Sharpening of kitchen knives at home

A sharp knife is a convenient and simply necessary tool in the kitchen for cooking absolutely any dish. Proper sharpening of kitchen knives at home is a very important skill that everyone should own. In addition, for the fair sex representatives today invented a lot of devices that help correctly and quickly make the device sharp without the use of force and wasting precious time.

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Select the angle of sharpening the knife

Before you start sharpening knives at home, you need to know the subtleties of this craft. The most important nuance is the angle of the blade with respect to the working surface. This parameter should be selected depending on the hardness and type of metal, and also based on the purpose for which the device is intended.

For example, different tools should be sharpened under such degrees:

• 10-15 degrees - so scalpels and razor blades are sharpened.
• 15-20 degrees - suitable for bread, meat and vegetables.
• 20-25 degrees - it is desirable to sharpen cook tools.
• 25-30 degrees - for hunting knives.

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Which knife sharpener is better?

Today in the market of goods a huge selection of grinding tools is presented. It is not so easy to choose such a device, because classic grinding bars have a wide range of options. Sometimes the prices reach up to several tens of dollars.

Among the sharpening tools are:

• Machine tools.
• Stones.
• Mechanical sharpeners.
• Electronic sharpeners.
• Musates.

To properly sharpen the knife at home, you should know the distinctive features of each. It is important to find out in advance how to sharpen the blade of knives with this or that tool, so as not to spoil it.

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How to properly sharpen the knife?

Before you start processing knives, you need to know a very important rule - you do not need to save on tools. You can be sure that a good bar at an average price can make the blade as sharp as possible.

Important! Devices of poor quality not only will not give the desired level of sharpness, but can even spoil your favorite kitchen item.

Let's look at the various tools for knife sharpening, because knowing how to sharpen a knife is useful for everyone.

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Musat

One of the most popular tools for sharpening is musat( steel).He is a frequent guest both at home kitchens, and at restaurant. Basically, musat is needed to straighten the blades of instruments, which are often used in the cooking process. It is desirable that several correct actions with musatom become a habit.

Important! The blade should be ironed before the knife is used directly and immediately after use.

Application rules:

• The device, similar to a file, should be held with one hand, and the blade is held by pulling the blade to the handle from the tip with the same displacement of the moussat( similar to planing).
• To sharpen it should be on each side of the cutting object approximately 4-5 times, but no more.
• The blades on the steel should follow a 20-25 degree slope without much effort and pressure.

Important! Experts recommend that in the operation to keep the musat strictly vertically, one end facing the hard surface, for example, in the table.

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Sharpening stone

The most popular tool to sharpen a kitchen knife at home is a grindstone, which can be both artificial and natural. With the help of this tool you can sharpen and quickly sharpen your favorite device.

Often on the shelves of hardware stores there are very inexpensive items - stones in the form of boats. They differ in granularity. For example:

• Stones with a large abrasive surface are used to properly align the shape of the cutting edge.
• Devices with medium grain size are suitable for the restoration of blades.
• Fine-grained - good for fine-tuning.

Important! It is recommended to purchase a set of stones with different abrasive - so you can process objects in several ways.

To properly sharpen a kitchen knife with a grindstone, you should:

1. Wash the blade in cold water( chilled steel may be slightly better grinded).
2. Place the knife above the stone at a 30 degree angle.
3. Drive the blade in the direction from the arm to the point.
4. Grind each side of the edge evenly, making 30-50 movements.
5. At the end of the process, treat the blade with the same method on a fine-grained stone( approximately 15 motions).

Important! Alternatively, a special leather belt, lubricated with abrasive paste, can be used for finishing.

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Bar

A bar is considered a professional tool for sharpening a blade of a knife. It can be made of different materials, the best of which experts call a stone that is coated with diamond dust. This sharpener is able to handle almost any tool the fastest.

The principle of properly sharpening the blade with such a bar is not particularly different from the identical process with stones with a standard abrasive. In addition, it is possible to choose means with silicon carbide and electrocorundum spraying.

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Sharpening machine

One of the fastest and most effective ways to sharpen a knife is to use a special circular machine with abrasive discs( with emery).

Unfortunately, such machines are not often found at home - they are quite cumbersome and require special knowledge in their use. As a rule, such devices are found in factories where cutting tools are produced.

Important! Blades, which are sharpened by such machines, are heated to high temperatures. Therefore, when using them, you need to know an important rule - the number of revolutions of the machine should be minimal.

The correct sharpening of the knives is done in this way:

1. The blade of the knife should be pressed against the circle( plate, cup, straight profile) evenly, and the movements should be smooth.
2. Sharpening is carried out at an angle of 25-30 degrees( the smaller this parameter, the blade will be more fragile and thinner).
3. The operation will take a long time - if you try to sharpen the blade quickly, you can damage the blade.

Important! Beginners and people with little experience in this matter to conduct such a procedure at home is undesirable.

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Electroscale

Today, electric sharpeners are becoming very popular on the market of goods. They are very simple to use, and the blade with their use becomes sharp in just a few minutes.

Important! The main advantage of these devices is that they can choose the angle of sharpening themselves and are suitable for any kind of blade - screwdrivers, scissors, etc.

Many do not know how to sharpen a kitchen knife at home from ceramics correctly. Devices made of such material are very fragile, and one awkward movement along the musat or bar can ruin the blade. In this case, electrocauterators perfectly manage their task.

Sharpening of ceramic knives is very simple. You only need to set the desired mode, bring the point to a special hole in the device, smoothly put it there and press it lightly. All other actions on sharpening the device will perform itself.

Important! Work electric can even with the most blunt knives, so many experts advise her to purchase. If earlier such a tool could only afford large restaurants, then today it is available to almost everyone.

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Which knives do not need sharpening?

The cutting market also features cutting tools that do not need sharpening in principle. Moreover, many products it is contraindicated in general. These include the following knives:

• Tools with diamond dusting or magnetic layer are very high-quality devices that can cut high-density items. However, if you try to increase the cutting properties of such blades, you will have the opposite effect.
• Ceramic knives - are sharpened only in the factory or with the help of electrochips.
• With a serrated blade - damage and discontinuity in the uniformity of the teeth can disrupt the cutting tool.

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hand tools As it happens, there is not a single suitable tool in the house to sharpen the knife. But desperate situations do not happen - you can take an ordinary ceramic mug. It should be thoroughly washed and wiped dry.

Important! The knife should be lowered into cold water, quickly washed and thoroughly wiped.

The knife can be sharpened with the help of the bottom of the cup, for which purpose the edge is driven alternately by each side. Approximately the same way our grandfathers did when they sharpened the blade with a tight leather belt. But this method in our time has lost relevance.

As you can see, sharpening a kitchen knife at home is not so difficult. However, if you doubt your abilities, even despite all our advice, then it's better to look for a good master who will certainly help you cope with this problem. Only the master must have an impeccable professional reputation, so that he does not regret the spoiled favorite knife. Therefore, no matter how much this service costs, saving here is inappropriate.