A kitchen knife is an indispensable item for every housewife. Women often ask how to sharpen a kitchen knife. Some men also find it difficult when it comes to sharpening instruments. You should find out what devices are used in our time, as well as what methods of sharpening are available at home. Much depends on the type of knife. Some use simple ones, others prefer exclusively Japanese kitchen knives. Next, consider how you can sharpen the blade with your own hands.
What is the difficulty of sharpening knives at home?
Before sharpening kitchen knives at home, you should find out the difficult moments of this procedure. The difficulty is that you need to maintain the pristine sharpness of the blade for a long period of time. An important nuance is that a lot of steel cannot be removed from a knife, so you need to seriously approach the issue of choosing a sharpener. The correct sharpening angle of the kitchen knife must also be taken into account. What to do if it is difficult for a person to follow all the rules in work? You can buy a device for sharpening kitchen knives. It will help maintain the desired sharpness of the blades without unnecessary trouble.
How to choose a stone?
When people want to figure out how to sharpen a kitchen knife, they also need to understand well the question of choosing the right stone.
Sharpening stones are divided into:
- Ceramic bars. For a beginner in this matter, simple ceramic bars, for example, a "boat", are suitable. They are made of their ceramics. This type of sharpening is probably in every home. They can also be purchased at a hardware store. Ceramic bars are considered the most durable, they serve for many years. The only negative of this stone is its uneven grinding.
- Diamond
- Natural sharpening.
- Japanese kitchen knives can only be sharpened with Japanese water stones.
The most expensive sharpening items are diamond and Japanese water bars.
What to look for when buying a bar?
When buying a sharpening bar, you should pay attention to the following points:
- What kind of person needs a stone, its size. It should be about one and a half times longer than a kitchen knife. The width of the bar can be selected at your discretion. The form does not matter. You can choose any one you like.
- It is necessary to inspect the stone. It should be flat. A person should not detect chips and damage on the bar.
- Beginners are advised to purchase a universal whetstone for sharpening. Need an option with medium hardness. On sale you can find bars, the sides of which have different grain sizes.
- You can find stones made in the USSR. They are reliable and have good bonding material. As a rule, stones have the same grain size.
- In addition to the bars, you can use abrasive paste.
What is the main goal of a person who is engaged in sharpening?
People often ask how to sharpen a kitchen knife to razor sharpness. It is important to understand the main purpose of the work. It is necessary to remove the metal layer from the blade to such a level that the edge is very sharp. It is better to start from the side that has a large grain size.
What principles of knife sharpening should be used?
To understand how to sharpen a kitchen knife, you need to familiarize yourself with the main recommendations:
- The main task of the person who is going to sharpen kitchen knives is to choose the right sharpening angle. It will need to be held on the entire edge when the knife "walks" along the bar.
- It is important to observe smooth movements. No need to exert pressure on the edge of the blade.
- Each stone must be sprinkled with water. Experts advise using a soap solution. In this case, the slip improves. Metal chips will not clog pores. At the end of the work, it is necessary to clean the bar from contamination.
- It is better for a beginner to train on a knife that can be spoiled.
Step-by-step instruction
To sharpen a knife, it is necessary to act in stages:
- Rinse the whetstone with soap and water. It is permissible to use dishwashing liquid in a small amount.
- The bar must be placed on a wooden board. A chopping board is suitable for this work. You can use a towel. The stone must be placed at an angle of 45 degrees to itself. Others put it perpendicularly from themselves.
- It is necessary to choose a suitable grinding angle. It is worth considering that the smaller the angle, the sharper the blade is obtained after the procedure. When working, you need to fix the position of the knife. The larger the sharpening angle, the better the sharpness of the blade.
Detailed description of the angle of sharpening a kitchen knife
It is important to choose the right angle at which it is convenient to sharpen the knife. As we said earlier, the smaller it is, the sharper the blade.
If this is an ordinary kitchen knife, it is better to stop at an angle of 40 or 45 degrees. When it is necessary to sharpen a knife for cutting fish and meat, then the angle should be chosen at 30 degrees.
To determine the angle that you want to keep between the blade and the grindstone, you must divide the selected value into two. If a person chooses an angle of 45 degrees, then you need to sharpen the sides of the blade at an angle of 22.5 degrees to the surface of the grindstone. When the angle is selected, it must be held while working with the knife.
How to put a knife on a bar?
Before sharpening a kitchen knife, it is necessary to correctly place a bar. The element is placed across the grindstone. Place the top corner of the handle exactly above the bottom edge of the bar. A person should take the knife handle in one hand, and hold the blade in the other, which slides along the bar. The movement is on its own.
Nuances
It is important to keep the cutting edge perpendicular to the selected sharpening direction.
So that the angle does not change, it is necessary to raise the handle of the knife on the bends of the blade. Do not put pressure on the knife when working. It must be firmly held throughout the entire grinding process.
Typically, you need to run the grindstone about 50 times to make the blade sharp. When a “burr” appears on the edge, the process must be completed. Further sharpening the blade is pointless. After that, the knife is turned over and the given work is repeated.
By “burr” is meant the roughness that has appeared, which is palpable. If you hold your finger near the edge of the blade, then it can be detected. Carefully check the degree of sharpening of the knife. Do not drag your fingers along the edge itself. In this case, there is a high probability of a cut. When a person works with a grindstone, a special metal dust appears on the blade of the knife. It is easy to remove with water.
The final stage
When the "burrs" are found on the blade, you can proceed to the final stage. It is often called lapping. To do this, take a whetstone, the grain of which is less, and the previous manipulations with the blade are repeated.
There is also an alternative to this method. To do this, you will need musat - a special steel rod. It is usually presented with an oval or round cross section. It has longitudinal sharpening. This item is needed in order to maintain a certain sharpness of the kitchen blade. Musat is suitable for straightening a knife, after cutting meat and other works.
How to get the maximum sharpness of the blade?
To get a sharp knife, similar in sharpness to a razor, you need to find a leather flap. You can take a leather belt. It must be coated with abrasive paste. GOI and Dialux will do. You can use analogues. Sharpening manipulations should be repeated, only with the skin. It is required to choose the direction from the edge of the knife.
How to check the quality of sharpening?
Everyone will want to check how well they will do the job. He will be interested in how sharp the blade of a kitchen knife turned out. To check, you can cut the tomato. Some try to cut paper.
What other methods are there for sharpening a kitchen knife?
Many are interested in how to sharpen a kitchen knife on an emery. But this is not the only alternative to bars. In addition, you can sharpen a kitchen knife on a sharpener. These methods are suitable for any type of blade. For simple appliances, you can use an electric sharpener. It is safe, even a beginner can work on it.
Before sharpening a kitchen knife on an electric grinder, you need to find out the pros and cons of this method. The main plus is that the electric sharpener quickly grinds knives to the desired sharpness.
The disadvantage of this unit is that it removes a lot of steel from the blade. The knife will last less than this model should. Electric models are unreasonably expensive, not everyone can afford such a purchase. The simplest option costs from 6 thousand rubles.
An inexpensive option is a roller knife. It is easy to use for people who have never tried to sharpen knives at home. Work is fast. The blade will be sharp for a long time. The Fiskars sharpener has proven itself well.
What are good grinding systems?
By purchasing such a system, a person can set the desired angle for sharpening knives. Some may even lock the blade.
In some models, you can independently choose not only the angle, but also control how the knife is held throughout the entire sharpening process. The most popular system these days is the Edge Pro Apex Knife System.
Each sharpener is suitable for a specific type of knife. For example, on devices that fix the blade, it will not be very convenient to sharpen wide knives for cooks. For simple kitchen blades, the triangl system is more suitable. It is easy to use.
The downside of the Edge Pro Apex Knife System is that it is expensive. This system has Chinese counterparts that are affordable for consumers with an average level of income.
Alternative method performed at home
If you don’t have a suitable knife sharpener at hand, you can use the rough mark on the back of the plate or mug. It is important to choose ceramic dishes for this work.
When sharpening, you must hold the selected angle. Movement must be done smoothly, without jerking. The cutting edge must always be held perpendicular to the direction of the knife.
Conclusion
So, we examined how to sharpen a knife. There are several ways to perform this operation. But still, most people still prefer to use an abrasive block. This is a reliable, simple and proven method, familiar from the time of the USSR. Well, for those who don’t want to bother with the bar, a roller sharpener is suitable. It is more compact and sharpen the blade faster.