The simplest tool for sharpening knives. Device for sharpening knives with your own hands: from simple to complex. Angle of sharpening knives for various purposes

I wanted to learn how to sharpen knives, I won’t say that I didn’t know how to do it at all. He sharpened, of course, with his hands on the stones, and tried to withstand the angle, it seemed to work out - the knives shredded the paper.

I decided to take this process more seriously. And, as usual in Russia, do everything yourself from what is at hand, and even for nothing. We have such fans and I am like that. For such, in fact, the article.

I looked at sharpening machines on the Internet, settled on Apex. First of all, I looked for it on Chinese sites, there are, of course, copies and they were inexpensive (before the dollar exchange rate changed), now Chinese ones are too expensive for us. I looked at how it works, what are the nuances. Yes, it can be repeated.

Making Apex

Looking ahead, I’ll say that it didn’t work out completely for free, I still had to spend money, but not much. About 150 rubles.

Instead of a base, I took a 2 mm galvanized sheet. I bent it by eye (for some reason I guessed exactly 20 grams into the corner). Attached to chipboard. Instantly glued magnets from old hard drives, it took 3 magnets. I looked out for knife stops on the Internet, it’s convenient, it’s a great idea. I found a support for the hinge in the garage, it is threaded 8mm.

At first I thought about changing the angle with nuts, but I decided that the angle changes often and driving the nuts back and forth and locking each time so that there is no play would be inconvenient.

Where can I get a guide for stones? An old bed caught my eye, or rather a back, remember, probably, these were in the years of the USSR. Why not a bar from the back. I attached a square profile 25x25 mm to the bar (preliminarily polished). Remember there curly bushings. With their help (it took three pieces), in one you need to drill a hole up to 11 mm (rod diameter). I added a nut for 10 and a hairpin with a ball from the same bed, I got a comfortable handle.

I decided to sharpen with sandpaper, there is such a method, it seems to be very budgetary and quite good. I bought several sheets of skins of different grain sizes. To avoid sandpaper remnants, I made the length of the square profile along the width of the sandpaper sheet 230 mm. I made a cut on the bar and drove an engraving washer of a suitable size there. Everything came together perfectly, as if it were intended for this.

I was afraid that it would be difficult to center the profile, but in this way, the profile itself fell into place. I glue the sandpaper on the stationery glue pencil.

Hinge for sharpener

I thought for a long time about this knot, how to make it so that there is no backlash. Thought to do it. I drove into a bearing store, it turned out that there are such AL supports (in my opinion, a sliding ball stands for). There are sizes 10, 12, 15 according to the inner diameter of the hole. But the stem is 11 mm. It's hard without a turner. But there was a way out. In the store, across the road, they sold spare parts for KAMAZ trucks, and there I found such a brass bushing for 10mm brake pipes. I bought ShS-12 (65 rubles) and a bushing (8 rubles). At home, I drove the sleeve onto the rod, it expanded remarkably with a hammer, rubbed it a little against the rod, as it was. I inserted it into the loop (with glue, just in case, to eliminate backlash) and flared it. Everything grew together again. There was a small backlash, in the AL itself, it is Russian-made and has a little backlash (I went over a dozen in the store - all of them). I wanted to weld the AL to the fastening nut, but another idea came to my mind how to do without welding. I went to a plumbing store and bought pipe fasteners. It says 3/8” costs 27 rubles. I worked it up a little on sandpaper so that the working angle of the loop would not decrease. Next, with a stud with an 8 mm thread, I connected the clamp to a long nut and drilled a 9 mm hole in the right place of the long nut. The lamb was made from a purchased lamb for 5 rubles. Nuts and studs are the same for 8 mm.

When I assembled it (I clamped the loop into the clamp), the play disappeared, the clamp bolts compress the loop and the play goes away completely. It turned out better than welding. And it is easy to replace during production.

Oddly enough, all the details fell perfectly into place. I had to do a minimum of alterations. There is no backlash. Everything turned out to be very simple, I even made a second rod to polish the cutting edge.

According to the knurled, I spent half an hour on the second barbell. Glued on the edge:

• skin for goi paste
• clean skin
• wooden ruler with goi paste
• clean wooden ruler

I use them in different order.

I want to say that the idea was a success, in two days, I sharpened all the knives I could find. Angles can be measured with a household protractor, or a phone with an installed program for measuring angles

Compared to the manual method on stones, sharpening is much easier and sharper. Paper is cut, hair is shaved. I didn’t try to cut my hair, I think it’s excessive sharpness and it’s useless in life, although with due diligence you can achieve it.

Spent:

• ShS-12 - 65 rubles;
• brass bushing - 8 rubles;
• clamp - 27 rubles;
• lamb - 5 rubles;
• long nut - 5 p.;
• a sheet of sandpaper 240 - 2 p.;
• a sheet of sandpaper 600 - 2 p.;
• a sheet of sandpaper 1000 - 10 rubles;
• a sheet of sandpaper 2000 - 10 rubles..

Total: 134 rubles. The rest was found in the garage for free. And plus work with hands and head.

Too lazy to mess around, I found an inexpensive sharpener of the same type, the reviews are good, you can take it.

Also handmade.

Sharp knives for you.

Article tags:

• knife sharpening;
• knife sharpener;
• homemade Apex;
• knife sharpener;
• sharpening machine.

This article is found by:

• sharpener apex homemade sandpaper
• DIY knife sharpener
• do-it-yourself knife sharpening machine
• do-it-yourself apex sharpener
• professional knife sharpener
• DIY knife sharpener

Sharpening video.

Any housewife dreams of sharp knives. It is difficult to do without such cutting tools in the kitchen. Not everyone succeeds in correct sharpening: they seem to have tried, but the knife still cuts badly or quickly becomes dull. Often the reason for this is incorrectly performed sharpening. You can get out of this situation by using a knife sharpening machine.

Sharpener modification

The stores sell a large number of various devices and machines, ranging from the simplest to automatic machines. However, many of them either do not bring sharpening to the final goal, or are too expensive. All machines can be divided into three categories:

• superhard;
• hard;
• soft.

For sharpening, the tool must be manually driven over the abrasive, achieving the desired effect. Many people use this method, but not everyone succeeds. The reason is that for proper sharpening, you must strictly observe the sharpening angle. It depends on the hardness and volume of the material being cut.

For the tools below The following angles must be maintained in degrees:

• razors - 8-12;
• blades for cutting fillets - 10-15;
• kitchen knives - 15-20;
• hunting tools - 20-25;
• heavy knives (for example, a machete) - 30-50.

The next thing you need to pay attention to when sharpening knives is the grain size of the abrasive material. To sharpen very blunt knives, abrasives with a coarser grain are used. This will help remove excess metal faster. When leveling the surface, medium emery stones are used, and for grinding, very fine grain is needed. Usually on emery wheels and bars, the size of the abrasive is indicated in numbers:

• 300-350 - very large, used for pruning;
• 400-500 - medium, allows for basic sharpening;
• 600-700 - small, you can align the blade on it;
• 1000-1200 - very fine, with its help it is possible to grind the tool.

To sharpen a knife by hand, lay a bar or emery wheel on a table or workbench and fix it. The cutting tool is held on the abrasive with the blade away from you, set it to the desired angle. At first they use a protractor. Subsequently, when a certain experience appears, it will be possible to do without it.

They begin to sharpen the blade, strictly observing the angle. Such work requires attention and experience, so it may not work out right away. It will be much more convenient to perform it if you make a device for sharpening knives with your own hands. Do-it-yourself assembled product will cost much less.

Use of machines

The simplest device that can be made at home is a wooden corner. A bar will be embedded in it. The base is made in the form of a box, the size of which is selected according to the abrasive. The second side of the corner has the same shape and is mounted in a vertical position. To make the device more stable, the base is connected to a wide board.

A bar is inserted vertically into the device. In this position, the angle is 0°. To create the desired slope, the lower edge of the abrasive begins to be removed from the vertical, the angle is measured with a protractor. To prevent the bar from “driving”, an emphasis is made at the bottom (you can simply screw in the screw). For sharpening, the blade is driven along the emery in a strictly vertical plane. With fine processing and grinding, the bars are changed. Since the stone does not grind evenly, they constantly need to be leveled with harder bars. Using sandpaper eliminates this hassle.

To do this, you need to take sandpaper with large, medium and fine grain, as well as a leather belt. A bar is cut out of wood according to the size of the abrasive and processed with sandpaper. One blank is made from a leather belt. Each face of the bar is numbered, and the numbers are placed near the upper and lower edges. A tape with a large grain is glued to the plane at number 1, 2 - with a medium grain, 3 - with a fine one, 4 - leather from a belt.

Ribbons are attached indented from the edge. Thanks to this, the numbers will be visible, and the bar will enter the grooves of the box. The blade begins to sharpen from 1 or 2 and then proceed to the next edges. As the sandpaper wears, it is cut off with a knife and a new one is glued. Compared to bars, paper is much cheaper.

Such a device can be modified. The vertical post is attached to the base through a hinge so that it can lean back, increasing the angle of sharpening. On the side where the rack leans, emphasis is placed, for example, two plates fastened together through longitudinal slots with a wing bolt or nut. In this case, the lower edge of the bar will be fixed.

Convenient designs

Although the designs described above have a number of advantages, they have one significant drawback - you need to constantly monitor the vertical of the blade, and this is tiring. It is much easier to work with an electric kitchen tool machine.

Emery, the so-called device for sharpening knives, greatly facilitates the task. The blade is brought to the circle in such a way that it is directed against its rotation. But even in this case, it is necessary to monitor the angle of sharpening.

To make it easier to work, you can make a wooden stand. It consists of two parts: the base and the actual corner. The support helps to raise the knife to the desired height, another workpiece with an inclined platform is placed on it, it will give the necessary slope to the blade. You can make several such corners, they will be designed for different sharpening methods. To fix the guide, you can use nails without caps. They are driven into the base, leaving 10-15 mm, covered with paint, a corner is applied on top. Painted places are drilled with a drill of the same diameter as the nails.

The device works well when there is no casing covering the emery stone, but this is not entirely safe. In the case of using protection, you can use another stand for sharpening. On the side of the electric grinder, a wooden block with a vertical cut under the knife is installed. The height is chosen so that the angle of the blade being sharpened meets the required condition. The knife is inserted into the cutout and slides over it.

Such an electric sharpener has a significant drawback - it is difficult to set the sharpening angle. To get rid of it, the design should be complicated. To do this, a three-legged holder with the ability to adjust the angle is installed. It is attached directly to the sandpaper, but can also be used as an independent device. To make such a device, skills and special machines are needed, and this is far from suitable for everyone.

Another disadvantage is that when using an electric machine for sharpening knives, the stone is ground. It will have to be constantly corrected in the process of work in order to make the blade sharp. In addition, with this method, the emery is used irrationally, it has to be changed, throwing away a significant part of the abrasive.

Homemade fixtures

Some owners use a manual knife sharpener with an adjustable sharpening angle. The essence of such a device is that one of the elements (knife or abrasive) is in a stationary state, while the other is reciprocated. Two groups of such machines can be distinguished:

• with fixed abrasive;
• with fixed blade.

The first group includes the machine-cart. An abrasive is installed on a flat plane. As such a surface, you can use processed stone or thick glass. For the manufacture of the holder, a board 2-3 cm thick is cut out, its length should be about 1.5 times the abrasive material, the width does not play a decisive role. For a better look and a smooth surface, it is treated with a planer and sandpaper. Along the long edges, the stops necessary to give strength are nailed and glued.

Then you should make wedges. To do this, the processed board is taken again, and a rectangle is cut out. Its thickness should be equal to the height of the abrasive material, the length should approximately correspond to the width of the holder. To calculate the width of the device, you need to subtract the length of the abrasive and the width of the two stops from the length of the holder.

When assembled, the following picture is obtained: an abrasive and a wedge should fit on the holder between the two stops. After that, the rectangle is cut diagonally, but not from corner to corner, but with a slight indentation to make triangles with cropped vertices.

When the wedge and abrasive are placed in the holder, the bases of the triangles are lightly beaten with a hammer. These parts should crawl on top of each other, their overall width increases, and the abrasive is clamped. To prevent the holder from moving on the glass, its bottom is glued with thin rubber.

The cart will allow the knife to move at a constant angle. The wheels can be anything, you can use bearings, as long as they are even. A guide with a blade holder is attached to the cart. Here too There are two ways to adjust the sharpening angle:

• changing the height of the abrasive;
• by turning the guide with the blade (in this case the trolley must have 4 wheels).

In the second option, you can use a rotary mechanism.

Other models

Machine tools in which the machined tool is stationary have gained great popularity. A kitchen or other knife is attached to the inclined platform. Reliable fastening is obtained by using a magnet, and various clamps (spring or threaded) are also widely used.

A bar is attached to the platform on the opposite side of the knife. It is allowed to use a steel bar with a diameter of 8 mm. The slope of the platform is chosen so that it approximately corresponds to the desired angle of the tool being sharpened. A latch is attached to the bar, which, if necessary, can move, thereby more accurately setting the angle. A guide moves freely in it - the same metal rod as the rod. For better sliding, a plastic or nylon sleeve is inserted into the latch.

At the other end of the guide (near the tool being sharpened), two brackets are installed, which are tightened with a nut or lamb. A bar is inserted into them and secured with a lamb or nut.

The machine works as follows: a blade is placed in the clamps on an inclined platform, a bar is pulled together with brackets on the guide, and the desired angle is set with the latch. The angle is measured with a protractor mounted on the blade. With a bar, they begin to make translational movements, processing the entire surface. During grinding, the abrasive is moved in only one direction - from the heel to the blade.

Another machine uses a trapezoid. The long sides are made of steel rods, interconnected by wooden blocks. One rod through the bearing is mounted in the rotary mechanism, the other is a guide along which the bar moves freely. The knife holder is installed under the carriage on a flat surface. If the first rod of the trapezoid gets in the way when sharpening the tool, the stand can be raised higher.

Thin paper, such as newspaper, will help determine the quality of sharpening. It is necessary to try to cut strips from it with quick and smooth movements. If this succeeds, then the blade is sharpened correctly.

Every man, and sometimes a woman, regularly faces the need to sharpen a knife. Every knife, regardless of quality, can dull over time, so it needs careful maintenance. On the shelves of stores there is a large selection of sharpeners and stones for sharpening, so making a choice is not difficult.

Types of stones for sharpening

There are several types of stones that are used to sharpen knives:

1. Oil - such stones imply the use of oil on the surface, which saves material consumption.
2. Water stones - have the same principle of operation, but water is used in working with them.
3. Natural stones are natural materials that have undergone industrial processing.
4. Artificial stones, respectively, are made from an unnatural component.
5. Rubber stones, such material is rare, as it is not convenient to work with them.

Some features of knife sharpening

Each knife has its own sharpening feature.

For example, a Japanese knife, for self-sharpening, requires the attention of an experienced craftsman, since Japanese steel is very fragile. Manufacturers recommend using several types of Japanese water stones for sharpening, with different grain sizes.

For housewives, for sharpening a kitchen knife, it is easier and more convenient to use a special sharpener. However, the use of several stones will keep the sharpness of the knife for a longer time, which is especially appreciated. Although this will take more time and effort, it will prolong the life of the tool.

Conditions for the correct sharpening of knives

For proper sharpening of a knife, it is necessary to create conditions under which the knife will be sharp for several months. For such sharpening, choosing the right angle will help. There is a rule that defines the correct principle of work - a smaller angle for sharpening a knife will create a lower cutting edge strength. That is, it should be remembered that the sharper the knife is immediately sharpened, the faster the time will come for re-sharpening, and the more difficult it will be to bring the knife to its original working condition.

What is sharpening for?

The main point of sharpening knives is to restore the sharpness of the blade itself. Why is it necessary to observe the correct angle when sharpening. Or rather, the restoration of the previously set angle, which must comply with technological standards. To check the sharpness of the knife, it is necessary to cut the material for which it is intended, if the knife cuts it without problems, then the technique is followed correctly.

Problems that may arise when sharpening

Without a doubt, in order to choose the appropriate angle, experience is needed, without which it is quite difficult to cope with this task. Especially without the necessary adaptation, since, holding the knife with your hands, it is difficult to sharpen it evenly on both sides. To fix the problem, it is recommended to build a homemade knife sharpening machine, which is easy to do at home. After all, already existing devices, in their design, are quite simple and do not differ in their complexity.

How can you sharpen a knife at home?

There are situations when you need to sharpen a knife very quickly at home, for such purposes you can use the following available materials:

• wooden block;
• hacksaw;
• sandpaper;
• file;
• ceramic plate;
• chisel and some others.

Particularly sophisticated village men can generally sharpen a knife on a foundation made from a solution of cement and sand. Nevertheless, it is not recommended to follow this example, but to use in practice the most proven methods that are suitable for quick sharpening.

The best way would be to make a homemade device, as it is effective and very convenient, and besides, it will not differ much from the factory one.

What are drawings for?

Of course, it is much easier to buy a ready-made knife sharpener, and they are not so expensive. Nevertheless, most homely owners prefer to do everything with their own hands, this is both pleasant and you can be sure of the quality of workmanship. After all, only natural materials are used. To make the manufacturing process pleasant and easy, you need to prepare a plan and follow it.

1. To begin with, a ready-made drawing for clamping jaws is made or purchased. When making a drawing, it is necessary to pay special attention to the smallest details and to think over and draw the entire structure.
2. The next step will be drawing a drawing of the right and left stops, for the strength of the assembled structure.
3. Make a drawing for the guide, which has its own subtleties.

Guide drawing

All you need for a guide that fits perfectly is the following:

1. A bobbin with an M6 thread, which must be sawn off using a hacksaw, so that it turns out to be 16 cm long. The main thing is to make sure that there are no burrs so that they do not slow down the sharpening process itself.
2. Also, electrodes with a soft and elastic cylinder can be useful in work, they must be bent with the letter “g” using pliers. The main thing during the period of work is not to forget to periodically look at the drawing of the product.
3. Metal scraps are useful in using clamps, they need to be sawn and holes installed using a drilling machine. A hand tap will help in basting the thread. And in order to reduce friction, use a drop of oil, which is then easily removed with soapy water.
4. Finishing work with the guide, according to the drawing, twist all the details and for fixing, drip ordinary nail polish onto the junction of the clip and the stud.

There are two types of knife sharpening - it is bilateral and one-sided. The way the two work is, of course, different. All you need to consider when working with knives are criteria such as:

1. The abrasive stone used when working with knives should not be very fine or, conversely, with very large grains, choose something in between these two criteria.
2. In the case when there is no necessary device for sharpening the knife, and the tool needs to be sharpened, you can use such an improvised tool as a ceramic mug. All you need to do is turn the spontaneous sharpening over and draw along its bottom with movements towards yourself. But it should be borne in mind that its bottom should have a rough surface.
3. Do not forget that ceramic knives do not need to be sharpened. Their surface is coated with a special coating made of special alloys, which protects it from damage and wear.
4. A serrated knife should not be sharpened without special equipment, there is a high probability that you will not sharpen it, but spoil it. For this kind of knives, a special laser is used.
5. In order for the knives to stay sharp longer, they should be washed in cold water.

Knife sharpening errors

Features of sharpening planer knives

Only an experienced craftsman with certain skills and knowledge can handle this kind of knives. Since this is a very complex process, sharpening equipment is difficult to find in a regular store. However, many people use conventional equipment to sharpen planer knives. But you need to remember that this requires a modern low-speed tool that has water cooling. And you should also use a new stone, with a flat surface, a stone that has a water principle of operation is better. If you are not a specialist and you do not have the necessary equipment, you can sharpen a planer knife for a fee at car workshops where you can find such a sharpener.

Video

Hello to all DIY lovers! Previously, I published articles on the manufacture of Throwing Knife ( work removed from the site at the request of Roskomnadzor), as well as an article about and continuing this topic, I want to show how you can make a wonderful knife sharpener from improvised materials that are available in your workshop. Not even one ruble was spent on the manufacture of this sharpener, although analogues of such sharpeners are quite expensive, even in China, it is impossible to find cheaper than 1 thousand rubles, and everyone can repeat my version and looking ahead, I will say that such a sharpener is simply necessary in every home (wives, mothers, girls will be delighted with the sharpness of knives), and it’s much more pleasant to work when the knife is well sharpened, and the sharpening process itself is a pleasure for me personally!

Materials and tools

Required materials and tools:

Wooden block;
- fluoroplast plate;
- 4 hex screws;
- steel bar;
- thick electrode;
- metal corners;
- spring;
- a piece of laminate;
- Double-sided tape;
- sandpaper.

Case manufacturing

First of all, I took a wooden block, marked it out: thickness - 2 cm, width - 6.5 cm, length - 26 cm, cut it out with a jigsaw and cleaned it with an emery wheel using a screwdriver. P.S. Thanks to the site admin for the gift that I received for the victory ! The screwdriver still works great! I use it almost every day!

Manufacture of the guide post

Next, at an angle of approximately 65-70 degrees, it is necessary to drill two holes, into which the guide post will later become.

I made this stand from an ordinary thick electrode, just beat the upper part, sanded it with sandpaper and bent it in half.





Next, I took a piece of PTFE, made markings on the pressure plate and guide. I cut it with a jigsaw and sanded it with sandpaper.





Then I drilled holes in the pressure plate and the wooden post. I made a small patai in the plate so that the screws would sit as deep as possible into it, and I pressed the nuts in the rack.

Next, I drilled two holes in the guide plate, and on one of them I chamfered to increase the angle of travel of the sharpening guide.

With the help of the same screw and lamb we put this plate on the guide and clamp it. With this plate, you can quite accurately set the required sharpening angle.

The knife is clamped very firmly and without releasing the screws it is impossible to pull it out.

I made the main guide from a steel bar 56 cm long. I put a handle from an old file on it from one end, so that it would be more convenient to work. I made the clamping corners from an old clamp, just bent it and drilled through the hole. These corners are held by a threaded nut for the clamping screw, and I also installed a spring so that you can quickly change the stones.

Making grinding stones

The "stones" were made from an ordinary piece of laminate. I drew it into strips about 2-2.5 cm wide and 20 cm long. These segments already have protrusions at the edges, so I didn’t have to cut anything else. This "stone" is tightly clamped in the guide, but at the same time it is easy to remove and install a new one. I pasted double-sided tape on the strips of laminate and pasted sandpaper on it, of different grain sizes, and signed each on the side.

Testing a homemade knife sharpener

Here the sharpener is ready. Now we need to test it. Grab the knife and start sharpening.

Finished sharpening result

After about 15-20 minutes, this is the result!

Checking sharpness on paper

Now you need to test! Paper cuts just perfect, almost like a razor!

Checking the sharpness of the blade on plastic

The test is more difficult just passed! The plastic bottle was cut in half with one blow! (in the video below, this process can be seen)

Video on making a simple knife sharpener

So I am very pleased with this sharpener and I should have done it much earlier!

Well, I'll try my luck in the contest and wish all the participants the same!

That's all, if I missed something or it's not clear, ask, I will answer everyone!
Thank you very much for your attention and until new homemade products!

Even the best knife needs sharpening from time to time to restore sharpness. If the device is not sharpened, it will cease to perform its function and may cause injury, because a dull blade easily jumps off the surface. Instead of giving the device to the master for sharpening, you can do it yourself. A do-it-yourself knife sharpener is not too difficult to perform. For its manufacture, even improvised materials are enough.

The procedure for sharpening knives with your own hands is a painstaking process, the result of which is the restoration of the cutting abilities of the knife blade. It should not be thought that a base that is too sharp is more dangerous than a dull one. A well-sharpened knife enters even a soft cut surface more easily, unlike a dull blade, which can come off at any moment.

Helpful advice! The frequency of sharpening depends on the quality of the blade, on the characteristics and frequency of use of the device. At the same time, you need to understand that working with a blunt point is not only dangerous, but also requires more effort when working in the kitchen. The hands suffer the most from overuse.

Of course, you can take the product to the sharpening master, but in this case there is no guarantee that he will carefully handle the device and make a quality restoration. You also need to consider that in order to sharpen not at home, you will need to spend not only money, but also your free time. If you make a homemade tool for sharpening knives, you don’t have to go anywhere and it’s easy to bring the knife into working condition in a short time.

Whatever the quality of the blade, it will dull sooner or later. Even when working with soft material, the steel of the blade loses its cutting ability, and microscopic pieces of steel are removed from the blade, as a result of which not only the sharpness is lost, but also the shape of the cutting surface changes. The deformation of the base also occurs due to the fact that during the cutting process, the blade almost always deviates to one of the sides, it depends on the pressing force and on which hand is cutting. Other causes of point blunting:

1. Incorrect storage. Experts recommend storing the device on a magnetic surface or in a stand. If you put it together with other cutlery, their constant contact will dull the blade even when the knife is not in use. To ensure proper storage of the device, you can make a stand for knives with your own hands from wood.
2. Dirty products. If you cut soft vegetables or fruits that have dirt or sand left on them, the particles will scratch the point.
3. Washing violation. Experts do not recommend washing knives in a dishwasher at high temperatures, because hot water has a negative effect on steel.
4. Work with bones and tendons. The bones of any animal have a high hardness that can break the integrity of the blade. The same can be said about the shell of the seeds of some fruits.
5. Frequent use. When cutting, it is almost impossible to constantly maintain the correct angle at which the base is sharpened. As a result, the sharpened edge of the device bends and it becomes much more difficult to work with such a blade, especially if low-quality material was used in the manufacture.

How to sharpen a knife: the main steps and the principle of operation

To do everything correctly for sharpening knives, you should follow a certain algorithm for performing actions. To get a perfectly even and sharp blade, you will need to go through several stages of work, each of which involves the use of different tools:

1. Initial processing or regrinding. The sharpening angle is changed, and gross mechanical damage to the base is eliminated. When using a tool for sharpening knives at this stage, a significant layer of steel is removed - until a perfectly even point is obtained, a coarse-grained abrasive is suitable for this.
2. Sharpening. It is carried out using medium and high-grain abrasive. If the knife sharpener is used incorrectly, uneven sharpening of the point may occur.
3. Grinding or polishing. At this stage, even the smallest damage or scratches are eliminated, and the blade becomes evenly sharp.
4. Polishing. A variety of polishing pastes containing various abrasives are used here. The final work is to bring the base to a mirror finish.

Helpful information! Separately from all stages, it is possible to carry out the editing process, which consists in restoring the position of the side surfaces of the edge, wrapped to the sides. When performing this kind of work, the steel is practically not removed from the surface of the knife.

How to choose the right stone to sharpen a knife with your own hands

The simplest homemade knife sharpener is a stone block. The main thing here is to correctly determine the type of abrasive, especially since from a properly selected set of stones you can make a do-it-yourself device for sharpening planer knives and other carpentry or kitchen tools. Before you make a machine for sharpening knives, you need to know the main types of grit used for work:

1. 200-250. The marking is used to designate abrasives of the highest grit, which are rarely used for sharpening blades.
2. 300-350. Bars with such a grain size are used only when it is necessary to restore the shape of a badly damaged or deformed blade, as well as for knives with a thick blunt base. If there are no visible cracks or other major changes in appearance on the blade, the use of such coarse whetstones is not recommended.
3. 400-500. This is how an abrasive of medium roughness is marked, most often used in difficult cases when it is necessary to change the direction of the sharpening angle or other characteristics of the point.
4. 600-700. The most commonly used type of grit in the manufacture of do-it-yourself sharpeners designed for sharpening household tools. Stones with this grain size are found on store shelves more often than others.
5. 1000-3000. A fine-grained stone coating that is ideal for preparing the blade for fine grinding and polishing. With this material, it is easy to bring the blade to extreme sharpness.
6. 3000-6000. This type of abrasive is used to create the perfect mirror finish. Most often, the abrasive is applied using a soft felt or fabric base.

When choosing a stone for a do-it-yourself grinder, you should also pay attention to its color: the darker the surface shade, the more abrasive it will have. A light shade indicates a fine grained stone.

Important! The choice of the right abrasive should be approached especially carefully, because the performance of a home-made machine for sharpening knives will depend on this.

In general, the following types of stones are chosen for the grinding tool:

1. Water. To work with such a stone, it is required to additionally use water to moisten the surface abundantly. This is necessary so that the stone can be worked longer and more efficiently.
2. Oil. In appearance, they are very similar to water, but only in this case the surface needs to be treated not with water, but with oil.
3. Artificial. For the manufacture of homemade knife sharpeners, durable stones are used, such as corundum or carbide, which, in addition to good hardness, also have such a significant advantage as low cost.
4. Natural. The most effective options are novaculite or Japanese stone. Among the minuses are the complexity of use and high cost.

Some retail outlets even offer to use rubber stones for sharpening, but keep in mind that working with them is extremely difficult and inconvenient. The most useful and convenient is the use of ceramic abrasive, which combines a large number of positive qualities.

In order to properly prepare the knife edge for work, you should start sharpening with a medium or coarse grit bar, and the choice will depend on the initial state of the blade and the degree of its damage. For easier use of a do-it-yourself homemade knife sharpener from a bar, it should be securely fastened. Next, you need to determine the correct angle of sharpening the blade.

Table of standard blade sharpening angles:

device	Tilt angle, degrees
Shearing scissors	45-55
Scissors for working with metal	75-85
Scalpel	10-15
Table knife for chopping food on a plate	55-60
Common kitchen knife for a variety of uses	20-35
Tourist	30-45

It is interesting! If you look at the drawings of hunting knives, you can pay attention to the fact that they all differ in the shape, length and width of the blade. Despite this, the sharpening angle, regardless of the model, varies from 30 to 40 °.

It should be borne in mind that the angle of inclination on each side is half of the required value. Movements when working with the blade should be smooth and without strong jerks. The first movement is carried out from oneself, and the base must pass along the stone for its entire length. The same angle of inclination should be maintained throughout the entire sharpening period, otherwise it will not be possible to achieve an ideal result.

To maintain the desired angle when reaching the point of rounding of the point, turn the knife slightly. It is important to ensure that when sharpening the blade does not completely leave the bar, otherwise the side edge of the blade can be damaged or deformed. Subsequent movements are performed in the opposite direction.

Sharpening work should be carried out until a bending plane appears on the base. To check the sharpness, you do not need to run a fingertip along the blade so as not to get hurt. If the job has been done correctly, the edge of the blade will have the same width along its entire length. Having achieved an ideal result on one side, you need to turn the device over and repeat all the steps on the reverse side.

If there are bumps or scratches, you need to take a bar with a finer grit and continue to smoothly move the cutting surface along the bar away from you, gradually reducing the degree of pressure. To achieve shine, GOI paste or leather cloth is usually used.

Do-it-yourself knife sharpener: the most common types of designs

There are many diagrams and drawings of do-it-yourself knife sharpeners, which differ in different designs and manufacturing methods. You should not choose the simplest versions of the models, because with them it will be possible to perform only one of the stages of work with high quality. Despite the fact that the manufacture of a more complex design will take more materials and means, the process of turning the blade itself will take less time, and the result will be noticeably better.

Before you make a device for sharpening knives, you first need to determine the amount of work that will be performed using the design. This is due to the fact that in a situation where you need to put several kitchen knives in order once a week, it is absolutely not necessary to bother with complex drawings of knife sharpeners with your own hands and make a professional machine. If a person is fond of collecting knives, hunting, or constantly uses knives in his work, then it is better to try once.

The simplest, hand-made knife is considered to be a grindstone sandwiched between two stops, which is sometimes quite enough for use in ordinary household conditions. To complete the construction, you will need to cut out two wooden triangles and fasten them together with metal screws. The stone used is clamped between two supports.

A feature of such a device for sharpening knives with your own hands is the fact that the triangles are fixed in only one position, but the angle of inclination of the grindstone can be changed. For a more accurate setting of the correct angle, it is recommended to use a conventional protractor.

Another small do-it-yourself knife sharpener with adjustable sharpening angle is a movable holder rail equipped with two bars that can change not only the position, but also the angle of inclination. A distinctive feature of the machine is the need for additional fixation on the table with a holder, the simplest and most reliable option in this case is a clamp. The disadvantages of using the design also include the difficulty of maintaining the correct turning angle throughout the entire period of work.

Interesting information! Very often, drawings of devices for sharpening knives with your own hands can be found on the Internet. So, sharpeners made following the example of the well-known Lansky company, which are distinguished by good performance and ease of execution, are very popular among craftsmen.

How to make a do-it-yourself knife sharpener: process video

A rather simple type of do-it-yourself knife sharpening is a rectangular wooden block, the upper part of which is shaped to resemble a gable roof. The edges are distinguished by a standard angle of inclination of 20-25°, which is optimally suited for sharpening kitchen knives. To obtain a more convenient device in the manufacture, you can use knife templates that you plan to sharpen often.

For sharpening, the blade is applied close to the comb, after which an abrasive wheel or whetstone with emery is taken and horizontal movements are made along the sharpening line of the blade. In this case, it turns out to provide a constant angle and uniform sharpening of the cutting base.

To make a more complex home-made machine for sharpening knives with your own hands, you will need to prepare the following materials:

• a board 50 cm wide, length and thickness should be within 15x2 cm;
• a threaded metal pin that will serve as a guide for the whetstone;
• bolts, nuts and screws needed to assemble the sharpener;
• nuts for strong fixation;
• material for the substrate under the knife, you can use textolite or plexiglass;
• neodymium magnet, it is important to note that a conventional magnet is not suitable for this purpose due to the low clamping force.

Helpful advice! Not all designs require the creation of a preliminary drawing of a knife sharpener; in some cases, it is enough to follow the step-by-step instructions for the manufacture of the device.

The first stage of work is to prepare the foundation. To do this, you need to take a piece of chipboard or any other material that is convenient to work with. The board needs to be cleaned and well processed so as not to get a splinter in the process. To create a convenient do-it-yourself knife sharpener, the size of the base board should be approximately 40x12 cm. Then an inclined tabletop is attached to it, which differs in slightly smaller dimensions, for example, 30x10 cm.

To achieve the correct position of the tabletop, it is fastened to the base with a small square piece of board, the recommended height of which is 7 cm, this will be enough to form a comfortable angle of the tabletop. For convenient fixation of the blade in the upper part of the base, a powerful magnet is fixed in a pre-cut cavity. Also on the countertop with a self-tapping screw, a knife holder plate is attached. To be able to change its position depending on the width of the blade, it is recommended to cut a groove that allows you to move the mount up / down.

In addition to the tabletop, a pin is fixed on the base, which serves as a mount for the carriage with a whetstone. The guide is made of a small bar, on one side of which a hole for a stud is drilled - 8 mm, and on the other side a cut is made and a clamp is installed, allowing the guide to rotate freely on the stud.

The holder for the bar is also made of a stud, on one end of which a cambric is fixed, and the total length of the part should not exceed 60 cm. The bar is fixed on the holder with the help of small elements that are fastened in the desired position by means of nuts. As a grinding device, either a stone or a wooden block is used with sandpaper of the desired grain size fixed on it. To ensure a full-fledged sharpening cycle on a do-it-yourself machine for sharpening knives, you can prepare several bars of different grain sizes at once.

To work, the holder with a whetstone is inserted into the hole on the guide with a cambric, and the knife is mounted on a magnet and pressed against the plate, after which sharpening can begin.

How to make a homemade knife sharpener

A grinder or emery is considered universal. A do-it-yourself device is used for sharpening jointer knives, meat grinders, chisels and any other tool that needs sharpness. To create such a sharpener, you need to purchase a working small engine. For this, a motor from an old washing machine, juicer or other household appliance is suitable. Another complication is the need for an adapter that perfectly matches the diameter of the motor shaft.

Sometimes, to make it, you will need to create a drawing of a machine for sharpening knives and provide dimensions to a turner who can make the necessary part. Then the finished adapter is mounted on the shaft and secured with a bolt and washer with a nut.

Important! When creating an adapter, the threads on it and on the nut must be cut based on the direction of rotation of the motor shaft. When turning clockwise, a left-hand thread is performed, if vice versa, a right-hand thread is performed. If this rule is not observed during sharpening, the nut will work to unwind, and this is fraught with the fact that the stone will fly off.

To make emery, it is not necessary to purchase a powerful motor. 400 W is considered the best indicator, but even a 100-200 W motor for domestic use will be enough. The number of revolutions is usually in the range of 1000-2000 revolutions per minute. To protect yourself from flying metal chips, it is recommended to additionally make a casing.

As for the circles for emery, for the processing of non-hard metals, from which most household appliances are made, circles of electrocorundum marked 25A are suitable. In most cases, such circles are distinguished by white color. Due to the peculiarities of the material, the steel does not overheat, and the quality of sharpening remains excellent.

Sharpening a knife on your own is not an easy task, especially for a beginner, but over time, with constant practice, you can learn to perform the process no worse than any master. If you wish, it is recommended to try to make a machine for sharpening knives with your own hands, the drawings of which are easy to find in open sources. At the same time, it is not necessary to build complex structures, because even a simple but well-made sharpener will help keep the blades in perfect condition.