Often, ordinary abrasive bars are used to sharpen knives at home. But their use requires special practice, since with the wrong angle for sharpening, the result will be disastrous. The blade will not have the proper sharpness, which will require additional processing.

Rules for sharpening knives

The layout of the bar relative to the blade

Before you start making a homemade device for sharpening knives, you need to familiarize yourself with the recommendations of experts. At the first stage, it is necessary to determine the angle between the working part of the blade and the bar. This can be done individually for each model.

The knife should be located strictly perpendicular to the direction of the bar. The angle in this case can be equal to half the sharpening. This is due to the fact that grooves are formed on the surface of the blade during processing. They appear due to the action of abrasive components. With the minimum graininess of the tools, they will be insignificant. But there will also be a small degree of impact on the knife.

In addition to this factor, when sharpening a knife with your own hands, you should consider:

• the average sharpening angle is 20-25 degrees;
• processing is performed from the beginning of the blade;
• to control the sharpening angle, you can paint over part of the blade with a marker. In this way, the actual area of ​​influence can be controlled.

It should be remembered that the deformation along the entire length of the working blade will be non-uniform. Therefore, when doing sharpening with your own hands, the “report point” should be the bluntest part of the knife.

The resulting grooves due to the impact of the bar must be strictly perpendicular to the line of the knife. This is the main condition for proper sharpening.

The choice of whetstones for sharpening knives

Blades for sharpening knives

The main component of a homemade sharpening machine will be a bar. This is an abrasive material that, when exposed to the blade, thins it, increasing its sharpness. Therefore, before choosing a design, you should choose the right bars.

The main indicator of the bar is the grain size, but the dimensions should also be taken into account. Ideally, the length of the tool should be no less than the length of the knife. This will ensure uniform processing, reduce the likelihood of defects.

To sharpen knives with your own hands you will need the following types bars:

• high graininess. With their help, primary processing takes place, the shape of the blade is corrected;
• medium grit. They are designed to remove the grooves formed during the first operation;
• whetstone or leather belt rubbed with GOM paste. This stage is called polishing or finishing the blade.

The main task of drawing up a design diagram is the correct location of the bars. Therefore, we will consider several options for fixing them relative to the knife blade.

For sharpening ordinary kitchen knives, two types of whetstones will suffice - with high and medium grit. Additionally, they will need a donkey.

Simple version of the machine

Simple knife sharpening machine

The simplest version of the machine design is two pairs wooden slats interconnected with adjustable screws. A bar is attached between these components.

The main condition in the manufacture of this design is stability. During operation, it should not change its location on the desktop. For better fixation of the bar, it is recommended to provide support strips located between the wooden components.

Despite the ease of manufacture with your own hands, this machine has several disadvantages:

• the blade is set manually relative to the stone. At long work it is not always possible to control the angle of sharpening;
• an additional fixing unit is required. Since the design must be stable, it is researched to fix it rigidly on the desktop;
• during operation, the screeds can loosen, thereby changing the location of the bar.

The main advantage of this scheme is the ease of fabrication. The design is suitable for sharpening kitchen knives at home. As additional components, you will need a touchstone.

The thickness of the wooden slats can be different. Actually for self-manufacturing such a design, you can use any improvised materials.

Manual sharpening machine with bar adjustment

Sharpening machine with the ability to adjust the position of the bar

To achieve the best result, it is recommended to take the drawings of factory tool models as a basis. Their difference from the instructions described above lies in the rigid fixation of the knife, but this will require great effort to manufacture.

The design consists of a support table on which the knife blade is attached. A screw rack is installed in a vertical position. A strap with a slot is attached to it. The sharpening stone is mounted on a guide rod. The sharpening angle is changed by moving the slotted bar along the screw post.

Features of the operation of a machine of this type:

• sharpening angle is set with high accuracy. Its change depends on the thread pitch of the rack;
• can be used instead of a bar sandpaper. For this, the base is made of plexiglass. A hole is made along it for installation on a guide rod. Sandpaper is glued to the surface of the plexiglass;
• the support base is best made wide. This will make it possible to fix it with clamps on any countertop.

The main problem with this design is the long adjustment of the sharpening angle. This can affect the speed of work if several types of knives are being processed. Each of them requires a long setup of the machine.

To increase the quality, you can use water or oil. They are applied to the abrasive surface, thereby reducing the impact of the chipped particles of the bar on the blade.

Sharpening machine with knife position adjustment

Alternative knife sharpening machine

An alternative manufacturing option for the machine is to change the position of the knife relative to the stone. In general, the design is in many ways similar to the one described above, but much easier to manufacture.

A movable fastening block for a pin with a stone is installed on the base. Two clamps are mounted on the same plane. One of them will be persistent, and the second - adjustable. By changing the distance between the clamps, you can adjust the angle of sharpening.

The main disadvantage of this design is the wear of the bar in one place. To solve this problem, it is recommended to make a long pin to adjust the position of the edge relative to the blade.

In addition to the above schemes, there are a lot of grinding machines that you can do yourself. When choosing the optimal model, one should proceed from the actual availability of improvised materials. It is also recommended to analyze factory machines. Often they are the basis for the manufacture of a unique design.

To get acquainted with the manufacturing features, it is recommended to watch thematic video material, which describes in detail the machine for sharpening knives with your own hands:

Do-it-yourself knife sharpener drawings. Knife sharpener Lansky drawing. How to make a Lansky knife sharpener. I needed a knife sharpener. Mostly out of curiosity, what kind of animal it is and what it is with. I can sharpen any knife with my hands, but the convenience, and the need for which device in the household should be clarified. Searching the Internet, I found several suitable designs. The simplest and most famous of all was the LANSKY knife sharpener. Any person can sharpen a knife on such a device without special knowledge and skills. It is enough to understand the principle, but it is elementary and any knife will be razor sharp.

As it turned out, Lansky's sharpener is quite expensive. 1400 rubles minimum for a basic set of a clamp, three stones and a jar of oil. The photo is shown below.

Cursed greed: They ask for a lot of money for a sharpener, and there are three pieces of iron bent at the knees, two screws, and a few pebbles. The hucksters are real.  Additional sharpening stones can be purchased separately, but not up to them yet.

A sharpener seems to be needed, but I don’t want to pay money for it at all. Therefore, it must be done by yourself. I carefully examined the design of the Lansky sharpener, and came to the conclusion that there are no problems to make such a piece of iron at home from improvised materials.

The principle of operation of the sharpener is very simple and can be seen in the picture. With the translational movements of the grinding stone, we form a smooth cutting edge on the blade of a knife fixed in the jaws of a special clamp. By successively changing the grinding stones with coarse grain to fine and very fine, we bring the knife to razor sharpness. stone movement

By rearranging the guide from the grinding stone in the holes in the terminals, you can get several sharp sharpening angles on the cutting edge. But since the cutting edge of the knife can be fixed in different distance from the jaws of the clamp, the sharpening angles float. And they are, in fact, close to necessary. This in turn affects the cut of the knife, but only slightly that the user does not notice the difference, so you can close your eyes to the floating of the angle.

After rummaging through the bins of the Internet, I found drawings of clamping jaws. I redrawn it in a more readable form and converted all sizes to millimeters, since Lansky's sharpener is made in the USA, and there, as you know, they use the inch system, not the metric system. Everything is pretty simple.

I drew in detail my own clamp design for grindstone on the computer. And did the detailing. This design has a number of advantages. Grinding stones can be of different lengths, a pebble can work alternately with four sides, and not one like Lansky's branded stones, which affects the sharpening time. The greasy side of the whetstone can be quickly changed to a clean one, and the Lansky stones will have to be cleaned.

I bought a hairpin with an M6 thread in a store, this pleasure cost 20 rubles per meter rod, sawed off a 160 mm long hairpin with a hacksaw and processed the ends with a file, removing burrs.

The guide was made from an electrode for manual electric welding, I asked for it in the welding shop, they gave me several pieces without any problems. Also, electrodes can be bought on the construction market, they are sold by the piece, they cost mere pennies, they give 3-5 rubles apiece. The brand of the electrode is not important, the main thing is a straight, elastic, smooth and thin cylinder. He beat the flux with a hammer and lightly cleaned it with sandpaper, removing burrs and flux residues. I bent the letter G with the help of pliers and sawed off the excess with a hacksaw, according to the drawing.

Taking advantage of his official position, he ran to the machine shop, rummaged through a box with scraps of metal, since there are a lot of scraps, I found pieces of iron that were suitable in size, made of some kind of raw carbon steel, type steel 3. I sawed it to size with a hacksaw for metal, processed the burrs with a file, and marked the centers of the holes. Using a drilling machine, I drilled holes in the clamps and then cut the threads with a hand tap, remembering to add a drop of machine oil to the hole to reduce friction. I sawed the steps on the clamps with a hacksaw and adjusted them with a file, after which I polished the surfaces of the clamps on sandpaper.

I washed the glands in soapy water, thereby getting rid of the remnants of oil and shavings on the thread, dried it and heated it over the flame gas stove, zavoronil in liquid machine oil. Used for this event a "fishing rod" made from an electrode for manual welding and a piece of steel wire found in wire stocks. Clamps were used as "bait". Each detail was burnished separately. I cleaned the threads from oil residues with a long bolt and thoroughly washed the finished parts in soapy water.

I twisted together, according to the drawing, the clips and the hairpin, not forgetting to drop a drop of nail polish (I stole the vial from my wife), into the connection of the left clip and the hairpin. So that the hairpin does not spontaneously unwind, and eliminate play. After the varnish had dried, I inserted the donkey between the clamps, carefully tightened the nut and aligned the guide pin along the bottom plane of the stone.

At the nearest construction site, I found a piece of an ordinary metal corner with a shelf width of 90 mm and a thickness of 6 mm. However, such iron can be bought on the construction market or found at the nearest construction site. If you politely ask, they will saw off blanks to size for a small fee or "liquid" currency. Such goodness is also in bulk at construction waste dumps, at scrap metal collection points you can be asked to give way for a small amount of money, that is, finding suitable blanks is not a problem.

Redrawn original dimensions sharpeners Lansky for corner 90x90x6 mm. Since I already had an M6 tap at my disposal, I replaced the thread in the original Lansky clamp with an M6 thread for my sharpener. The uniformity of the dimensions of fasteners reduces the cost of manufacturing the structure. In addition, there were small stocks of M6 screws for an Allen socket of a suitable size.

And I drew the entire assembly and drew a 3D model of the sharpener in detail on a computer. Here's what happened

Having filed the corners with a grinder, processed the cuts with a file from burrs and cleaned the surfaces of paint with a metal brush and sandpaper. I leveled the planes from irregularities with a file and put sandpaper on a piece of chipboard and brought out the ideal plane. I marked and drilled holes in the horizontal shelves, according to the drawing. With the help of a grinder and a file, I grinded off the bevels on the sponges so as not to interfere with the movement of the grindstone. Carefully sanded the marks with sandpaper. I removed the radii in the corners with a file. I found a long bolt and an M10 wing nut in stocks of fasteners.

I marked and drilled holes in the vertical shelves. On the outer side of the corner, using a large-diameter drill, he removed large chamfers, and bored the holes with needle files to an elongated groove.

I scrolled the holes in the sponges and cut the M10 thread under the rack. The stand will serve as a large bolt with a nut. For this bolt, the entire system will be mounted in a desktop vise. A tightened nut on the strut will prevent the structure from turning and play.

Gathered everything together, fixed the knife, everything, you can use it.

After a few days of operation, I made minor adjustments to the design of the terminals. I drilled a couple of holes in the side planes and cut the M6 ​​thread. Inserted spare screws into these holes. Knives come in different thicknesses, and the sharpener guide catches the screws. Having selected short screws from the stock of fasteners, he screwed them into place in the terminals. The stock pocket does not pull and is always at hand.

On occasion, I got hold of a wing nut with an M6 thread. With such a nut, it is more convenient and faster to tighten the grinding stones on the stud.

For a complete set, I will buy whetstones of various grain sizes. They are not expensive, from 20 to 50 rubles apiece, they are sold on any construction market or collapse. Again, you can use Lansky's branded stones.

It remains to find a suitable box for storing the sharpener. Gift tin and plastic boxes made of sweets or cookies, which are quite widely represented in pastry shops, are suitable for this role. Finding the right one isn't hard. Goodies to gobble up for the end of creating a sharpener, and the jar is in business. In order for the sharpener not to hit the walls in the jar, the stones do not deteriorate, it is useful to glue pieces on the walls and bottom thick fabric or thin foam. Or cut grooves in a piece of plywood and pack all the iron and pebbles into them.

The sharpener is on my desk, and I spent minimal money, mostly on whetstones. We can say that I paid only for the donkeys, but for the M6 ​​threaded stud.

I don’t see any point in paying our huckster-sellers. The sharpener is done for several hours, half a day maximum, and then only because the paint dries for a long time.

In online stores, which is much cheaper than in regular stores, the Lansky sharpener costs at least 1,400 rubles. And here is almost a useful device.

Of course, the Lansky sharpener has a number of disadvantages, such as a limited number of sharpening angles, which are slightly offset by the position of the cutting blade relative to the clamp, and the high cost of a branded product. These shortcomings are relatively easy to eliminate at home with an elementary plumbing tool, ingenuity and a little free time.

During the production of the clip, when the terminals were almost ready, I was presented with a real Lansky sharpener. So, in a homemade device, the need has disappeared. Thanks KonstP. Terrible revenge, for this irresponsible element, was in the form of a delicious dark beer.

During the production of the terminals, I came up with a simpler and more functional design of the knife clamp, but more on that in the next chapter of the Notes.

The surface finish of the terminals is far from perfect, since there was no task to set up a marafet. The product can be painted, since there is paint in the can.

Do-it-yourself knife sharpeners: types and drawings

Every housewife sooner or later begins to dull the knives with which she cuts bread, vegetables or butchers meat. Using a dull knife is not only inconvenient, but also unsafe. At any time, it can break off the cut product and cause injury. Therefore, periodically the tool should be sharpened, using a special device for sharpening knives.

Such sharpeners in a wide range are available in stores. But for one reason or another, they do not always suit the consumer. In this case, you can make a device for sharpening knives with your own hands, having previously studied the types of stones for sharpening, the features of the tool and the proposed drawings.

Sharpening knives - prerequisites

For efficient and long-lasting knife operation the most important factor when sharpening it is blade angle. In the process of sharpening, it is necessary to restore the previously set angle, which will fully comply with technological standards and quickly, freely and efficiently cut the material.

Each blade has its own optimal angle:

• for a razor and a scalpel, the sharpening angle should be 10-15 degrees;
• knives for cutting bread, fruits and vegetables are sharpened at an angle of 15–20 degrees;
• multifunctional knives for various products are processed at an angle of 20–25 degrees;
• hunting and hiking knives - at an angle of 25-30 degrees;
• knives for cutting hard materials - at 30-40 degrees.

Without a special tool, sharpen the blade under right angle difficult. Holding the knife with your hands, it is quite difficult to provide required angle of inclination cutting tool. To facilitate this process, there are special devices that you can make with your own hands. Their designs are quite simple, and the production itself will take not so much time.

DIY knife sharpeners

There are many types of sharpeners for knives, among which you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

All devices consist of two parts:

• a bar of abrasive material;
• stop for attaching a knife.

As a bar, you can use ready-made special stones or make it yourself.

Sharpening stones - types and manufacture

On sale you can find several types of stones:

Aquatic tools. When working with them, water is used, which saves the surface of the stone.

Oil the stone resembles water in structure and shape, but its surface is the most oily.

Natural tools are made from natural stones that undergo industrial processing.

artificial stones are made from non-natural components.

Rubber tools can also be found on sale, but working on them is not very convenient.

For self-production of an abrasive bar, you can use small plates of glass rectangular shape and a thickness of 4-5 mm. on the surface of the plates with double sided tape you need to stick different grit sandpaper. The cost of such bars will turn out to be quite small, and sandpaper can be replaced at any time.

However, when using a glass bar, you should be very carefully tighten the nuts. otherwise the glass may crack. In addition, no water is used in its application, so the abrasive wears out quickly. For the same reason, when sharpening knives, fast movements should be avoided, which can lead to overheating of the material, and, therefore, to loss of blade properties.

Tool for sharpening wood blocks

It is enough just to make a sharpening tool from two wooden and two abrasive bars, which should be the same size.

For greater stability of the sharpener to its lower surface, it is recommended attach a piece of rubber .

Do-it-yourself sharpener from mounting brackets

The Lansky sharpener is taken as the basis for such a device, the drawings of which can be easily found on the Internet.

• metal plates measuring 4x11 centimeters;
• standard aluminum corners;
• metal rods about 15 centimeters long;
• a set of nuts and bolts;
• grinder with a vise or file;
• file.

Instead of a grinder, you can use a file, since this tool is only needed for grinding sharp corners from the corners and cleaning the places where the metal is cut.

Steps for making a sharpener:

1. According to the drawing, markings are made for future holes in the plates.
2. Holes are drilled and threaded into them.
3. With the help of a file, all sharp corners and edges are rounded. This will allow you to comfortably use the made knife.
4. Holes are made in the corner in accordance with the drawing.
5. The hole for the spoke support is expanded with a needle file.
6. The holes for the studs are threaded.
7. The rods are inserted into the extreme holes and fixed with nuts of the appropriate diameter (M6).
8. An M8 bolt is screwed into a wider hole, the length of which should be about 14 centimeters. A wing nut must first be screwed onto it, on top of which two ordinary nuts are screwed. The bolt in the structure will be used as a support post.
9. Bolts are attached to the remaining holes, with which the knife will be clamped.
10. Nuts are screwed onto the ends of the rods, a corner is strung, which is fixed with nuts. By lowering or raising the rods, it will be possible to adjust the sharpening angle.
11. From a thin metal rod in the shape of the letter G, a rod with an M6 thread, two holders and a wing nut, a device is assembled that will hold the stone for sharpening. The end holder must be through hole under the needle

Such a device for sharpening knives has a fairly wide range of degrees of pressure angle and is most convenient to use.

Massive sharpener with stand

With your own hands, you can simulate a knife sharpener from Apex, the drawings of which are easy to find on the Internet. Such a knife holder is presented in the form of a stand, on which a platform is installed at an angle, and a support for the end of the nozzle in the form of a rod is placed on the side. This is a very convenient device with which you can sharpen any cutting tools with high quality.

Required materials and tools:

The angle of sharpening on such a device adjustable with bar and lamb. which fixes the part at the desired height.

Each of the described devices has its own advantages and disadvantages. When choosing a suitable option, you need to proceed from your needs and skills in such work that you will need to do with your own hands.

Knife sharpening tool - an essential tool in the household

AT household there are always cutting, sawing and planing tools. In the course of work, the sharpness is lost, and the blades have to be restored. You can give knives - planes to the workshop, but money is spent on this, and extra time is wasted. Therefore, home craftsmen prefer to sharpen the tool with their own hands.

Important! Only blades with a certain degree of hardening can be sharpened. If the cutting part has a hardness higher than 55 HRC, it cannot be sharpened with improvised tools.

You can buy a tool for sharpening knives or other household utensils in the store. Save time, but spend a lot of money - good sharpening is expensive.


By the way, there are different opinions about the name of the device for sharpening knives. Emery, touchstone, whetstone, whetstone, musat ...

Can these definitions refer to the same object, or different products? About this, and how to make such a device yourself, we will tell in the article.

Since the advent of cutting objects (weapons, knives, axes), people have been looking for a way to restore the sharpness of the edge. In the Bronze and Copper Ages, it was easy.

Homemade knife sharpener made by hand. The knife cuts paper like a razor! Simple design available to make at home.

Soft metals were ruled by any stone. With the advent of steel blades, special rocks were used for sharpening, usually of volcanic origin.

Some of them are still used today: the American "Arkansas" and the Japanese "water stone". These are expensive devices, so most craftsmen use artificial emery.

A simple whetstone can sharpen both the knife and the cutting edge of the planer. However, the quality leaves much to be desired.

The golden rule of sharpening: Each blade has its own edge angle, and it should not change along the entire length.

This principle lies in the design of all grinding devices. By following this rule, you can independently manufacture such a device.

Do-it-yourself knife sharpening device - drawings, varieties

In order for the edge of the blade to be processed evenly, several conditions are necessary:

1. Blade fixation, at the same time reliable, and without undue stress. Metal must not be damaged in a vice
2. Setting a specific angle for the bar. When moving along the edge of the knife, the angle should not change
3. Possibility to set different sharpening angles. You can process various tool, and some types of knives have a stepped structure.

Device for linear sharpening with a bar

For manufacturing you will need:

• Plywood or laminated chipboard
• Full length threaded steel stud, diameter 6-8 mm
• A bar of textolite or ebonite. Can be replaced with solid wood - beech, oak
• Aluminum plate 3-5mm thick
• Fasteners - bolts, nuts (wing nuts are better)
• Neodymium magnet from an old computer HDD.

We assemble a frame from plywood, resting on the legs at an angle of 15 ° -20 °. In the part below, we twist a hairpin 30-40 cm long. For strength, you can fix the thread with glue or sealant.


in the middle working surface fix the aluminum plate. First, we make a groove in it, according to the diameter of the fixing bolt. Why aluminum? In order not to damage the steel blade of the knife.

We make a lever for fixing emery. It is assembled from the rest of the hairpin. We cut out bar holders from two textolite bars. On one side, the stop is fixed with a nut.


From the side of the handle it is more convenient to make a spring-loaded block - for a quick change of emery.

We use home-made bars as the main element - we glue sandpaper with different grain sizes on an aluminum plate. Such devices are easily fixed in the lever.


The design feature is a hinge with two degrees of freedom. It is assembled from two identical textolite bars. One is screwed onto a vertical stud, and serves both as a horizontal rotary axis and as a lever support height regulator (this is how the sharpening angle is set).

The second bar, with horizontal hole under the lever, screwed to the first. This ensures free movement of the lever vertically.


The knife can be clamped with a plate, or mounted on a neodymium magnet. When removing the first layer with coarse emery, the blade should be firmly fixed.

For finishing, you can install the blade on a magnet and sharpen with little effort. The horseshoe of the magnet should be sunk flush with the table top, and glued with epoxy glue.


Homemade tool for sharpening knives is ready. We set the required angle of attack, and sharpen the edge with smooth movements along the blade.

The same principle is used in the device for sharpening knives on an electric grinder.

Electric emery not only speeds up work, but also allows you to get a high-quality concave blade edge profile. This is the so-called fuller sharpening. It will not work to get such a shape on a linear bar, therefore these two devices do not replace, but complement each other.

Important! If, when working with a manual sharpening device, you completely control the intensity of the process, then the high speed of rotation of the emery wheel can ruin the knife.

From friction, the metal on the tip heats up, hardening occurs. Steel loses its hardness and grinds with torn edges. Another problem is that a “released” knife quickly loses its sharpness. Therefore, the electric sharpener should be handled with care. Bring the blade for a short time, and take breaks to cool.

Do-it-yourself knife sharpener - video with explanations and an example of manufacturing

In this mode, it is difficult to maintain a constant angle, so fixing the knife is mandatory.


The design is quite simple - along the axis of rotation of the emery there is a guide along which the carriage with the knife moves. The angle is maintained mechanically, and the force is determined by the operator.

The device is easy to do with your own hands - and it is not necessary to perform precise work on the processing of metal parts. The guide is made literally from the foot material.


On the workbench, next to the sharpener, guides are attached, with which you can change the distance from the knife stop to the rotating circle. This distance determines the angle of sharpening. The vertical rod must have a free movement up and down with a strong fixation of the position.


The knife is held horizontally, pressing against the stop. The force of contact with the emery is regulated directly during sharpening. The processing is symmetrical, you just change the side of the knife and sharpen at the same angle.


This method is only suitable for processing classic knives. Kitchen, hunting, tourist. Cutting planes of other tools require a different approach.

Design for sharpening knives, say jointer:


A specialized emery is used, with an end working surface. The guide for the carriage is placed at the bottom, away from the axis of rotation.

It is in this part of the disk that the abrasive is most effective. The guide with the cutting element is moved manually, the clamp is provided by the own weight of the knife.

Drawings of all structural elements are shown in the illustration.

This machine was used almost 100 years ago, and since then the technology has not changed. Ease of execution allows you to repeat the device in the home workshop. Any materials - metal, plastic, wood.


Instead of jointer cutting elements, you can sharpen ice ax knives for winter fishing. Only the angle is more gentle. The scissor tool works the same way. The design (like the emery wheel) is significantly smaller in size.

To sharpen chisels and planer knives, you can also use electric emery and a fixing carriage. However, these tools are compact and can be handled by a mechanical fixture.

There are two equivalent ways - along the edge, and across. The processing quality is about the same, so you can not give preference to a particular device.
The factory product involves transverse straightening of the blade.


By analogy, we make a carriage from thick plywood. We use any rollers as guides, preferably in an amount of more than two. By moving the machine along the emery, you can give the tip of the chisel an ideal shape.


If you do not need serious sharpening, a simpler device is also suitable for small editing. Fasten a bar to the chisel with the required angle of inclination. Put emery and a piece of glass next to it. Apply soapy water to the glass.


The effectiveness of the device will pleasantly surprise you.

And for transverse sharpening - you can make an equally simple fixture. The guide is also a support. The blade is vertically mounted on the moving part. The only drawback is that the angle is fixed and is determined during manufacture.


True, unlike a knife, the deviation from the ideal is not so critical.

The same device is suitable for sharpening planer knives. Only because of the width of the blade, the process is quite laborious. Therefore, you can use an electric emery with an end working surface.

The emphasis is made of a wooden bar. It is only necessary to provide a change in angle. The clamp is provided by the operator, and it is possible to perform semicircular sharpening - carpenters will appreciate this option.


Of course, with the same apparatus it is convenient to tidy up the edge of the chisel. Considering high performance– you will restore the tool even after serious chipping.

Homemade tool for sharpening knives and tools from a grinder

When you again manually rub a knife on an old donkey, remember this article and create a home-made sharpener for your home workshop.

Homemade machine for sharpening knives with your own hands: diagram, instructions, manufacturing features

Every man in the house will benefit from a convenient do-it-yourself knife sharpening machine. Indeed, often the owner is judged by how sharp this kitchen tool is.

There are many techniques for sharpening knife blades. For example, for a process carried out at home, only a turning bar or ready-made fixtures with angular shape gap.

To adjust expensive hunting knives, European manufacturers produce devices in the form of solid bars, which are based on a high-strength alloy.

This article will describe the manufacture of a machine for sharpening knives with your own hands.

Why do knives get dull?

What is the reason why a knife becomes dull when cutting? This can be explained by the fact that abrasive particles that are present in the material being cut have a negative effect on the cutting edge. For example, they are present on vegetables, paper. talking plain language, the blade is subject to gradual wear.

The next reason is the inability to keep the blade in the right position all the time. Any trembling of the hand causes the knife to tilt, which entails a lateral load.

sharpening technique

The sharpening technique consists in unified, but at the same time quite laborious methods. The main task is to eliminate damage to the blade. It should be noted that for many, such a procedure as sharpening knives provides a good mood and calm.

The basic rule in this process is to maintain a precisely set constant angle. Strength is not required here. The main thing is that the bar and the blade meet at a certain angle. This is the basic rule of sharpening technique.

What needs to be done to maintain a constant angle?

In order for the angle to have a constant index, there are two ways. The first is to acquire the skill of sharpening. The angle indicator can be controlled using a conventional marker. They should paint over the carts and after several sharpening cycles, see how much the paint has survived. If it is worn unevenly, then the blade is not well processed.

If the knife being sharpened is decorative, then the blade should be sealed with adhesive tape so that only the edge for cutting remains open. Even if you unsuccessfully direct your hand, there will be no scratches on the blade.

It is also important that the direction of the blade along the bar is perpendicular to the edge at the points of contact. In fact, this is quite difficult to do. It is acceptable for the angle between the edge and the blade to be less than 90 degrees. But when directed along cutting edge this indicator is not suitable.

The abrasive particles of the bar can leave grooves on the blade that will never be sharpened, but will play a positive role when cutting. If the grooves are oriented along the cutting edge, then they will not be useful when cutting. The worst thing is that the cutting edge can break off altogether.

It is important that the bar is long. It should be one and a half or two blade lengths. It is acceptable that the diamond bar be somewhat shorter, as it grinds faster and better. Its width does not play a significant role. If it is wider, then it is more convenient to work on it and there is less chance of leading the blade beyond the device. It might hurt him side surface or a blade.

Making a machine for sharpening knives with your own hands

Homemade knife sharpeners come in a variety of designs. All that is required from the manufacturer is the availability of the necessary material and skills in working with tools.

The principle of operation of such a device as a manual machine for sharpening knives with your own hands is to hold the knife blade in a vertical position and drive it along a bar fixed at the right angle. This is much easier than placing the sharpener horizontally and holding the knife at just the right angle.

In order to make a do-it-yourself knife sharpening machine, you need a piece of laminate, a wooden rail, sandpaper and a pair of lamb bots. Chipboard or plywood can serve as a replacement for laminate

To make a knife holder, you need to cut off part of the material. So that the bar does not touch the holder when sharpening, it is necessary to clean its edge at an angle with emery.

It is necessary to mark and cut off the top of the vertical rack, which will serve as a support for the bar. The angle is chosen two times less than the one with which the knife will be sharpened. For kitchen knives, it is recommended to take an angle of 10-15 degrees.

A do-it-yourself knife sharpening machine, the drawings of which are obviously drawn up, involves the correct calculation of the length of the base of the racks. Please note that the subsequent installation of the transverse support will affect the height indicator. After that, all the details are cut off, and the edges are cleaned.

Holes are marked and drilled in the base and plate for pressing the bolts that fix the blade. When marking, the distance of the holes from the edge of the base is maintained. This is necessary for the versatility of the fixture, since all knives have their own width. The pressure plate is fixed with bolts.

Vertical posts are attached with screws. The moment that the load on the bottom is small is also taken into account. In this case, it is better to resort to using thermal glue. The horizontal bar is attached in exactly the same way. The grinder is almost ready. It remains to make a bar.

For its manufacture, a rail of the desired length is cut. Sandpaper is glued to one edge with the right size abrasive. To optimize the result, you can resort to the manufacture of several bars with different grain sizes. The range P600 - P2000 is considered the best. In order to protect your hands from cuts, you need to screw the handle on the top side of the rail.

The result is a homemade machine for sharpening knives with your own hands, characterized by high functionality and practicality. During operation, the device rests against the edge of the table, which is quite comfortable when using it.

A do-it-yourself knife sharpening machine can also be of a different type. AT this case it is based on the M8 threaded rod. Two large washers and nuts were used, which serve to hold a bar 200 mm long.

Heat shrink tubing covers the thread. A pair of paper clips hold the rail stand at the correct height. This ensures smooth adjustment of the sharpening angle. The base is a beam, the thickness of which is 40 mm. It is supported by hand.

How to sharpen planer knives with your own hands

Every owner who has a planer or jointer has probably faced the problem of sharpening their knives. Buying new ones from time to time is expensive. Knives can be easily sharpened by hand. In this case, specialized machines or grinding stones are used. If the planer is used constantly, then it would be better to make a machine for sharpening knives with your own hands.

Do-it-yourself planer knife sharpening machine

To sharpen the planer knife, special sharpening equipment is used. The machine for sharpening knives with your own hands has a compact size. It can be installed in the garage or on the plot.

Many are interested in how to make a machine for sharpening knives with their own hands. To make a device, you need to find certain parts. Perhaps these parts are lying around in your shed or garage. They can also be purchased online.

The machine for sharpening planer knives with your own hands consists of:

First of all, you should find a faceplate. This is the most important component of future equipment. It is she who is responsible for the sharpening process. Jointer knives are narrow, and the faceplate serves as a guarantor of complete and safe sharpening. This part will have to be bought new, but the rest can be used old.

It is better to purchase faceplates of German or American production. The average cost of a part is 25,000 rubles.

The next step is to find the engine, the power of which should be 1-1.5 kW. It is not necessary to buy it. Anyone will do, even from an old washing machine. But everyone will surely have a table, a casing and a vacuum cleaner.

The main steps in the manufacture of the device

When the table is selected, the engine is fixed directly below it. A faceplate is attached to the moving part. The engine must initially be equipped with a button that turns the unit on and off. It should be comfortable.

For reliable protection the faceplate is covered with a casing square shape with one cut corner. It is this area that needs to be sharpened.

On the bottom surface of the table in the area of ​​sharpening, a hole is made of the same diameter as that of a vacuum cleaner hose. The presence of a vacuum cleaner is not essential, but it is desirable to install it. It removes unnecessary dirt from blade processing.

What do you need to know?

The engine mount under the faceplate base is not prerequisite. You can make sure that the parts are connected by means of a belt. In this case, the design will be complex.

A do-it-yourself jointer knife sharpening machine is also suitable for saws and axes.

Ice screw sharpening

The sharp knives of the ice drill enable the fisherman to quickly make holes in the ice of reservoirs. However, over time, all cutting tools become dull and require sharpening.

For fishermen, a quality ice drill is a great pride. Often, true competitions are held on water bodies in terms of the speed of drilling ice holes. And victory does not always smile at young and strong fishermen who are armed with imported devices. There are cases when seasoned fishermen equipped with simple Soviet-made tools are the winners in the competition. The reason for the high hole drilling speed lies in the good sharpening of the knives and the correct setting of the device. Beginner anglers, having bought new Swedish devices, do not even have time to blink an eye as their knives become blunt. The smallest grains of sand and pebbles in the ice contribute to the formation of chips and gouges on the blade.

Sharpening of devices is carried out by the most different ways. Many of our ancestors did not even know what a professional grinding machine was. In most cases, sharpening was carried out using hand-made devices.

Homemade ice drill machine: what is needed to make it?

For the manufacture of such a device as a machine for sharpening ice drill knives with your own hands, you will need two strips of steel, the thickness of which is 4 mm, the width is 60 mm, and the length is 200 mm. A spring from a car is often used as a strip. But she is very hard to bend.

Progress

First you need to make the body of the device. The steel strips are bent in such a way that the chamfers of the knives pressed against the ends of the arc are not only parallel, but also in the same plane.

After making the arc from the same steel strip, the pressure plate is bent, which serves as a lock for the sharpened knives.

Holes for M12 or M14 bolts are drilled in the body and pressure plate. Having pulled the body and pressure plate together with a bolt and nut, we clamp the knives between them and check the strength of their fit to the surface of the end face of the emery circle.

If the knives are not located at the required angle (the chamfers do not fit exactly to the circle), then the device is modified by bending the body arc to the appropriate level. If the knives stand correctly, then the structure is disassembled, and stiffeners are welded to the arc of the body on both sides.

Sharpening knives is best done on an emery stone that rotates horizontally. In this case, when wetting the knives with water, the latter remains on the blade and stone longer, ensuring their safety. Dip your knives in the water more often. This will help prevent overheating of the steel.

Minus the device

The disadvantages of the device include the impossibility of sharpening knives with different angles of the cutting chamfer. But each manufacturer of ice drills offers its own models. In this case, a universal device will do.

Making a universal fixture for sharpening an ice drill

The universal design allows sharpening knives at any angle of the cutting edge. By smoothly changing the angle between the shoulders of the unit, on which the knives are fastened with screws, it is possible to fix the desired position of the knives in relation to the plane of the grindstone.

To manufacture this device, you need to find a door canopy with minimal play, as well as an M8 or M10 screw with its own nut. Holes are drilled in the shoulders of the canopy. Their diameter is 6-7 mm (for attaching knives to them with screws).

From a steel strip, the thickness of which is 3 mm, a fixing plate with a slot for the fixing screw is made. The plate and screw are welded to the shoulders of the canopy.

It happens that sharpening of knives is carried out, the location of the holes of which does not correspond to the holes in the canopy. In this case, additional holes are drilled in the shoulders for non-standard knives. In this case, the device has more versatility.

How are planer knives sharpened?

Devices such as planers and thicknessers can often be seen in country houses. By means of them, raw lumber is brought to the desired state. Knives of these devices, like any others, become dull. If you use them often, then the best way out is to sharpen the knives for the planer with your own hands. For the manufacture of grinding equipment at home, various materials will be required: metal, aluminum or wood.

The knife holder can be made from a wooden block. Having made cuts at 45 degrees with a circular saw, you can sharpen knives with a band saw. grinder or a large bar. If the latter is not present, then sandpaper is attached to a smooth surface made of metal, wood, chipboard or glass.

Knife holders can be made from improvised materials. The optimal solution will use metal corners, which have an indicator of 90 degrees. When placing two knives on the sides, the sharpening angle of each will be equal to 45 degrees. Using screws, you can fix the knives with a second corner.

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It is quite difficult to sharpen a knife by hand. It will take some time to develop the habit of maintaining a constant sharpening angle, which is not at all easy. A tool for sharpening knives can make the task easier. There are factory options. But for good copies you have to fork off a couple of hundred dollars, and this is clearly a lot. Good news The fact is that these devices are easy to make with your own hands. Moreover, many home-made knife sharpeners are no worse in functionality than those from eminent manufacturers, but they are many times cheaper.

Knife sharpening basics

Knives have different uses, and there are several of them even in non-ordinary kitchens. There is for slicing bread, other soft foods, there is for cutting meat, chopping bones, and other hard objects. And that's just household items. But there are still those who take hunting and fishing. If you look closely, you will see that they all have a different sharpening angle (this is if they have not been sharpened at home already). It is the sharpening angle that is the most important characteristic, which is determined by the purpose of this blade.

At what angle

The sharpening angle is determined based on the main field of application of a particular blade:

These are general recommendations based on many years of experience. There are, however, options: some blades have several zones with different sharpening. This makes them more versatile, but the complexity of sharpening increases many times over.

It follows from the foregoing that the device for sharpening knives should be able to set the required sharpening angle. And this is the main difficulty in its design and manufacture.

How to sharpen

For sharpening knives, sharpening stones of various grain sizes are used. They are conditionally divided into coarse, medium and small. Why conditionally? Because different countries have their own designation of grit. The most convenient classification is according to the number of grains per unit area. It is expressed in numbers: 300, 600, 1000, etc. Some firms duplicate even English terms. Here is an example division:

In addition to grit, grindstones are also distinguished by origin: they are of natural origin (shale, corundum, etc.), there are ceramic and diamond ones. Which ones are better? It's hard to say - a matter of taste, but natural ones wear off faster and are rarely fine-grained.

Natural ones are soaked in water before use or simply moistened with it. They absorb water and, during sharpening, an abrasive paste is formed on the surface from water and separated abrasive particles, which increases the efficiency of sharpening. For the same purposes, you can use a special little (honing oil) or a mixture of water and soap (whatever you like). In general, with each of the grindstones, you need to try all these options and choose the best one.

The shape of the grindstone for sharpening knives is a bar, and it is desirable that its length be much longer than the length of the blade - it is easier to sharpen. Convenient bars with double grain - on the one hand larger, on the other - smaller. To sharpen knives for general use, it is enough to have two bars with a medium grain (different) and two small ones (one can be very fine).

Manual sharpening procedure

The device for sharpening knives only facilitates the process of pointing the edge, therefore, knowledge of manual sharpening techniques is necessary. Without them, it is impossible to sharpen the knife correctly.

The procedure for sharpening knives is as follows:

On this we can assume that the sharpening of the knife is completed. Some still bring the edge on the old belt. A piece of the belt can be fixed on a wooden block (glued, not nailed), rubbed with goyim paste. Then several times alternately hold one or the other side, but turning the cutting edge back. So the last grooves left by the abrasive are polished and the belt is not “cut” at the same time.

How to make a homemade knife sharpener

All homemade knife sharpeners solve the main problem - they allow you to accurately maintain a given angle of inclination of the bar to the blade, which is very important for obtaining a good cutting edge. There are very simple fixtures, there is a little more difficult, but allowing you to work with great comfort. Choose to your taste.

One of the options - from improvised means

Simple knife sharpener

In fact, this is a holder for whetstones. Everything is elementary: two triangles of wood, which are connected with studs with “lambs”. A bar is clamped between the corners at the required angle. You can set the angle using a protractor, a special program on your smartphone, or using the rules of trigonometry (right triangle).

Knife sharpener - abrasive holder

When sharpening on such a device, the knife must be kept directed strictly vertically at all times. It's much easier than holding it at a certain angle.

The same idea has a different embodiment: on a reliable basis, make movable holders into which bars are inserted and fixed in the desired position. Corporate prototype in the photo below.

Homemade tool for sharpening knives made of wooden blocks. It turns out that it is light so that it does not move from its place, it must be fixed with something. In order not to hold by hand, you can use clamps.

Swivel holders allow you to set a given angle, and then fix it with the help of "lambs"

Such a device for sharpening knives, of course, facilitates the work, but it is still quite difficult to maintain the angle: you must constantly control the verticality of the blade. Such a habit develops over time, but it is difficult to start.

Fittings on wheels

An interesting variant of a manual knife sharpener with a fixed bar and a trolley on wheels, on which the knife is fixed. It is made on the basis of sharpeners for knives, chisels and planes. With a knife, such a device also works well, but you need to adapt to sharpening the rounded edge.

In this variant, as in manual sharpening, the bar is stationary, and the blade of the knife, mounted on a movable cart, moves. The angle is set by the height of the bar relative to the platform on which the blade is attached. The peculiarity of this device is that the table must be level. It can be a countertop made of natural stone, you can put glass on a regular table.

In the embodiment presented above, the angle changes slightly, which is usually sufficient for sharpening the same type of kitchen knives, for example. If necessary, the design can be improved by adding holders (pictured below).

All this is implemented very simply, as it resembles an ordinary constructor: strips, there are holes in them, everything is assembled on bolts and screws.

To ensure the immobility of the bar, there is also a device.

The advantage of this whole design is that it is easy to unfold the knife while maintaining perpendicularity in the rounded area, and it is also very easy to process on the other side: you need to turn the trolley over. For this, four pairs of wheels are made.

Homemade manual knife sharpening machine

Slightly more complex and much more convenient home-made devices, which are made on the basis of well-known branded devices. They have an adjustable platform on which the knife is fixed. The site is set at a given angle. The bar is mounted on a movable bar attached to the rack.

Do-it-yourself devices somewhat repeat the design presented above, but there are some differences. There are many options. Let's bring some.

Option one: a fixed platform on which the blade is fixed

This fixture is made from the remnants of a laminate (can be used), two steel rods with a diameter of 8 mm and a movable mount.

This design has a fixed base, to which a platform with a knife lock is attached on ordinary hinges. The near edge of the platform can be raised at some angle convenient for work. But other than that, she's immobile.

On a vertically mounted steel bar, there is a movably mounted latch in which a loop is attached to the side. A rod is inserted into it, on which a bar is fixed. This loop is a simple, but not the best solution: there is no rigid fixation, which means that the corner will “walk”.

Particular attention should be paid to the latch of the bar. Emphasis is placed on the rod at some distance from the edge (about 30-35 cm). This will be the fixed anchor. The second is made movable, it is fixed after installing the bar with a screw and a thread cut into the body of the holder. The second option is to cut a thread on the rod and press the installed bar with a nut.

Knife holder - one or two steel plates fixed on a movable platform. They are fixed movably - with the help of screws and "lambs". After loosening the fasteners, insert the knife blade, clamp it. It is very difficult to move it. Then, having installed a hairpin with a fixed bar in the loop, its height is adjusted so that the required angle is set.

You can, as in the photo, make templates with the desired angles and achieve the coincidence of the planes. After the transverse bar is fixed, you can work - hold the bar in the right direction.

This tool for sharpening knives works well, but you can only move the abrasive along the blade when sharpening a kitchen knife. Classic sharpening - movement perpendicular to the cutting edge. On the straight part of the blade, this can be achieved. If the blade is short, it will be almost perpendicular, but on the rounded part on the fixed holder, this cannot be done. And all such devices "suffer" from this shortcoming. Once again, they great option for sharpening kitchen knives (below is another good option from the same series).

Option two: with a movable platform and a magnetic holder

In this version of a homemade knife sharpener, the problem of previous sharpening is solved. Here the frame remains motionless, which sets the angle of movement of the bar. The bar holder moves freely along the guide, set at the desired angle. The knife is mounted on a movable table. You can, as in the presented version, make a magnetic holder, you can - the usual one from a metal plate and “lambs”. Move the table so that the movement of the abrasive is perpendicular. Actually, everything is in the video.

One clarification: in this case it is very important that the surface on which the table with the fixed knife moves is horizontal and even. You can put glass or use a polymer countertop (marble will do too).

With repeated use of knives, every housewife is faced with a problem when they begin to become dull and it becomes simply impossible to work with them. In addition, it is unsafe, as the knife may slip off while cutting and injure you. To prevent this from happening, the knives should be sharpened in a timely manner using a special sharpening device.

You can purchase a knife sharpener from your local hardware store or market, where you can find different types of devices. You will have to choose on your own. But, in order not to be mistaken, you need to know how to properly evaluate them in terms of convenience and quality of operation.

The options offered do not always suit consumers, so many make sharpeners with their own hands, using special stones, tools and drawing sketches with dimensions. The photo shows options for homemade knife sharpeners.

Features of knife sharpening

When sharpening knives, the main thing is to make the correct angle of contact of the edges of the blades so that they serve you for a long time and efficiently. Therefore, when sharpening knives yourself, it is necessary to maintain the existing angle of inclination of the blades.

Each knife blade has its own optimal angles of inclination:

• from 10 to 15 degrees - for a medical scalpel or straight razor;
• from 15 to 20 degrees - for household knives used for cutting bread, vegetables or fruits;
• from 20 to 25 degrees - for multifunctional knives for cutting a variety of products;
• from 25 to 30 degrees - for reliable companions of hunters and tourists on long trips;
• from 30 to 40 degrees - for cutting materials that are particularly hard.

To sharpen the correct angle of the blade, you will need special tools, since it is difficult to do this manually.

The design of such devices is not complicated, so it is easy and quick to make it yourself, and detailed instructions for the manufacture of sharpeners can be borrowed from the Internet.

Types of knife sharpeners

From a rather large assortment of various types of knife sharpeners, choosing the right option for yourself is quite simple.

The main elements of the grinding device are an emphasis for fixing the knife and an abrasive bar, which is used as ready-made abrasive materials (stones) or own production. But before you get to work, you need to learn how to make a knife sharpener with your own hands.

Types of stones for sharpening

There are several types of grindstones:

• water. Sharpening stones used in water wear out less during operation.
• oil. In structure and configuration, they are similar to water ones, but with a more oily surface.
• natural. For their manufacture, only natural raw materials are used with pre-treatment during the production process.
• artificial. In this case, the name speaks for itself, that is, the abrasive material is created artificially.
• rubber. They are not as common as the previous ones, besides, they are inconvenient in the process of application.

What can you make a sharpener for sharpening

To make a whetstone with your own hands, you can use the most in a simple way. Take a small rectangular glass plate about 5 mm thick. Using double-sided tape, fix strips of coarse and medium grit sandpaper on both sides of it.

The bar is ready for use, if necessary, worn sandpaper can be easily replaced with a new one. This method is the most budgetary in terms of cost.

The disadvantages of this device include:

• rapid wear of the abrasive and fragility of the product (when fixing the beam, you need to be careful that the glass does not crack).
• possible overheating of the material during rapid movements during the sharpening process.

You can find the best knife sharpener ideas on the relevant websites.

Wooden bars

This method of making a tool for sharpening knives is also simple and accessible to everyone. You will need four identical bars: two abrasive and two wooden.

At the beginning of work, sand the wood blocks with sandpaper so that their surface becomes smooth without burrs. Make a marking of the bar in accordance with the required angle of inclination. Attach a whetstone and mark its width on a block of wood.

Note!

Make 1.5 cm deep cuts on the basting and insert the abrasives into the grooves. Secure the stones with bolts. A piece of rubber fixed at the bottom will give stability to the structure.

In addition, you can make an adjustable sharpener with your own hands, but the next article will tell you how to do this.

DIY knife sharpener photo

Note!

Note!

The myth of supposedly self-sharpening knives was shattered very quickly…. About life. This is not surprising, the laws of physics, there are laws of physics, against them, so to speak, even marketers are powerless. If there are no sharpened knives in the house, if you remember the famous bard, there is nothing good. Today, the editors of the site will help solve the problem of blunt blades and tell you how and with what you can properly sharpen a knife at home. We will introduce our readers to different types tools for sharpening knives, talk about their effectiveness, and also teach you how to make a simple grinder at home.

Read in the article

Types of devices for sharpening knives

A sharpening stone for sharpening knives is probably the very first device of this type. Simple, and, most importantly, available tool successfully cope with its task for many millennia.

Until now, the classification of machine tools depends on this once uncontested sharpener. By type of abrasive material can be:

• bars;
• grinding stones.

Drive type:

• manual;
• electric.

By place of use:

• domestic;
• professional.

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

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

Some types of modern whetstones are still in use today. An example of this is natural stones - Japanese water stone (we showed it in the photo above) or American "Arkansas". Master grinders even conduct special master classes on sharpening knives using natural stone. Interestingly, before the processing process, it is soaked in water, sometimes with soapy water, and dried after work. The whole process resembles a sacrament for the initiates. Therefore, it should not be surprising that these rocks are too expensive, and most grinding devices use artificial abrasive surfaces.

Blades for sharpening knives

These are artificially carved bars with abrasive coating, which are suitable for manual sharpening of both carpentry and locksmith tools, as well as for kitchen knives.

Bars, depending on the material from which they are made, can be of varying degrees of wear resistance and grain size. Consider the main types of materials that are used in the manufacture of whetstones:

1. natural stones, such as novaculite or Japanese water stone. Working with such a tool is not very easy. They require certain skills and craftsmanship.
2. Diamond(with diamond coating) - can be of different shapes and grain sizes. Wear resistant. Democratic price.
3. Ceramic. They belong to a more modern type of sharpening bars. Combine the strength of a diamond coating with the hardness of natural stone.
4. artificial: electrocorundum or carbide. Fast grinding abrasive, different poor quality and the same price.

Artificial abrasives are created by mixing diamond powders of different fractions, as well as electrocorundum and carbide.

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

Moreover, there are two types of a bunch of elements - a galvanic bunch and a soft one. In the first case, the crystals are glued strictly on the surface of their base, made of nickel alloy. In fact, the crystals are located in a very thin layer on the bar. A soft bond is a chaotic arrangement of bonding and abrasive elements. The second type is less durable.

Sharpening stones for knives

If we talk in more detail about grindstones, we need to talk about the main varieties used in such tools, this will help to understand the process in detail and understand how to sharpen a knife correctly. But before talking about them, it is impossible not to mention the stages of sharpening, which in this context will play a decisive role in the description of different materials and machines.

Stage	Description	Illustration
sharpening	Restoring a dull edge without adjusting the sharpening angle.
fine-tuning	Edge grinding with fine grit abrasives.
Edit	Polishing bevels and cutting edges with a ceramic pencil, GOI paste or on a leather belt.
Regrinding (deep sharpening)	Full restoration of the desired sharpening angle, blade profile geometry and elimination of chips on the edge. Most often, such work is carried out on special machines.

Let's move on to the description of the main options for grindstones.

Japanese Waterstone

They are used equally effectively at all stages of sharpening. There are artificial analogues (on a ceramic basis), but professionals use original, natural materials. Stones require special care, because the most important rule masters - a perfectly flat surface of a grindstone.

Comment

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

Novaculites, or "Arkansas", "Turkish", "Belgian" stones, are natural shales and chalcedony interspersed with the smallest particles of garnet and quartz. Today they are used as natural stones and their artificial substitutes.

Important! Stones work only in combination with special oil lubrication. The extraordinary and unique structure of the stones allows them to be used at different stages of processing.

Musat for sharpening knives

Musat is a kind of file, most often installed vertically. The peculiarity of this tool is that its surface is magnetized, which means that metal flour will not fall on you.

Each variation has its own merits. So, for example, round musat weighs a little, but oval sharpens better, since its edges provide more complete contact with the surface to be treated. Tetrahedral - more versatile, here you can better refine the required sharpening angle.

Household manual knife sharpeners

You can talk for hours about the options and varieties of manual machines used in everyday life. These are the usual home mini-sharpeners, known to almost everyone, and more specific devices with a polishing wheel.

The easiest way to work with mini-sharpeners that control the course of the tool. In this case, the degree of sharpening depends on the effort that the person makes.

Household electric knife sharpeners

Electric grinders are more convenient. Working with them saves time. Most often, such drive machines have various modes of operation, which are controlled by switches.

Usually such machines are compact, safe, simple and reliable, since all grinding wheels are hidden inside the housing. In this case, the sharpening angle is regulated by a special spring, which completely eliminates errors in sharpening.

Professional manual knife sharpeners

A professional hand tool is a bit like a carpenter's vise. The subject of sharpening, in fact, the knife, is clamped with special clamps.

The grinder itself is mounted on an emphasis. Here it is very important to properly fix the machine and avoid slipping of the device during sharpening.

Comment

Specialist in the selection of tools "VseInstrumenty.ru"

“If you do not have the skills to work on this tool, it is better to use automatic sharpeners. In addition, such a machine cannot be assembled without certain knowledge.”

Professional electric knife sharpeners

Professional machines are distinguished by their versatility. Usually this is a machine with a massive abrasive disc. Such tools allow you to sharpen not only knives, but also metalwork tools, for example, planers and chisels.

The combination of low speed and continuous cooling results in high-quality workpiece processing already at the stage of incisal formation. And at the final stages of work, they provide the blade with razor sharpness. The professional tool provides a large number of nozzles and interchangeable disks. Moreover, the clamp where the blade is fixed can move freely along the caliper in the horizontal direction. Moreover, the angle of sharpening can be adjusted.

How to sharpen a knife

For high-quality sharpening of the machine, experience and certain knowledge are needed. Let's start with the basics.

Optimal sharpening angles and sharpness for kitchen knives

It's no secret that there are a lot of knives for different materials. A good housewife has her own knife for vegetables and meat. Consider the correct sharpening angles for different tools.

Note! Blades with a sharpening angle of 50 ° are considered the sharpest knives; such versions with a certain steel grade can cut nails. When sharpening knives, you can vary the angle at your discretion within the named range.

In general, the sharpness of the blade depends on the shape of the blade. And it, in turn, must correlate with certain clear correspondences between the blade and the blade.

How to sharpen a knife at home with a bar

The process is simple, but rather painstaking. Without sharpening experience, trying this process is pointless. Usually masters use two whetstones with different abrasive densities - with coarse and fine grains.

Comment

Specialist in the selection of tools "VseInstrumenty.ru"

“The blade of a knife must always be wet. You can use special oils or grinding lubricants.

The next step is to choose the angle of sharpening. Here we are guided by the table above and take the range from and to. Remember, the smaller the sharpening angle, the faster the knife will dull. For a beginner, it will be difficult to maintain the same angle. In order to successfully pass this stage, it is important to hold the knife with both hands.

We start work on a coarse-grained bar, and then, when the stage of edge grinding comes, with a fine abrasive

How to sharpen a knife with musat at home

Sharpening passes on weight. The blade is carried out along the entire length of the tool, usually several such “rides” are enough.

In order for the blade not to slip, the musat is equipped with a special stopper or guard, which does not allow the blade to injure the hand.

How to sharpen a knife on an electric grinder

The sharpening process is practically the same as manual sharpening. The only difference is that in this case it is not the blade that is wetted, but the grinding disc itself. Usually this happens automatically, as in the machines we talked about above.

Common mistakes when sharpening knives with your own hands

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

1. Incorrectly maintained sharpening angle level.
2. Blade regrinding. Occurs when excessive pressure is applied to the sharpener with a blade, due to which it can be damaged or even cracked.
3. Sharpening an unprepared tool or a worn grinding wheel.
4. The use of musat at all stages of work. As we remember, musat is used to finish the cutting edge.
5. Use of fine grit abrasive.

All these subtleties are important to take into account already at the stage of organizing work. For information on how to sharpen a knife with a bar, see this video.

Do-it-yourself machine for sharpening knives

Buying a ready-made knife sharpening machine is not always necessary. For domestic needs, you can do it yourself. Whether mechanical or electric machine you will create, be guided, as mentioned earlier, by existing diagrams and drawings.

What tools do you need to make a do-it-yourself knife

To make a simple machine, we need:

1. A piece of chipboard 10-12 mm thick. Can be used from old cabinet furniture.
2. Wooden block.
3. Metal rod M8 or M6.
4. Sheet steel 1 mm thick.
5. Mounting screws or nuts with washer, appropriate for the diameter of the stud used.
6. abrasive material.
7. Hacksaw or electric jigsaw
8. Screwdriver.

Do-it-yourself step-by-step instructions for making a grinder with your own hands

Consider assembling the simplest do-it-yourself knife sharpener from improvised materials.

Illustration	Action Description
	As we can see, the base here is quite simple - several chipboard boards. Size - 37 × 12 cm. Pressure board - 30 × 8 cm. When lifted - something about 7 cm.
	A nut with a diameter of 6 mm for fixing the clamping mechanism of the blade is attached to the lamb. The clamp itself is made of a piece of Plexiglas, you can use a metal plate.
	A magnet was used, attached to 2 screws in a special recess.
	A groove is drilled in the plexiglass with a drill for free walking.
As a bar, you can use ready-made special stones or make it yourself.
	The sharpening process does not cause problems, the main thing is to follow the recommendations indicated above

We have tried to introduce you to the main points related to the right technology sharpening knives with your own hands, as well as with the features of this whole process, besides this, you now know how to make the simplest manual knife sharpeners with your own hands. And if you have any questions for the author of the article, ask them in the comments and talk about own experience which will surely be useful to our readers.

A do-it-yourself knife sharpener is a necessary device for any work in the kitchen or in the workshop. Use is perfect sharp knives greatly facilitates the preparation of food, allowing you to apply less force for butchering meat, slicing vegetables or bread. Working with a blunt knife is not only inconvenient, but also dangerous, because such a tool can break off the material being cut at any time and injure you.

With the help of a homemade knife sharpener, you can sharpen a knife at any angle, since the sharpening angle is adjustable independently.

In order to bring any knife to a sharp state, you should know the optimal angle of its sharpening. This parameter depends on the grade of steel and the purpose of the knife. Homemade fixtures help you set the knife at the right angle to quickly and accurately sharpen it.

How to sharpen knives

Figure 1. Device for sharpening knives "House".

Some types of kitchen knives cannot be sharpened on their own. These include tools special form(for example, a bread knife or other types of knives with a raised edge). Also, you can not sharpen ceramic knives. However, the advantage of these tools is that manufacturers try to make them from especially hard steels, so they do not dull for a long time.

For proper sharpening, you should choose good abrasives of different grain sizes. Shop options for such bars are quite expensive, but you can always make a bar yourself from a piece of wood pasted over with fine sandpaper. It is important to have devices of different grain sizes: large ones for preliminary “peeling”, and small ones for grinding.

The optimal sharpening angle of the knife edge is from 20 to 30 degrees, depending on functional purpose tool. It is quite difficult to manually sharpen at this angle, therefore, simple home-made mechanisms are used for this purpose.

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Assembling the knife sharpener

Among the whole variety of devices for sharpening knives with your own hands, you should choose the one that will best suit your goals. All devices have a fairly simple structure and consist of two main parts:

• an emphasis for reliable fastening of a knife;
• movable abrasive block.

Figure 2. Wooden case in the form of a right-angled triangle to accommodate a whetstone.

The simplest tool for creating a sharp blade edge is called a "house" (Fig. 1). It has the form of a rectangular or square wooden block, the upper face of which is processed in the form of a gable "roof". The angle of inclination of the faces of such a bar is 20-25°. The knife to be sharpened is set with its edge close to the crest of the “roof”. By moving the abrasive bar in a horizontal plane along the blade, we will ensure that the sharpening angle is maintained at a constant value.

There are also quite complex devices. To create them, you will need some materials, tools and a little time, but you will provide yourself with a convenient tool for sharpening for a long time. The assembly of the device is carried out from the following materials:

• wooden board, dimensions 500x150x20 mm;
• metal studs, 8 mm in diameter with thread;
• several M8 bolts and nuts, wood screws;
• clamping screws of the "lamb" type;
• textolite or a piece of steel for the pressure plate;
• optional neodymium magnet for a secure hold of the knife during the sharpening process.

From wooden board you need to make the body in the form of a right-angled triangle, and the lower leg should be slightly longer, since it will be placed on the rack for the grindstone (Fig. 2). The inclined board is attached at an angle of 20° to the base. A hole is made in it for fastening the pressure plate, through which a screw with a “lamb” clamping nut will pass.

Figure 3. It is necessary to drill a hole for a vertical pin, which will serve as a holder for the abrasive tool.

Near the sharp corner of the structure, it is necessary to drill a hole for a vertical pin, which will serve as a holder for the movable abrasive structure (Fig. 3). A small wooden block, which is clamped with a screw with a clamping nut.

The last element of the fixture is another pin with a clamp holder for an abrasive bar (Fig. 4). Clamps can be made independently from wood, metal, ebonite or other material, or you can use a disassembled clamp for this. For better stability rubber feet can be glued to the bottom of the tool (video 1).

In order to sharpen a knife using such a device, it is placed on a magnet, and in its absence, it is pressed against the stop, holding it with your hand. The angle that occurs between the surface of the knife blade and the horizon provides optimal sharpness for kitchen knives. By making longitudinal movements with the holder with an abrasive bar, you need to achieve a sharp edge of the knife, then turn it over to the other side and repeat the steps.

As abrasive bars, you can use ready-made products that you can purchase at a hardware store or make them yourself. To do this, use small rectangular plates of glass, 4-5 mm thick. With the help of double-sided tape, sandpaper of different grain sizes is glued to their surface. The cost of such bars is very low, and sandpaper can be replaced with a new one at any time. The only caveat is to carefully tighten the clamp nuts, otherwise the glass can easily break.

One of the problems that arise when using such a device is the rapid wear of the abrasive, since water is not used during operation. For the same reason, too fast movements should be avoided, leading to overheating of the metal and loss of cutting edge properties.

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Common mistakes when sharpening knives by hand

Figure 4. Hairpin with holder-clamp for abrasive bar.

If you do not sharpen knives professionally, but are among the people who use these tools only in everyday life, then before you start sharpening yourself, you should learn about some common mistakes beginners:

1. The first and most common mistake is not sharpening the cutting edge. It consists in the fact that when working with abrasives, a lot of small burrs form on the working surface of the knife, which create a feeling of sharpness of the knife. In the first few uses, the burrs fall off and the blade becomes dull again. To prevent this from happening, it is important to sharpen the tool to the end. For a more detailed examination of the cutting edge, you can use a magnifying glass - it will make it possible to control proper conduct process.
2. The presence of dirt on the blade. Never sharpen a dirty, greasy knife. Sometimes you can see how professional chefs in the process of cooking take a round file with a handle - musat, pass it several times over the tool and continue to work. But this is not a sharpening accessory, this device is used only to align the edge of the knife.
3. It is important that not only dirt is removed, but also residues of previous, larger abrasives, as they easily mix with the fine sanding material, leading to scratches and bumps.
4. Too much pressure. The sharpness of a knife does not depend on the force applied to the bar, but on the duration and accuracy of sharpening. Too much pressure will break the cutting edge.
5. Wrong choice of sharpening angle. This parameter depends on two indicators: the purpose of the tool and the grade of steel from which it is made. For kitchen knives, the optimal angle is between 20 and 25 degrees. Camping, hunting and fishing knives must withstand heavy loads, while not dulling. For them, the edge angle is up to 40 degrees. For comparison: the sharpness that allows you to use the knife as a razor is 10-15 degrees.