later. This means that you will have to look for solutions to correct this situation. Today the editors of the site will tell you what methods and tools you need to use for this and, in general, what to do when your knife becomes dull.

Read in the article:

Types of devices for sharpening knives

Since the earliest days of modern civilization, stone has existed. And almost as much metal. That is why the whetstone became one of the first devices that came to the rescue of Homo sapiens. A simple, and most importantly affordable tool has been successfully coping with its task for many millennia.

However, in modern world a whetstone can only sharpen a simple hunting knife. In other cases, the quality will leave much to be desired. In addition, only soft metals can be sharpened with a stone, and if the cutting part of the blade has a hardness above 55 HRC, then you cannot sharpen it with improvised means.

Let's look at the types of devices for sharpening knives. If we talk about what abrasive material is used, then the tools can be made in the form of bars or sharpening stones. By type of drive: manual or electric. You can usually find a simple mechanical machine in home kitchens.

And it is this sharpening angle that must be maintained. However, not all household tools are capable of sharpening a knife correctly. And that’s why in this article the editors of the site will tell you what options you can use to sharpen a knife for specific purposes.

Important! Each type of blade has its own edge angle, and during sharpening it must be held along the entire length of the workpiece surface.

Master sharpeners even conduct special master classes on sharpening knives using natural stone. You cannot buy real natural sharpening stones in a regular store. Interestingly, before the processing process it is soaked in water, sometimes with soap solution and dried after work.

Knife sharpening stones

Knife sharpening stones are one of the most affordable devices for any housewife. Usually they are special rectangular bars with a special abrasive coating. Such whetstones are useful for sharpening carpentry tools in the garage, as well as household utensils.

Sharpening stones, depending on the material, can be either natural or synthetic. Their wear resistance and type of grain size depend on this. And that means the quality of sharpening. Let's consider the main types of materials that are used in the manufacture of sharpening stones:

• natural stones, such as novaculite or Japanese water stone. Working with such a tool is not very easy. They require certain skills and craftsmanship;
• diamond coated bars. Synthetic, have a high degree of wear resistance. Are different at an affordable price;
• ceramic. Refer to more modern look whetstones for sharpening. They combine the strength of diamond coating with the hardness of natural stone;
• artificial: electrocorundum or carbide. Quickly grinding abrasive is of low quality and the same price.

On the other hand, artificial abrasives are much cheaper than their natural counterparts. They are created by mixing diamond powders of different fractions, as well as electrocorundum and carbide.

Important! Of great importance in this case is the material used to glue the rock together, as well as the percentage of all elements. The stronger and better the composition (this also applies to the particles themselves), the more durable the sharpening abrasive will be.

Variations of the ligament can be soft type and hard type. In the first case, the crystals are glued strictly to the surface of their base, made of a nickel alloy. In fact, the crystals are located in a very thin layer on the bar. A soft binder is a chaotic arrangement of binding and abrasive elements. The second type is less wear-resistant.

Sharpening stones for knives

As we noted earlier, more effective means Sharpening knives are natural natural stones. Their effectiveness has been proven at all stages of sharpening. Artificial analogues, although they are durable and affordable, cannot boast of ideal sharpness. Natural sharpening stones require special care, because the most important rule of the master is a perfectly smooth surface of the sharpening stone.

Expert opinion

Tool selection consultant at VseInstrumenty.ru LLC

“To check the level of the stone, use a simple method. Wet the timber and place it on a sheet of paper on a flat surface. The impression will allow you to evaluate the level of evenness of the stone.”

Novaculites, or “Arkansas”, “Turkish”, “Belgian” stones are natural schists and chalcedony interspersed with tiny particles of garnet and quartz. Today, both natural stones and their artificial substitutes are used.

Musat for sharpening knives

Musat from the outside somewhat resembles a file. In any case, this is exactly the comparison that comes to mind at first glance. The peculiarity of this tool is that its surface is magnetized, which means that metal flour will not fall on you.

Each type of grinder is designed for sharpening a specific type of tool, and has varying degrees of versatility. For example, round musat weighs little, but oval sharpens better, since its edges provide more complete contact with the surface being processed. Tetrahedral ones are more universal; here you can better refine the required sharpening angle.

Household manual knife sharpening machines

Variety of options sharpening knives allows you to select the tool you need. These include the usual home mini-sharpeners, known to almost everyone, and more specific devices with a polishing wheel. Like more professional, household systems, knife sharpening systems can use a movable or stationary abrasive. The sharpening angle in this case depends on the position cutting tool. Hand tools of this type, despite their simplicity and relative cheapness, are labor-intensive to operate.

Household electric knife sharpening machines

Electric sharpeners are more convenient. Working with them saves time. Most often, such drive machines have different operating modes, which are regulated by switches.

Inside the sharpener there is a sharpening disk with an abrasive coating. When electricity is supplied, the disk begins to rotate. The grinding wheels are hidden inside a protective casing. Despite the presence of a disk, such machines are quite compact. And the sharpening angle is regulated by a special spring, which completely eliminates errors in sharpening.

Professional manual sharpeners for sharpening knives

Professional hand tools are a bit like a carpenter's vice. The object to be sharpened, the knife itself, is clamped with special clamps.

Next, the master, through a certain movement, begins sharpening, moving along the abrasive plate. The sharpening machine itself is installed on the stop. It is very important here to properly secure the machine and avoid the device slipping during sharpening.

Such manual sharpening machines allow the use of different abrasives; it is possible to adjust the sharpening angle in a wide range.

Professional electric knife sharpening machines

The professional tool has a large number of attachments and replaceable discs. The electrocorundum stone and the finishing leather disk rotate at a speed of 90 rpm, and the first is placed in a pan of water. The combination of low speeds and constant cooling provides high-quality processing of products already at the stage of forming the cutting edge.

Professional machines are distinguished by their versatility. Usually this is a device with a massive abrasive disk. Such tools allow you to sharpen not only knives, but also metalworking tools, for example, planes and chisels. And at the final stages of work they provide the blade with razor sharpness.

How to sharpen a knife correctly

However, before you begin the blade sharpening process, it is important to understand sharpening technology. And the basics.

Optimal sharpening angles and degree of sharpness for kitchen knives

There are dozens of types of knives for different purposes: these are kitchen knives, knives for metal work. In general, the sharpness of a blade depends on the shape of the blade. And it, in turn, must correlate with certain clear correspondences of the relationships between the blade and the blade. Let's look at the correct sharpening angles for different tools.

For your information! Some types of knives can be so sharp that they can cut through metal. The sharpest of them are considered to be blades with a sharpening angle of 50° - such versions, with a certain grade of steel, can cut through nails.

How to sharpen a knife at home with a whetstone

This process is simple, but quite painstaking. Without sharpening experience, trying this process is pointless. Typically, craftsmen use two sharpening stones with different abrasive densities - with a large grain and a fine one.

Advice! The knife blade must be wet. You can use special oils or sharpening lubricants.

The next step is choosing the sharpening angle. Here we focus on the table above and take the range from and to. Don't forget, the smaller the sharpening angle, the faster the knife will become dull. For a beginner, it will be difficult to maintain the same angle. In order to successfully complete this stage, it is important to hold the knife with both hands.

Carefully place the blade on the blade, lower its corner to the sharpening surface and begin working. We start working on a coarse-grained stone, and then, when the edge grinding stage begins, we continue with a fine abrasive.

How to sharpen a knife with musat at home

Sharpening takes place by weight. The blade is passed along the entire length of the instrument; usually several such “passes” are enough.

The process of sharpening with musat is quite simple. The tool is placed in one hand, the knife in the other.

How to properly sharpen a knife on an electric sharpener

The sharpening process is practically no different from sharpening manually. The only difference is that in this case it is not the blade that is wetted, but the sharpening disk itself. Most often, a special tray is used to cool the disk. And the whole process is automatic.

Typical mistakes when sharpening knives with your own hands

Everyone knows that it is better to prevent mistakes than to correct them later. That is why the editors of the site have prepared a list of the most common mistakes beginners make when sharpening knives:

1. Incorrect level of sharpening angle.
2. Blade sharpening. It occurs when excessive pressure is applied to the sharpener by the blade, which can cause it to become damaged or even crack.
3. Sharpening an unprepared tool or a worn sharpening disc.
4. Use of musat at all stages of work.
5. As we remember, musat is used to polish the cutting edge. Use fine-grained abrasive.

It is important to take into account all these subtleties already at the stage of organizing work. To learn how to properly sharpen a knife with a whetstone, watch this video.

Making your own knife sharpening machine

Purchasing a ready-made knife sharpening machine is not always necessary. For household needs, you can make it yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you will create a mechanical or electrical machine - be guided, as mentioned earlier, by already existing diagrams and drawings.

What tools are needed to make a knife with your own hands?

To make a simple machine we will need: a regular chipboard block, you can use elements of old cabinet furniture. Prepare for work: a metal rod, a small piece of sheet steel 1 mm thick, several screws for fastening the structure, any abrasive material, a jigsaw and a screwdriver.

Step-by-step instructions for making a do-it-yourself sharpening machine

Let's look at the assembly the simplest knife with your own hands from scrap materials.

Illustration	Description of action
	As we can see, the base here is quite simple - a regular chipboard 65x25 mm
	A block for fastening the base. Don't forget to sand it.
	We mark the places of fastenings.
	We fix the bent pin at a certain angle. Guide angle from 65 to 70°
	We cut out a pressure plate from fiberglass. We mark the mounting locations for the countersunk bolts.
	We fix the plate to the base. Press with a hex wrench.
	From the same material we grind a plate to fix the guide.
	We press the structure using a regular lamb.
	We grind an ordinary steel rod and attach a handle from an old file to it. Length 57 cm.
	From a plumbing clamp we take the corner fasteners for the grindstone. We also use a clamp with a clamping screw to further secure it.
	Sharpening stones can be made from a regular piece of laminate. We cut it into strips 2.5 cm wide, 20 cm long. Next, glue the sandpaper onto double-sided tape and you are ready to work!

So, our sharpening machine is ready to go. We hope that our story will be useful to you. Using them you can make simple sharpening knives.

General issues

Any cutting tools require proper care, as they gradually begin to lose their former sharpness, and working with such products becomes painful, almost unbearable. The biggest irritant is a dull knife, which turns into an absolutely useless object. To avoid such situations, it needs to be sharpened periodically, and sharpeners are very helpful in this, buying which is not at all a problem. However, not all owners are inspired by this option, because high-quality devices cost a lot. An elegant and logical way out of the situation is a device for sharpening knives with your own hands. Functionally homemade tools They are in no way inferior to their competitors - factory models, but they allow you to achieve significant savings.

Introduction to the concept of “sharpening angle”

The purpose of the process is known to everyone - to give the blade sharpness. However, this operation is slightly different for each type of instrument. The reason is the purpose of the knife - household, hunting, fishing. The difference between them is not at all visible at first glance, but it is precisely this that determines what the tools are used for. This is the sharpening angle, but it can only be seen and compared for those knives that have not yet been sharpened at home. The following values ​​are accepted:

• 8-12° - for scalpels, straight razors;
• 10-15° - for fillet knives (fillet knives);
• 15-20° - for cutting food;
• 20-25° - for general purpose tools;
• 20-40° - for hunting knives;
• 30-50° - for massive special knives (for example, for a machete).

Smaller angles are designed for working with soft materials, larger angles for hard substances.

There is no single standard for all instruments. Some Western manufacturers of hunting weapons consider a sharpening angle of 23° to be ideal. There are companies in America that sharpen similar and combat knives at 40°. There are tools with different sharpening angles for parts of the blade. A serious military example is the Russian saber (40 and 30°). Such weapons become universal, but for home handyman There is a drawback to this sharpening - the work is much more difficult.

In order to be able to sharpen knives correctly, making an almost professional device for sharpening knives with your own hands, you need to provide for the possibility of changing its angle. This task is the most difficult: both during design and during manufacturing.

Grinding stone grit

Abrasive whetstones differ in grain size. There is a conditional division: small stones, medium stones and coarse stones. The accepted classification is numbers - the number of grains located in a unit area. Some manufacturers (for example, Chinese) make duplicate inscriptions in English for the convenience of customers.

1. Extra coarse: 200-250 - extremely coarse. They are completely unsuitable for sharpening knives.
2. Coarse: 300-350 - rough. These stones are used only for severely dull or damaged blades.
3. Medium: 400-500 - average. You can get by quite easily without an abrasive of this grain size.
4. Fine: 600-700 - small (thin). This is the most popular type of whetstone for sharpening knives, including at home.
5. Ultra/extra fine: 1000-1200 - very fine. They are used for final processing of the blade, which they want to bring to shine.

Sharpening stones should have a convenient shape. It is optimal if the length of the stone significantly (1.5-2 times) exceeds this parameter of the blade. The most practical products are those that have different grain sizes: coarse on one side, fine on the other. For ordinary household knives, a modest set of sharpening stones will suffice. It consists of 2 medium-grain bars (different) and the same number of small-grain stones, one of them can be ultra-fine.

The bars differ in origin. Natural sharpening stones (corundum, slate) have several disadvantages - quick grinding and, as a rule, the absence of fine-grained products. These materials are soaked (or just wetted) in water before work. After this procedure, an abrasive paste is formed on the surface, which guarantees greater sharpening efficiency.

How to sharpen knives by hand?

Without mastering the techniques of manual sharpening, a craftsman will not be able to sharpen a knife correctly, since any device for sharpening knives with your own hands will only make his work a little easier when sharpening the edge of the tool. The process looks like this:

1. A block of medium or coarse grain is placed on the work table and then fixed.
2. Calculate the sharpening angle. Begin to sharpen the knife away from you, keeping the angle constant. The movements are uniform and smooth; strong pressure is not required here.
3. In one movement, the tool is carried to the end of the stone. The edge of the knife being processed must always be perpendicular to the center line of the block, therefore, when approaching the rounded part (towards the tip), the blade is turned, trying to maintain the required perpendicularity as much as possible.
4. When the movement is completed, the tip is not removed from the surface, but the “walk” begins in the opposite direction. The steps are repeated until a thin continuous “burr” appears on the back of the blade, which is checked with a finger, which is drawn perpendicular to the edge. If it is smooth along the entire length of the blade, then this part of the operation is completed. Otherwise, work continues along the entire length until the ideal is achieved.
5. Change the block to a second product - with a finer grain size. Sharpening continues away from you, but without the reverse movement. The second side is treated in the same way.
6. Switch to another pair of sharpening stones - small ones. In the first of them, the process with movement is repeated only from oneself.
7. When the burr edge can hardly be felt, they move on to the last sharpening stone - the smallest one. On it, the movement away from you is done only once on each side, while simultaneously reducing the pressure to a minimum.

The remaining mini-defects are dealt with using a belt glued to the beam, rubbed with GOI paste. They do this by alternating sides, turning the edge back. Many people saw such a simple process in old Soviet films.

Homemade machines

A device for sharpening knives with your own hands makes it relatively easy to solve the main problem - to guarantee a constant angle of inclination of the blade relative to the block. Some simple devices are easy to make. Those sharpeners that provide greater comfort are already more demanding of the master.

Elementary vertical device

It consists of a corner frame and a keystone. Despite the primitive design, the prices for these store-bought goods are quite high, and replacement sharpening stones have to be purchased separately. Any craftsman who has the following on his farm can make this device for sharpening knives with his own hands:

• four bars of the same size;
• grindstone;
• drill, drill bits;
• protractor;
• bolts, nuts.

This sharpening device allows you to hold the knife strictly vertically, which will greatly facilitate the work with the cutting tool. The process goes like this:

1. First of all, two wooden corners are made from timber, the elements of which are placed at an angle of 90° to each other.
2. Having accurately connected both parts and fixed them, make marks for the holes corresponding to the diameter of the bolts. Then they are drilled.
3. The parts are connected with bolts, and the elements are slightly tightened with nuts.

The device is ready for use. The most important thing in it is the correct determination of the required angle for sharpening the blade. This is done using a protractor. After setting the angle of inclination, the block is inserted and the nuts are tightened until the stone is securely fixed. If you modify the tool a little, the sharpening stone and knife can be swapped. The device has one downside: it is impossible to smoothly adjust the angle of the whetstone.

Sharpener from mounting angles

To make this sharpening device you need to prepare:

• metal corners (material thickness - 6 mm, size - 90x90 mm);
• whetstone;
• 2 small metal rectangles (jaws for clamping stones);
• threaded rod M6, length - 160 mm;
• a knitting needle, electrode or other thin rod;
• drill, screwdriver;
• file, hacksaw, pliers;
• bolts, nuts.

The work itself is performed according to the following algorithm:

1. Holes are made in the corners into which threads are cut.
2. Grind off the bevels on the jaws, which are designed to fix the blade. Otherwise, they will become an obstacle to the movement of the grindstone.
3. All sharp edges and corners are processed with a file.
4. Holes are drilled in the metal sponge rectangles, then a thread is made for the connecting bolt. The touchstone is fixed.
5. A knitting needle bent at an angle of 90° is inserted into the hole of one of the jaws and then fixed.

This spoke part will play the role of fixing the angle of inclination of the sharpening stone. The advantage of this model is the ability to change the angle of inclination over a wide range, which will be an additional advantage for processing various knives, as well as other cutting tools.

Plywood sharpening machine

Most parts of this device can be made from scrap materials, but in this case plywood was used for its manufacture. The master is free to take polished or laminated material. You will need:

• sheet of plywood, its thickness is 8-12 mm;
• wood (hardwood), carbolite or textolite for the adjusting block (20x40x80 mm);
• sheet steel, thickness - 1 mm;
• grindstone;
• timber (60x60 mm);
• metal pin (diameter - 10-12 mm, length 250 mm);
• hacksaw (jigsaw, grinder);
• shoemaker (sectional) knife;
• drill (screwdriver);
• 2 fittings for the stud (internal thread - M10);
• rasp;
• thicknesser;
• self-tapping screws, bolts, nuts (plus M10 wing nuts), washers.

Plywood is a lightweight material. In order for the base to be stable, it is better to make it heavy enough. “Horseshoes” made from a 20x20 mm metal corner can cope with this task.

Base

The work is carried out according to the following scheme:

1. Parts are made from plywood - 2 sidewalls and an inclined plane. Having drilled three holes in the side elements and 6 in the ends (3 in each) of the inclined part, they are temporarily connected with self-tapping screws.
2. In the rear part, between the sidewalls, four self-tapping screws (2 on each side) secure the timber. In it, stepping back 25 mm from the edge, holes are made for the pin: first they work from above and below with a thin drill, then they are widened. The fittings are screwed in on both sides. Insert the adjusting pin.

Podruchnik

Filming top part base, since it is necessary to build a device on it for pressing and fixing the cutting tool. The support is assembled from 2 steel strips: 60x170 and 40x150 mm.

1. Stepping back 40 mm from the front edge, use a hacksaw to saw down the groove; its depth is 2 mm. Using a shoemaker's knife, remove the top two layers of plywood so that a steel plate 2 mm thick fits into the sample.
2. The metal elements are folded together (the smaller one is at the bottom), making equal indentations along the edges, then 3 through holes (6 mm) are drilled. The plates are tightened with bolts, the heads of which are placed on top. They are welded to the plate, the beads are removed, and they are ground.
3. Mark and drill holes in the sample of the inclined part, then secure the tool rest with nuts.

Pressure bar

The fixation mechanism also consists of 2 parts: the upper bar is L-shaped (80x150 mm, width 45-50 mm), the bottom is rectangular (50x100 mm).

1. The smaller part is placed below, at the far edge of the larger one. 2 holes are made in both: 25 mm away from the edges of the bottom plate, then the top plate is drilled. Both elements are tightened with bolts (8 mm) and driven in opposite directions. The caps are processed in a similar way: they are welded and then ground.
2. On the inclined part, stepping back from the edge where the adjusting pin is located, 40 mm, use a surface planer to draw a line. Holes are made at a distance of 25 mm from the top and bottom ends (8 mm). They connect their edges with lines, then make a cut with a jigsaw and widen it with a file to 8.2-8.5 mm.
3. Both planks are connected through a groove, the elements are tightened with bolts, and a lamb is screwed onto the plank from below.

Adjustment system

To secure it, place a washer on the stud and screw on a nut, which is tightened so that the rod cannot turn.

1. 15 mm are retreated from the edge of the block, drilled into the end on both sides through hole, which is expanded to 9 mm. Then a thread is cut into it.
2. Stepping back 50 mm from the resulting axis, drill a hole (approximate diameter - 14 mm) in the flat part of the part, it is perpendicular to the first, vertical one. It is well flared with a rasp.
3. The resulting block is screwed onto a stud. To ensure its fixation, it is controlled from below and above with lambs.

Sharpening carriage

It is made from a 30 cm pin and a rod, the thickness of which is the same 10 mm. They are welded together. To fix the block, 2 elements (20x50x80 mm) are cut out of solid material. A hole is made in the central part of each of them, the distance from the top edge is 20 mm, the diameter is 10 mm.

First, a wing is screwed onto the carriage, then a washer, bars, again a washer, and then a nut. In such a bar you can easily fix sharpening stones, but craftsmen strongly recommend making your own set of replacement whetstones.

The basis for them will be a rectangular aluminum profile, the width of the flat side of which is 40-50 mm. It is sanded, degreased, then Moment is applied to the surface, then sandpaper of different grain sizes is glued on. It is better to take the material on a fabric basis. You can glue suede fabric to one element from the set to be able to straighten the blades with GOI paste.

“Rules for correct” sharpening

1. The blade is fixed parallel to the edge of the tool rest, then it is pressed with a bar. After inserting the template, adjust the angle between the plane of the working tool and the sharpening block.
2. If the blade is already very far from ideal, sharpening begins with a coarse whetstone (400). Once the runway is free of ripples or creases, the grain is reduced by sanding the sides in both directions with minimal effort.
3. The final stage of the operation is straightening with a block of suede cloth and abrasive paste applied to it. In this case, the movement can only be done in one direction - towards you.

It’s not difficult to make a device for sharpening knives with your own hands, especially if you choose a very simple model. More advanced devices will take much longer, but they are certainly worth every minute spent, because the savings are serious. What models you can create on your own can be seen in the photos and videos. One of them is here: