Every housewife at least once in her life has encountered the fact that the knives with which she usually cuts bread, butchers meat or chops vegetables become dull in her kitchen. Using such knives is not only inconvenient, but also dangerous, because the blade can fall off the product and injure you. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically sharpen the tool using special devices. In stores, such devices are presented in a huge assortment, but for certain reasons they do not suit consumers. In such a situation, you can make a knife sharpener yourself. In principle, it is not difficult to find drawings and diagrams for work, but detailed master classes we will present in this article.
What conditions must be observed when sharpening knives?
Do you know how to sharpen knives correctly? In fact, there is whole line rules, following which you can achieve an ideal result.
The necessary conditions look like this:
- For long-term and efficient operation of knives, when sharpening them, it is necessary to pay maximum attention to the angle between the edges of the blade. During sharpening, it is imperative to restore the initially specified angle so that it meets technological standards and allows you to cut products quickly, efficiently, and freely.
- It is necessary to choose the optimal angle for each blade. So, for example, a scalpel or razor should have an angle of 10-15 degrees, devices for cutting fruits, bread and vegetables - 15-20 degrees. Knives for working with hard materials you need to sharpen at an angle of 30-40 degrees.
- Without special device Sharpening the blade is quite difficult. Hold the knife with your hands only, ensure desired angle tilting is difficult. So, it is precisely to facilitate this process that sharpeners exist.
In fact, making a knife with your own hands is as easy as shelling pears, because all such devices have simple design and it won’t take you much time to create them.
Types and production of sharpening stones
Available for sale a large number of stones intended for sharpening knives, but the most popular of them are the following types:
- Water tools. Working with them necessarily involves the use of water, thereby saving the surface of the stones.
- Oil stone. It is very similar in shape and structure to water, the only difference is that its surface is slightly oily.
- Natural stones. They are produced from natural materials, previously undergoing industrial processing.
- Artificial tools. They are made from non-natural components.
- Rubber devices. They are no less often found on sale, but working with them is extremely inconvenient.
Before you make a knife in the form of an abrasive bar, you need to purchase several glass plates 4-5 mm thick, rectangular in shape.
Then make a sharpener according to the scheme:
- Using double-sided tape, stick to the surface of the plates sandpaper different levels of grain.
- Tighten the nuts carefully to prevent the glass from cracking.
Important! During the operation of such a device, water is not used, which is why the abrasive wears out quite quickly.
When sharpening knives with an abrasive stone, you should avoid too sudden movements, otherwise it will overheat and the blade will lose its useful properties.
Products for sharpening knives made from wooden blocks
Making a sharpener from two abrasive and two wooden blocks is quite simple, the main thing is that the starting materials are the same size.
You will need to do the following:
- Thoroughly sand the wooden blocks with sandpaper and remove all burrs.
- Pre-mark the bars, taking into account the required angle of inclination.
- Attach a stone to the resulting line, on both sides wooden block mark its width.
- Make cuts according to the markings on the wooden workpiece.
Important! Make sure that their depth does not exceed 1.5 cm.
- Insert the abrasive stones into the resulting recesses so that they align with the grooves.
- Secure the sharpening stones with bolts and attach a piece of rubber to the bottom.
Do-it-yourself knife from mounting corners
Use this master class to make a high-quality knife with your own hands. You can get the drawings on the Internet.
Tools and materials required for work:
- Metal plates 4 by 11 cm.
- Standard size aluminum corners.
- Metal rods 15 cm long.
- Sharpening machine with vice.
- Needle file.
- Set of bolts and nuts.
- File.
Make a sharpener according to these instructions:
- Make markings according to the drawing for the holes in the plates.
- Drill holes, cut threads.
- Round off sharp edges and corners with a file.
- In accordance with the diagram, make holes in the corner.
- Use a file to widen the spoke support.
- Tap the holes for the studs.
- Insert the rods into the outer holes and secure them with nuts.
- Screw the bolt into the widest hole with the nut pre-screwed onto it.
- Insert bolts to clamp the knife into the remaining holes.
- Screw the nuts onto the ends of the rods, and place a corner on top to secure the nuts.
- Using a thin metal rod, a wing nut, and two holders, assemble a device to hold the sharpening stone.
Important! Such a sharpener can have a wide range of degrees of pressure angle; it is incredibly convenient to use.
Making an electric knife sharpener at home
Making an electric knife with your own hands is a little more complicated, because the device itself has a complex design.
Prepare the following materials and devices:
- Vacuum cleaner.
- Plan-puck.
- Electrical engine.
- Stanin.
- Fencing.
Complete the work strictly following the diagram.
Almost everyone home handyman cutting tools are available. Over time, the cutting edges lose their former sharpness, and working with such a product becomes unbearable. There are two options for solving this problem: have the tool sharpened and pay a lot of money, or assemble a knife sharpening device yourself and sharpen the products yourself.
Causes of blade dulling
The dulling of the blade can be explained as follows. During cutting, the blade is exposed to tiny abrasive particles, be it fruits or vegetables. The cutting edge of the blade gradually wears off and the knife becomes dull. Another reason is to hold the blade when cutting at a certain angle.
Some areas of the blade are subject to increased stress and increased wear.
There are types of knives that are impossible to sharpen yourself due to the textured blades. Also, knives made from ceramics cannot be sharpened. But, as a rule, the quality of the steel in such products is high, and they rarely become dull. There are a variety of knives of low quality, and they have to be sharpened very often. As practice shows, if the steel is of poor quality, then sharpening will solve the problem for a while, and then the blade will become dull again.
To sharpen knives you will need abrasive wheels. If it is not possible to purchase ready-made circles, you can make them yourself using wooden blocks and sandpaper of different grain sizes.
The standard sharpening angle is 20 - 30 degrees. It is quite difficult to maintain the angle during sharpening, and therefore it is necessary to make a simple knife sharpener, in which it is not necessary to maintain the optimal angle. The basic rule in this process is maintaining a precisely specified constant angle. No force required here. The main thing is that the block and blade meet at a certain angle. This is the basic rule of the sharpening technique.
Basic mistakes
As it may seem at first glance, sharpening is simple, but if you delve into the process itself, you will notice a fairly large number of different nuances. Most people make simple mistakes when sharpening knives, which leads to uneven sharpening or damage to the knife. Common Mistakes when sharpening:
- The cutting edge was not sharpened. As a result, small burrs form on the sides, which temporarily give sharpness to the blade, and after working with the knife for a short time, the blade again becomes dull. To prevent this problem, you should carefully sharpen both edges, and then, as you sharpen, use sandpaper or a wheel of different grits.
- Presence of paint, oil, dirt on the tip. The bottom line is that during turning, fat, dirt, oil and other components mix with grinding abrasives and lead to scratches and microchips of the blade. After such sharpening, the blade quickly becomes dull.
- Pressure plays an important role. You need to remember one simple rule: sharpness does not depend on the force used, but on the duration of sharpening. Excessively strong pressure leads to chipping of microparticles from the blade and poor sharpening.
- Incorrect angle selection. The angle may vary depending on the grade of steel and the purpose of the tool. For home kitchen knives it is 20 - 25 degrees. For other types of blades that will have to withstand heavy loads and work with hard materials, the angle will be 40 degrees.
By following simple but at the same time appropriate rules for sharpening, you can not only save time, but also not damage the product.
Sharpener "Domik"
A good tool for sharpening knives. Despite its simple design, the sharpener does its job well. This design consists of a rectangular block, the upper edge of which is made in the form gable roof. The angle of inclination of one face is 20 - 25 degrees, which is optimal. The product must be installed with a blade close to one of the roof ridges, then take abrasive wheel or a block of sandpaper and move along a horizontal line. This ensures a constant angle of inclination, which leads to uniform sharpening of the blade.
There are also complex designs homemade grinding machine. For manufacturing you will need the following materials:
- A piece of board measuring 500x150x20 mm.
- A metal pin with a thread that will serve as a guide for the bar.
- M8 bolts and nuts and wood screws.
- Clamping nuts or wing nuts.
- Ordinary PCB or plexiglass, which will serve as a substrate for the knife and a kind of movable frame.
- To attach the knife, use a neodymium magnet. The usual one will not work, since its downforce is quite low.
The board must be cleaned, processed, and then made into a rectangle. Another board should be made rectangular in shape, which will serve as a stand or support. Its height should be such that the slope of the main board is 20 degrees. You can fasten them together with wood screws. Then attach the resulting structure to the workbench or cut out a tabletop in advance, to which one of the studs will be attached. After securely attaching the pin to the tabletop, you need to take a 200x100 block and make two holes in it: one for the main pin, on which the movable carriage with the sharpener will be attached, and the other for the pin, which is attached to the tabletop.
Now you can begin assembling the carriage with the sharpener holder. For the pin that will hold the carriage, you need to make two clamps from wood, plexiglass or metal. Drill holes in the clamps, put them on the stud and secure them on both sides with nuts. The carriage will rotate freely along its axis.
The next step is to install a neodymium magnet on a previously prepared plate. It needs to be done longitudinal groove- so that the tripod can be moved up and down. Drill a hole in the middle of the frame and insert a bolt with a nut, which, in turn, will press the plate. You can simply glue a neodymium magnet to the end of the plate to hold the knife.
The homemade device is ready for use. It can be used to sharpen chisels and planes.
It should be noted that sharpening is carried out without water, so the abrasive paper or wheel will wear out greatly, but this option is quite suitable for sharpening knives and tools at home.
Homemade knife
If the farm has sharpening machine, it will make the process easier, but there is one circumstance. When sharpening on a machine, it is almost impossible to apply even pressure on the knife. Therefore, it is possible to make a device for sharpening knives, which will serve as a guide for the blade and ensure uniform pressure. The result is a simple but effective electric sharpener. To make it you will need the following components:
- Beam.
- Four bolts or four studs with M8 thread.
- Four lambs.
- Self-tapping screws for wood.
Opposite the electric sharpener, a guide is attached along which the slider will move. The guide itself can be attached to the workbench or a pre-made frame can be made. It must be mobile. To do this, you can cut a longitudinal groove in the frame and secure the tripod with two studs. Then take two bars, drill holes on the sides, insert studs and tighten them with screws on both sides. The next step will be the mount on which the cutting product will rest. This can be done using small pieces of timber, which should be attached to the sides of the moving carriage.
After this you can start sharpening. Set the movable carriage to the desired height and clamp it with the thumbscrews. Move the tripod itself to the required distance, securely fasten it and sharpen the product by moving the knife along the side guides.
Sharpener LM
If in the future you plan to do professional sharpening of tools in large quantities, then you can make a sharpener called: Lansky-Metabo. Fixture drawings for sharpening knives with your own hands look like this:
If the product is clamped in the clamps with the root part, the sharpening angle will be greatest. A knife with this angle can be used as a “cleaver” and processing hard rocks wood You can also easily sharpen knives from jointer. Knife clamps can be made from angle iron or wood. The disadvantage of this design is the complexity of assembly and the large number of parts.
If it is not possible to collect complex instrument to sharpen knives, you can make do with improvised means and make manual knife sharpeners. A simple sharpener can be made from a corner frame into which a touchstone is mounted.
If you add a sliding carriage to the sharpener, you won’t have to hold the knife at a certain angle, which, in turn, will have a good effect on sharpening the blade. To make a movable carriage you will need a triangular block and a magnet. It is best to use a neodymium magnet, which allows you to attract the knife and fix it securely. If such a magnet is not available, then you can take components from the HDD (hard drive).
Before you give a knife or other product for sharpening, you should familiarize yourself with the material, which will help not only in making a sharpener with your own hands, but also save a certain amount. The main aspect is to gain additional experience, which will be useful in the future.
Materials
1. Plywood or plastic plate 10 mm thick.
2. Screws, wing screws, washers and rod (0.5 m) with M6 or M8 thread.
3. Magnets from a used computer hard drive
4. Bearing from an old coffee grinder.
5. Emery (abrasive skins) sheets and bars of different grain sizes: 120, 320, 600, 1500.
Manufacturing
1. The stationary part of the machine is made of plywood (plastic). Strips with a length of 30 cm and 5 cm and a width of (10...12) cm are fastened with the letter G from the bottom aluminum corner. In the upper part we install 1 or 2 magnets (we fill them epoxy resin). We drill a hole in the lower opposite part and install a threaded rod (height 12...15 cm) with a bearing vertically.
On the surface (to support the knife being sharpened) we install a prepared aluminum (or stainless steel) plate with a slot in the middle (up to 2 mm thick) with a wing clamp.
2. The moving part has two options:
Option A. For sharpening with whetstones.
Option B. For sharpening with abrasive cloths.
The aluminum profile has 4 sides with a width of 25 mm.
A strip of abrasive sandpaper of different grain sizes is glued to each side: 120, 320, 600, 1500. For stickers, I use a stationery glue stick. Afterwards, the used strip of skin is easily removed with a knife and a new strip is glued on.
Sharpening process
1. Install the knife to be sharpened as in the photo.
The knife is clearly fixed by a magnet and there is no need to secure it mechanically.
Using a movable stop, we set the knife up to the required position and secure the stop with a wing screw.
We place the moving part of the machine on the knife.
Now we set the sharpening angle by lowering or lifting the bearing using screws.
For the first sharpening, turn the side with the minimum grit number 120 (the coarsest) towards the knife blade.
sharpen until you get a continuous strip on the edge of the blade (0.5...1 mm wide)
We turn the knife over and repeat everything.
We continue the process with sandpaper 320, 600, 1500.
Now you can shave with a knife.
The same procedure for sharpening with sharpening stones. But in this case there are several disadvantages:
1. The middle part of the block wears out over time and then the sharpening angle “floats”, which is not the case in the first option.
2. Bars with different grain sizes need to be changed, but in the first option, to change the grain size you only need to rotate the edge. The bar is removed by pressing the spring with two fingers.
Now all the knives are sharpened full cycle. If some of the knives become dull during use. I only sharpen these 600 or 1500 grit knives with two or three strokes on each side of the knife.
Thank you for your attention!
"Useful homemade products"from Gamir Khamitov.
Almost every person in life is faced with the question of sharpening knives. After all, any knife, regardless of its quality, sooner or later becomes dull. Therefore, the blade must be carefully maintained.
In stores today you can choose any sharpener from a huge variety.
What types of sharpening stones are there?
In general, there are several main types of such devices. Namely:
Oil-based, on the surface of which there is oil, specifically to save material.
Water, similar to the previous one, but water is used here.
Natural, industrially processed.
Artificial, made from non-natural materials.
Rubber, extremely rare. Completely inconvenient to use.
Nuances in the matter of sharpening
Every knife sharpening has its moments.
For example, Japanese independent type requires sharpening special attention quite an experienced specialist, since the Japanese type of steel is quite fragile. To sharpen them, manufacturers recommend using different water stones with different grain sizes.
Housewives use store-bought sharpeners for sharpening. When using several knives, their sharpness remains longer.
But this is very important, even though it takes a lot of time and effort.
How to sharpen knives correctly?
For this it is necessary to create special conditions. Thanks to them, the knife will remain sharp for a very long time.
Therefore, it is important to choose the right angle at which you will sharpen your knives. According to the basic rule in this matter, the smaller the angle at which the knife is sharpened, the stronger the cutting edge will be.
It is important not to forget that the next sharpening depends on the maximum sharpness. The sharper the knife, the faster you will have to sharpen it. At the same time, making it “workable” again will be much more difficult.
Why do they sharpen knives?
The purpose of sharpening is to restore the sharpness of the blade. To do this, take care of the correct sharpening angle. That is, it is necessary to restore the previously specified angle, which complies with the standards from a technological point of view.
To check how well the sharpening is done, cut the material that is cut by the blade of this particular knife. If the material is cut simply, you will do everything absolutely correctly.
Possible problems during the sharpening process
In order to choose the right angle correctly, it is important to have some experience, without which it is quite difficult to cope with this issue. And even more so if there is no special equipment for this.
After all, if you hold a knife with your hands during the sharpening process, it is quite difficult to achieve its ideal “sharpness” as a result.
How do you sharpen knives at home?
Sometimes it happens that the knife needs to be sharpened quickly. A block of wood, a hacksaw, sandpaper, a ceramic plate, a chisel, etc. may come in handy here.
And there are even those who can sharpen them on a foundation made of cement and sand. But this method is not recommended at all. After all, there are a lot of other and more proven ones!
The best of all is to make homemade device. This is not only convenient, but also hardly distinguishable from the factory one.
How to sharpen a planer knife
Knives of this type can be handled by an experienced professional craftsman who has not only knowledge, but also skills in this matter. The process is actually quite complicated.
At the same time, it is quite difficult to find equipment for sharpening such a knife in a simple store. You should know that a modern tool will help here, in which you can set low speed with water cooling.
It is necessary to use a new stone on which Smooth surface. The best type of stone will be the water type.
In addition, without specific experience and sharpening skills planing knives, you can also contact a service station, which probably has equipment such as a sharpener.
The blades in a cutting tool are the basis of everything. A kitchen knife, grinder wheels, chains for a brush cutter or chainsaw with a well-sharpened blade simplify and speed up the work process.
You can sharpen a tool in a professional workshop or at home if you make a knife sharpening machine with your own hands from simple materials.
For knives used at home, you do not need a special tool for sharpening; it is enough to have a sharpener in the form of a bar on hand. But if you have a chainsaw at home, the chains of which also need regular sharpening, or an angle grinder, the disks of which constantly become dull, then it is better to make the installation yourself. The essence of the device is this: a block is attached to the desktop in two variations - with or without adjustment. For those who do not understand the essence of making a sharpener with your own hands from the text, you can watch photo or video master classes.
Device manufacturing diagram
In order for the device to turn out to be of high quality and safe, you need to calculate in advance the dimensions of the machine for sharpening knives with your own hands and select necessary materials. The first thing to do is calculate the angle between the working part of the cutting blade and the block.
Next comes the selection of base materials (support) and stone. You can make a machine from glass covered with sandpaper or stone attached to a support. The first option is less expensive, and the sandpaper can be changed at any time, but more reliable installation- made of stone.
Process nuances
In order for the machine for sharpening knives according to the drawings with your own hands to turn out perfect and last for more than one year, you need to take the advice of experts. The first thing to take into account is what type of blade will be sharpened.
After all, an individual angle is selected for each knife:
- Blades for cutting hard objects (for example, cardboard, wood, metal), chainsaws - 30-45 degrees.
- Hunting and tourist knives - at an angle of 25-30 degrees.
- Kitchen cutting tool to cut various products you need to sharpen at 20-25 degrees.
- Simple knives for slicing bread, vegetables and fruits require 15-20 degrees of sharpening. Regular household scissors, as well as razor knives, should be sharpened at the same angle.
Necessary materials
If you need to make a sharpening machine, you will need the following materials:
- several wooden beams;
- sandpaper;
- sawing tools;
- drill with several drills.
Simple machine. Step-by-step instruction
- Step 1. Take three slats and place them so that together they form the letter H. The width of the middle rail should be equal to the width of the saw block. Repeat the procedure.
- Step 2. Place the slats perpendicular to each other, connecting their bases - the main structure for holding the saw bar is ready.
- Step 3. This is one of the most important stages! It is necessary to correctly calculate the angle of attachment of the bar relative to the slats. Calculate it using measuring tools and mark the places where the timber is attached along the vertical and horizontal slats.
If you want to universal device, then you need to make several retractable bolts at once at a distance so that you can change the slope of the beam if necessary. This can be done using simple measuring tools and drills. After this, you can cut the slats to a convenient length.
The inconvenience of such a machine is that you will have to independently control the position of the knife relative to the beam. If you don’t want to think about anything at all while sharpening knives, scissors or chains, then you should make a more complex machine.
Universal machine. Step-by-step instruction
Read each step carefully and, where possible, draw a drawing for each step indicating all dimensions - this will be an excellent help in your work:
- Cut two rectangular trapezoids from plywood, the bases of which will be equal to 60 and 170 mm, and the side will be equal to right angle– 230 mm.
- Cut a rectangular board with dimensions 230 by 150 mm.
- Fix the rectangle between the bases so that it protrudes 40 mm upward.
- Cut a block measuring 60 by 60 mm and secure it to the base of the wedge.
- Using a drill, make a vertical hole in the block at a distance of 50 mm from the center. Insert the fittings at the top and bottom of the hole, and into them - a pin of the appropriate diameter, 25 cm long.
- Process the rectangular base. At the level of the 40 mm protrusion, make a cut of approximately 2 mm so that a sheet of sandpaper can be attached to this place
- Make a fix:
- Take an L-shaped plank with dimensions of 15 by 18 cm along the long edges and an approximate width of each shelf of up to 5 cm.
- Take a rectangular plank 5 by 5 cm.
- Make a groove in the board at the level of the stud and attach the strips to it with minimal movement.
8. Make a regulator:
- Secure the stud with a nut so that it does not rotate.
- Cut a block from hard wood with dimensions of 20x40x80 mm and secure it to the stud with nuts.
- On the wide side, make a hole of 9 mm with a distance of 15 mm from the edge.
- Cut two blocks of 50x80x20 mm from hard wood and make one hole in them at a distance of 20 mm from the edge in the center.
- Take the weld of the stud and the smooth rod and fasten the blocks to it as follows: first the locking nut, then the first block. Then aluminum profile, then a second block and another retainer.
- Glue the sandpaper to the aluminum profile.
The universal sharpening tool is ready. Cut out several templates from different angles, so that you can use them as a reference when working. Remember that pre-created drawings will help you at every stage of creating a tool - do not neglect this step, otherwise it will be very difficult to avoid mistakes.
No matter what you need to sharpen - simple kitchen knife, garden or nail scissors or chainsaw chains - such a tool will cope with any job if you set the angle correctly and remember to use it when the need arises.
