Do-it-yourself knife sharpener: TOP-140 photos of ready-made examples and the best diagrams. Do-it-yourself master class with a full description of the stages of work

Sharpening a knife correctly by hand is quite difficult. It will take some time to develop the habit of maintaining a constant sharpening angle, which is not at all easy. A knife sharpening device can make the task easier. There are factory options. But for good copies you have to pay a couple of hundred dollars, and this is clearly a lot. The good news is that these devices are easy to make yourself. Moreover, many homemade knife sharpeners are no worse in functionality than those from famous manufacturers, but they are many times cheaper.

How to determine the correct sharpening angle

There is a wide variety of knives. There are more than two dozen types of kitchen cutting tools alone: steak knife, boning knife, chef knife, bread knife, hatchet, santoku and many others.

There are also special knives for hunting, fishing, repair, etc. And they all need to be sharpened according to the rules. The sharpening angle is the main criterion and it must be taken into account, otherwise there is a possibility of bending, distorting the knife and rendering it unusable.

The optimal angle for straight razors is 10-12°. It's a fairly small angle, but it's enough to cut short, fine hair. If you try to cut something else with it, the razor will quickly become dull.
fillet knife – 10-15°. This is also a fine sharpening - for convenient slicing of soft meat.
a knife used to cut other products should be sharpened at an angle of 17-20°.
20-25° is the optimal angle for a hunting knife (for bones, wood, tin cans)
The sharpening limit for machetes and other heavy cutting objects is 50°. Chopping food with them is a difficult task, but they do an excellent job with vines and trunks.
in order to chop and cut hard materials - bone, bamboo, hard wood, splitting coconut and other manipulations - you need 45-55 degrees.
if the knife is used as an ax (chopping wood, game, cutting straw, etc.) - 35-40 degrees.
for using a knife as a scalpel (cutting veins, removing skin) - also 40 degrees.

There are also blades that require different sharpening on different parts of the blade.

Basically, the difficulty of making a sharpener with your own hands lies precisely in the ability to adjust the desired angle. Thoughtful drawings of such a sharpener will help in its design.

Device for sharpening knives on an electric sharpener

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

Metal stop with fixation

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 damage the knife.

Due to friction, the metal on the tip heats up, and hardening occurs. The steel loses its hardness and wears off with ragged edges. Another problem is that a “released” knife quickly loses its sharpness.

Therefore, you should work with an electric sharpener carefully. Hold the blade for a short time and take breaks to cool down.

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.

Second device, block stop

The device is easy to make with your own hands - and it is not necessary to perform precise work on processing metal parts. The guide is literally made from the base material. On the workbench, next to the sharpener, guides are attached, with the help of which you can change the distance from the knife stop to the rotating circle. This distance determines the sharpening angle. The vertical rod must have free movement up and down with a strong position fixation.

The knife is held horizontally, pressing against the stop. The force of contact with the emery is adjusted directly during sharpening. Processing occurs symmetrically, you simply change the side of the knife and sharpen at the same angle.

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

Stone abrasiveness

Sharpening stones have different gradations of grit. The larger the grain, the less abrasive. If the grain is fine, the numbers will be higher.

From 200 to 300 grit is rare and is not used for sharpening knives.
350 grit is a rough stone (can be referred to as “coarse”). Used for profiling very dull blades. However, such graininess can damage the blade.
400-500 grit – medium roughness. Little used abrasiveness. There are no or almost no such stones.
600-700 grit – fine grinding. The best option for sharpening many types of cutting devices. This is the most common level of abrasiveness of whetstones.
1000-1200 grit—the finest grinding (extra fine). This type of stone is used to bring the work to perfection and acts as a polish. After processing with such a stone, the blade shines like a mirror.

Features of creating a cutting edge on a block

Let me add and remind you of the basic sharpening rules that require compliance:

it is necessary to work carefully and carefully, without applying significant effort: one careless movement can ruin the plane of approach with the cutting edge; when sharpening a knife, constantly monitor the stability of its angle of inclination to the block and the width of the inlets; the blade should always be directed along the sharp edge, and not from the side of the butt.

If the blade is severely curved by improper sharpening, then it is permissible to sand down all the protruding parts to the general level, and then process it on a block.

Using a whetstone, the sharpening angle is created by controlling the inclination of the blade, which is half its value. To do this, the supply plane must be exactly on the surface of the block.

Convex knives

When sharpening, such a blade is applied to the surface of the sharpening stone and it is used to make not a straight, but a curvilinear movement, which follows the shape of the cutting edge. It should always be located perpendicular to the movement being made.

Whetstone material

In addition to the size of the grains, special stones also differ in the material from which they are made.

Note!

DIY induction heater ♨️ - reviews of the best manufacturing options. Varieties of homemade device designs + step-by-step master class (160 photos)
Do-it-yourself Gauss cannon: TOP-130 photos of the best ways to create it yourself. Design features + master class for beginners
DIY clamps - a step-by-step master class for beginners. Schemes for manufacturing different designs + 170 photos

There are bars:

natural
ceramic
diamond

Which to choose? It's all about taste, ease of use and, again, the purpose of the bar. Natural ones (for example, slate) must be moistened with water before sharpening the knife.

So, during the sharpening process, a certain abrasive mass will be released from the block. It will contribute to better sharpening of the blade. However, natural stones are almost never low-grain and wear out faster than ceramic and diamond.

For ease of use of the latter, instead of an abrasive mass, you can use a soap composition or honing oil (specialized oil).

7-step instructions for sharpening and finishing a kitchen knife

So, in sharpening a knife, one goal is to remove enough metal from the blade so that the cutting edge becomes sharp again. You need to start work with a coarse-grained abrasive and finish with a fine-grained one.

It is important to remember the following principles of sharpening knives:

The most important thing is to choose the optimal sharpening angle and maintain it along the entire cutting edge while sliding along the block.
Movements should be smooth, without pressure.
All bars must be moistened with water, or better yet, with a soap solution: before sharpening (so that the blade glides better and metal dust does not clog the pores), during the process (to remove the resulting suspension) and at the end, to clean the bar.

And one more important tip - the first time it’s better to practice on a knife that you don’t mind ruining. Especially if your main knife is too good and expensive. Well, let's start practicing.

Step 1. Rinse the stone with water, and then run over it, say, with a sponge with a drop of dishwashing liquid.

Step 2. Next, sit down at the table and place the stone on a wooden board, for example, a cutting board. You can place a towel under the stone. For some it is more convenient to place the block perpendicular to themselves, and for others at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. Over time, you will understand how it is more convenient for you to work.

Step 3. Now you need to decide on the sharpening angle and fix the position of the knife. What should the angle be? The general principle is that the smaller it is, the sharper the blade, and the larger it is, the longer the blade retains its sharpness.

Regular kitchen knives are sharpened to an angle of 40-45 degrees. If you are sharpening a fillet knife (designed for cutting thin pieces of fish, poultry and meat), then you should sharpen it sharper - at an angle of 30-40 degrees. The selected value must be divided by 2, and then we will get the angle that should be between the blade and the surface of the block. That is, to sharpen a blade at 45 degrees, you need to sharpen each side at 22.5 degrees to the sharpening surface.

A simple technique shown in the photo below will help you fix the knife at an angle of 22.5 degrees.

Remember, you should try to stick to the chosen angle throughout the entire work.

Step 4. Place the knife across the block so that the upper edge of the handle is above the lower edge of the stone. Holding the handle with one hand and the blade with the other, we begin to slide along the block away from ourselves along the trajectory shown in the picture below.

Watch a short and clear video:

The point is that the cutting edge sliding along the stone should always be perpendicular to the direction of movement.
At the bend of the blade, the knife handle needs to be slightly raised to maintain the selected angle.
Remember also that you can’t put pressure on the blade, but you shouldn’t give it any slack either.

Thus, you need to pass the blade along the stone about 40-50 times, namely until a “burr” (burr, microsaw) appears along the entire length of the cutting edge. Its appearance will tell you that the excess metal has worn out and there is no point in grinding further. Then you need to turn the blade over and repeat the same steps. Clearly in the video:

A burr is a small roughness that is difficult to see, but can be felt by carefully running your finger along the edge of the blade (but not along the edge, so as not to cut yourself)

Burr of a sharpened knife

During operation, a suspension will appear on the blade - metal dust, which must be periodically washed off with water.

Step 5. So, the burrs have appeared, now we proceed to finishing. To do this, we repeat the same manipulations on a stone with half the grain size. An alternative finishing method is using musat.

Musat is a steel rod of oval or round cross-section with longitudinal notches. It is only suitable for editing and maintaining sharpness, but not for sharpening a knife. It is recommended to edit the knife with musat every time before and after work.

How to sharpen a kitchen knife with musat can be seen in the following video master class from the respected knifemaker Gennady Prokopenkov, who, by the way, specializes in making kitchen knives.

Step 6. If desired, you can bring your knife to a razor sharpness. To do this, take any leather or leather belt, treat it with GOI, Dialux or any other abrasive paste, and then do the same steps, but only in the direction from the cutting edge.

Step 7. Finally, we check the quality of sharpening. This is done very simply. It is enough to cut a tomato or cut paper. If you wanted to achieve razor sharpness, then you should try to shave the hair on your arm. The sharpest knives can even cut hair, as shown in the photo below, but in the kitchen such sharpness is not required for the most ordinary knife.

Is shape important?

You can get used to and adapt to any sharpening stone. You just need to try several options and choose the most convenient one in a particular case.

As for the shape: the most popular one is an oblong brick. At the same time, it is very good if the length of such a brick is greater than the size of the sharpening blade. This makes the process easier and faster. If the stone is round, oval or square, then you will have to move the blade along it much more often. In this case, there is a high probability of breaking the angle and ruining the knife.

Note!

Read also: Features of choosing and operating a gas cutter for metal
Do-it-yourself electric scooter - a master class with step-by-step instructions for doing it yourself. Tips and simple patterns for beginners + the best photo reviews
DIY rocking chair: TOP-120 photos of the best manufacturing options. Master class on creating a rocking chair at home
Smokehouse from a gas cylinder - the best master class on making a homemade smokehouse with step-by-step photo diagrams for beginners

It is very convenient to use if one sharpening bar has both coarser and finer grain sides - this is an ideal option for many types of household knives.

How to sharpen a plane knife

The first attempt at straightening the cutting edge showed good performance of the created device for sharpening carpentry tools, but immediately pointed out its shortcomings, which were made in a hurry.

What complicates the work of the sharpening trolley

About the body height

To create a high-quality cutting edge, you need to set the sharpening angle correctly. It is formed by extending the blade of a plane, used as the hypotenuse of a right triangle.

This factor must be taken into account when creating the cart height. To form the sharpest corners, I needed to extend the knife out of the sharpening device as much as possible, and this is not very convenient.

Therefore, when setting up, I reduced the height of the device to a minimum by cutting off part of the body. It only took a few minutes, and the capabilities and ease of use of the tool expanded.

About the width of the distance between the wheels

A mistake was made here too. A wide cart requires a large whetstone or large area sandpaper. It's not economical.

I reduced the distance between the ball bearings as much as possible, and they began to fit on a homemade whetstone I made from ceramic tiles. With its help, it is convenient to fine-tune the cutting edge after straightening it on coarse-grained sandpaper.

Other recommendations

The block body I made is more conveniently made from three components:

lower, serving as an axis for fastening the wheels and attached to the upper adapter;
medium rectangular;
the top of the fixed mounting plate.

The lower blank with bearings can be made narrower than the width of the plane blade and secured with separate screws to the middle one, and the studs can be placed in the middle and upper parts. In this case, the cutting tool will become more convenient.

Sharpening technology

There is nothing complicated in this matter if you install the plane blade correctly. Its plane of supply must lie exactly on the surface of the grindstone at the moment when the trolley is in the working position

We need to pay attention to:

density and uniformity of surface contact;
strictly perpendicular position of the cutting edge relative to the direction of movement of the sharpening cart;
no obstacles in the way of the wheels.

The sharpening itself is quick. My assistant, a primary school student, performed this simple job with great interest, rolling the prepared device along an evenly spread strip of sandpaper.

He got a fairly satisfactory result: a completely normal, smooth cutting edge, but not a fully formed bevel plane at the bottom.

I just have a little work left to do to fix this defect. Then I brought the cutting surface to good condition on a homemade fine-grit whetstone.

Surface quality has improved. Next you need to edit the leather or rubber with GOI paste.

But even in this state, the plane began to plane the wood well, creating thin and uniform chips.

In concluding the presentation of the material, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the devices for sharpening the knives of a plane, chisel and other carpentry tools have different designs. The simplest ones are created from an ordinary wooden block, in which a cut is made at an angle to attach the cutting blade

This whetstone is used to guide the grindstone. The sharpening is quite satisfactory, but additional friction occurs on the wood, which also gradually wears down. And in the described design, rolling bearings relieve this load.

The design I recommend is intended for beginners without practical experience. Professional carpenters use expensive and high-precision tools.

Andrey Yarmolkevich talks about them in detail in his video “Sharpening a hand plane.”

Useful products

Sponge rod for cleaning rust
Souvenir coin for decision making
Flexible shaft for a screwdriver (where it is usually difficult to reach)

Useful services and programs

Design courses
Online learning English with a tutor or on your own

Varieties of homemade devices

Homemade knife sharpeners have a number of pros and cons:

A device made of two triangular wooden blocks. These blocks need to be placed parallel and fastened with screws. The sharpening brick is fixed between these two base bars and, if necessary, it can be rotated, changing the sharpening angle.

However, if such a design is used for a long time, the retaining elements will weaken and setting and maintaining the desired degree will become problematic.

The base is made of any convenient material (wood, metal, plastic). Here you need to install a movable element for changing angles and a fixing element for the sharpening stone. The grinder's actions must be vertical. The inconvenience of this structure is that it must be held by hand on the surface, or secured with something.

It can also be a beam attached to an improvised railcar. Sharpening is done by moving back and forth. The angle is controlled by the ratio of the height of the bar and the working base. The entire structure must be secured to a fixed surface.

Note!

Do-it-yourself compressor: TOP-130 photo reviews of finished compressors. Step-by-step instructions + diagrams and drawings
Do-it-yourself wind generator: TOP-170 photo reviews of finished devices. Detailed DIY instructions for beginners
Do-it-yourself spot welding - the best master class on making homemade spot welding with step-by-step photo diagrams of do-it-yourself work

These are just some of the options for such devices. There are others that require a lot of effort, time and skill.

The simplest knife sharpener at home

As mentioned above, one of the most important qualities of a good sharpener is the ability to set or maintain the desired degree between the cutting plate and the block.

This instruction, which tells how to make a knife sharpener, suggests making a machine with the following principle: a well-fixed knife is sharpened strictly at a set angle with replaceable sharpening stones of the required abrasiveness.

Typical mistakes when manually sharpening knives

Figure 4. Hairpin with clamp holder for an abrasive stone.

If you do not sharpen knives professionally, but are one of the people who use these tools only at home, then before you start sharpening yourself, you should learn about some typical mistakes made by beginners:

The first and most common mistake is not sharpening the cutting edge. It consists in the fact that when working with abrasives, many small burrs are formed on the working surface of the knife, which create a feeling of sharpness of the knife. After 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 the correct execution of the process. Presence of dirt on the blade

Under no circumstances should you 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, run it over the tool several times and continue to work. But this is not a sharpening accessory; this device is used only for leveling the edge of the knife. It is important to avoid not only dirt, but also the remnants of previous, larger abrasives, since they easily mix with the fine grinding material, leading to scratches and unevenness. Pressing too hard. The sharpness of a knife does not depend on the force applied to the block, but on the duration and accuracy of sharpening. Too much pressure causes the cutting edge to break off. 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 20 to 25 degrees. Tourist, hunting and fishing knives must withstand heavy loads without becoming dull. For them, the edge angle is up to 40 degrees. For comparison: the sharpness allowing the knife to be used as a razor is 10-15 degrees.

By following simple rules and recommendations, you will be able to successfully use the sharpening device.

What will you need?

Metal rod 5-6 mm in diameter. It will be cut into pieces of varying lengths.
Electrode for welding. It is needed in the manufacture of corner guides. The element must be freed from flux and cleaned with fine sandpaper.
Stainless steel sheet. The required thickness is 5 mm. Clamps will be made from it, in which holes need to be drilled through. (To make this easier, you can use machine oil. After the necessary steps, it can be easily removed from the product with a highly concentrated soap solution)
Metal corners 9x9x0.6 cm.
All that is usually needed for fastening: a few nuts and screws.

Guide drawing

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

A spool with an M6 thread, which must be sawed off using a hacksaw so that it is 16 cm long. The main thing is to ensure that there are no burrs so that they do not slow down the sharpening process itself.
Also, electrodes with a soft and elastic cylinder can be useful in work; they must be bent into the letter “g” using pliers. The main thing during the work period is not to forget to periodically look at the product drawing.
Metal scraps are useful for using clamps; they need to be cut and holes installed using a drilling machine. A hand tap will help in marking the threads. And in order to reduce friction, use a drop of oil, which can subsequently be easily removed with a soap solution.
When finishing work with the guide, according to the drawing, you should twist all the parts and, for fixation, drop regular nail polish onto the junction of the clamp and the pin.

Making a sharpener step by step

Step one: It is necessary to correctly measure and cut the metal corners. You can complete this step with a grinder and then clean it with a file and sandpaper.

Step two: You need to drill small holes in the fastening areas and process the edges of the guide rail.

Step Three: The bolt and nut will serve as the stand. The improvised stand must be secured between a vice or on any other convenient unit.

Step Four: Now it’s time to assemble the sharpener. Next, you need to attach a sample for the first sharpening test and the sharpening stone itself.

Step five: Test the device.

It should be noted that many of the parameters here are individual and the dimensions of the sharpener are often set by the manufacturer himself.

Locking blade machines

Knife sharpening machines with locking blades will attract the attention of those people who want to sharpen a knife not only efficiently, but also quickly. A design that rigidly fixes the knife blade relative to a sharpening stone moving at a set angle allows you to accurately set the angle of inclination

To create such a homemade machine with your own hands you will need:

The base is a rectangular wooden plate with dimensions 440*92 mm and a thickness of 18 mm.
Wooden die 92*45*45 mm (for fixing the vertical threaded rod).
A wooden block 245*92 mm and 18 mm thick (the plate to which the knife will be attached).
Iron plate 200*65 mm and metal thickness 4 mm.
Piano hinge, 92 mm long.
M8 hairpin 325 mm long.
Nuts and bolts with M8 thread.
Drill 6.5 mm.
M8 tap.
Self-tapping screws 50 mm, 4 pcs.

The die intended for fixing the vertical threaded rod must be drilled through with a 6.5 mm drill. The hole should be located at a distance of 15 mm from the edge of the die, approximately in the center.

Layout of the hole in a wooden die

Next, in the resulting hole you need to cut a thread for an M8 stud. The wooden block prepared in this way must be screwed to the base at a distance of 265 mm from the edge using ordinary self-tapping screws 50 mm long, screwed into the back of the base.

After the block and the base are securely fastened, you need to insert an M8 pin into the hole in the block. The pin should run across the entire cross-section of the beam and the base; thus the risk of changing its position is minimized. The pin at the base of the block must be firmly fixed with an M8 nut, slightly recessed when twisting it into the wood of the block.

The second part of the work involves assembling a clamping device to fix the position of the knife. To do this, a piano loop is attached to a block of wood 245*92 mm with three self-tapping screws from the end of the wooden plate, with the help of which it will be attached to the base of the device.

Attaching the fixing bar to the base using a piano loop

After securing the wooden part of the holding device, you can begin to attach the iron plate. In the center of the 200*65 mm plate, you need to drill an oblong groove, 90 mm long and about 1 cm wide. The groove should be located from the edge of the clamping plate at a distance of 60 mm. Additionally, you need to drill a hole at a distance of 20 mm from the opposite edge and cut a thread in it for an M8 bolt. Then you need to attach the clamping plate to the previously prepared wooden base using this bolt. Using another bolt and a suitable washer, you need to fix the clamping plate in the center of the cut groove. The fixation should be clear, but at the same time neat, so as not to damage the surface of the blade.

Attaching the Iron Clamp Plate

The most difficult part of assembling this device is preparing the control device that will set the sharpening angle of the knife. For this you will need:

metal square profile 40×40 mm;
furniture bracket, 40 mm wide;
a pair of rivets;
a piece of plywood 42×25 and 18 mm thick;
bolt and nut M5;
a pair of M8 wing nuts;
whetstone;
steel bar with a diameter of 0.8 cm and a length of 40 cm.

It is necessary to drill a couple of holes on a piece of plywood: a through hole with a diameter of 8 mm along a cross-section of 42×18 mm (the distance from the edge on the 42 mm side should be set at 15 mm) and a through hole with a diameter of 5 mm along the side with a cross-section of 42×25 mm (the distance from edges 10 mm). The square pipe should be cut in half so that you get a “U”-shaped bracket with a width of 40 * 15 mm and ears of 20 mm. You need to drill 8 mm holes in the ears, into which an M8 pin will later be inserted. Connect the resulting bracket to a furniture hinge using rivets. Using the second part of the furniture bracket, attach a block of plywood to the resulting structure with an M5 bolt.

Location on the spoke of the guide mechanism

Connect the touchstone to a guide rod, which is a steel rod with a cross-section of 8 mm. When connecting the keystone and the guide rod, you should strictly ensure that their center lines coincide. If desired, for ease of use of the sharpener, a handle-holder can be attached to the whetstone on the reverse side. All that remains is to secure the whetstone in the guide mechanism, secure it with a thumb and the homemade device for sharpening knives is ready.

Sharpener assembly

Sharpening machine from mounting angles

There is another way to make a knife sharpener. Here is the second master class.

What will you need?

metal plates measuring 4x11cm
aluminum corners
metal rods at least 15 cm in length
fasteners
device for marking when cutting threads
machine for sharpening metal (can be replaced with a file)
fixing device (for example, a vice)
small file (needed when working on smaller parts)

Detailed manufacturing instructions

Step one: You need to make marks to drill the holes.

Step two: You need to make a thread in the holes of the taps.

Step three: For the convenience and safety of using the sharpener, you need to smooth out all the irregularities, blunt the corners, and straighten the edges.

Step four: Next you need to drill grooves in the corners

Step Five: Tapping the Holes

Step six: You need to place the metal rods in the outer holes and secure with nuts

Step seven: Support the entire product - there is a hole in the groove of the base. You need to screw a bolt 14 cm long and 8 cm in diameter into it. You must first strengthen the bolt with one wing nut and two simple ones.

Step Nine: Place nuts in the other holes as well. They hold the part of the knife that needs to be sharpened.

Step ten: Thread nuts onto metal rods and install the corner.

Step eleven: The moment of fixing the abrasive. This is done using a metal rod, which should be in the shape of the letter “L”, a pair of clamps, and a wing nut.

Now it’s time to try out the resulting device.

It will be much easier and more convenient if, while working on the sharpener, you have the opportunity to simultaneously watch a video on the topic and work on the process. The convenience is that if something becomes unclear, you can always stop, slow down or watch the video again.

There are still enough options for making a knife sharpener with your own hands: an angle, a rotary sharpener, a double sharpener, with a vertical mechanism, etc.

Sharpening tools and their uses

Devices and special tools differ not only in the principle of operation, but also in the quality of sharpening. Electrical appliances operate much faster

However, you need to work with them carefully, because

inattention can lead to a chef's or hunting knife being sharpened with a change in the position of the blade relative to the working surface. As a result, the service life of the product will be significantly reduced. To sharpen knives at home, mechanical tools are sufficient.

Touchstone, whetstone

There are different options, differing in size and number of abrasive grains per 1 mm². The quality of sharpening will depend on this. If you need to sharpen a knife on a whetstone, you first need to decide whether rough or fine grinding is required

When choosing such a tool, you need to pay attention to the markings. It is applied directly to the surface of the bar

However, there is no such information on domestic donkeys, so you will have to find out about the parameters from the seller.

The bars are found in different versions, differing in the type of spraying:

diamond;
silicon carbide;
electrocorundum.

If there is no information on the type of abrasive on the whetstone, you can try to determine its type by touch. To do this, you need to run your finger or nail along the surface of the bar.

Mechanical sharpener

This tool has a handle, which makes it comfortable to use. The blade is installed in a recess on the body, characterized by an acute angle. By making reciprocating movements, you can get the desired result. The advantages of the tool include reasonable price and the ability to be used at home. However, it is inferior in efficiency to some analogues. So, on a sharpening machine the work is done faster. At the same time, the blade remains sharp longer. Knife sharpening wheels also provide better results.

Electric sharpener

Such devices are available in different variants. A sharpener with 2 sharpening slots in the body is more effective. The main advantage of such devices is the ability to automatically determine the required angle of inclination of the blade relative to the working surface. They are used for different purposes, but are more often used in facilities where it is necessary to regularly sharpen knives on an electric sharpener. In domestic conditions, such devices are rarely used due to their high cost.

Musat

This is the name of the tool, which consists of a handle (in most cases it is plastic) and a large-section steel rod. Its main function is to maintain the required level of blade sharpness. This tool is included in the set of knives. However, users often confuse it with special sharpening equipment and devices.

Lansky sharpener

This equipment is designed for small and medium-sized knives. Its advantage is the ability to ensure the sharpness of the blade located at different angles relative to the working surface. To do this, the structural elements of the sharpener are rearranged. The tool consists of 2 angles, a small-section steel rod that holds a whetstone (touchstone). The last of the structural elements is used to sharpen the blade. The knife is fixed between two corners. Its edge rests against the whetstone.

Sharpening and grinding machines

They are circles fixed on a rotating shaft. To achieve different sharpening qualities, different abrasives are used. In order to more accurately determine the angle, a special add-on is provided, located above the grinding wheel. A blade is installed between it and the abrasive.

There are also simpler designs designed for everyday use: electrically driven abrasive wheels, rotating discs for grinding. However, regardless of the type of design, experience is required to operate the machine. This is due to the fact that the metal heats up during the sharpening process. As a result, the blade quickly fails and may crumble. In addition, in this way you can significantly change the angle of its inclination.

Stages of work on knife processing

You need to start sharpening from the edge of the blade that is located closer to the handle of the blade.
To make it more convenient to control and not go beyond the desired part, you can paint it over with some bright marker.
The movement itself during the process is consistent, light, without pressure.
The tip runs strictly perpendicular to the sharpening element.

So, at home, you can make your own sharpener for your home kitchen or crafts and not spend large sums on purchasing a factory-made product.

The instructions were sent by this source.

Blade sharpening rules

There are several subtleties that are important when sharpening knives:

It is recommended to start processing the blade from the base of the knife, from its bluntest part;
It is recommended to paint the edge of the blade with a marker in any color so that when sharpening it does not protrude beyond the working area;
the sharp edge should be perpendicular to the sharpening stone;
household knives are sharpened at an angle of 20-25º;
The movements must also be correct: sharpening must be smooth and even, without much pressure;
Finally, the blade can be passed several times along a belt rubbed with goyi paste.

Knife sharpening angle diagram.

KnivesCharacteristics of steel grade 65X13

Sharpening knivesHow to sharpen a knife with sandpaper

Photo of a DIY knife sharpener

Types of devices that can be used to sharpen a knife

There are several types of tools designed to make the blade of the device sharp again, as when purchased. Emery is a simple one, but it has not been considered popular for a long time.

Other types of devices are classified according to the following criteria:

Depending on the type of sharpening material used. This group includes whetstones and whetstones.
According to the type of sharpening material used. This includes devices such as manual or power tools.
By use. Some devices are used only at home, while others are purchased exclusively by professionals.

It is worth taking a closer look at the types of tools used above.

Base

When making a sharpening machine at home, you can use various parts. In particular, you can use laminated box plywood 12 mm thick, which was previously used to create radio equipment housings.

When constructing a machine at home, a household member performs the following actions:

Selects a base for such an installation, which must weigh at least 5 kg. Otherwise, it will be impossible to sharpen chopping devices and tools on the machine. Therefore, in the manufacture of such equipment, the tenant uses various steel angles measuring 20x20 mm;

Next, 2 parts are cut out of plywood with a jigsaw, which have a trapezoidal shape, the base is 170 by 60 mm, and the height is 230 mm. When cutting, the mechanic makes an allowance of 0.7 mm for sharpening the ends: they end up straight and fit according to the markings;

Installs 3 parts between the inclined walls on the sides - an inclined surface made of plywood with dimensions of 230 x 150 mm.

In such a situation, the trapezoidal sides are located laterally on a rectangular surface.

The result is a base - a wedge. In such a situation, a protrusion of an inclined surface measuring 40 mm is formed in the front part;

Then, along the side wall ends, the mechanic marks 2 lines with a thicknesser. At the same time, it retreats by half the thickness of the plywood;

Next, he drills 3 holes in the boards to connect the parts of the structure with screws;

Drills the ends of the inclined surface and connects the base parts for a while;

At the back of the structure, the mechanic connects the side walls using a 60x60 mm block, which is attached to the end with two screws on both sides; — makes a 10 mm gap in the block.

In such a situation, it retreats 50 mm from the center - 25 mm from the edge. To maintain a vertical position, first drill with a thin drill from 2 edges, and then expand;

Then, at the top and bottom, two threaded fittings are screwed into the gap, and in the fittings - a 10 mm pin, the length of which is 250 mm.

If the threads do not match the studs, the lower fitting is adjusted.

Basic rules of work

Proper sharpening of a plane knife primarily depends on the material you are working with. The fact is that when working with soft woods, such as linden, aspen, and pine, it is recommended to bring the sharpening angle of the wood plane to 45-50 degrees. To work with medium-hard wood species, it is recommended to sharpen the blade at a sharpening angle of 60 degrees. When working with hard wood, the cutting edge is sharpened at an angle of 75-80 degrees.

For all types of blades, the first step is dressing with a large-grain abrasive material - this is necessary in order to remove nicks

At this stage, it is important that the cutter maintains a straight edge shape; it is important here that the metal is removed evenly across the entire width of the blade. To check the correct sharpening, a template plate with a perfectly flat surface is used

The blade is placed on the surface of the plate and flaws are identified by the gap between the cutting edge and the plane. At this stage, you can use a regular sharpener with large and medium-grit abrasive wheels.

After the shape of the cutting edge has been restored, the angle between the side edges and the cutting plane is checked with a square. In addition, the cutting edge angle is checked using a template. If flaws are found, you will have to repeat the process.

Sharpening the plane on a fine-grained stone is done at low speeds using a water bath. The metal should not overheat, otherwise it will lose its properties. It will be easier to work on an electric machine if you use a wide grinding wheel and a special attachment.

Sharpening knives for hand planes

If the blade has no flaws in the form of nicks or chips, and does not require changing the angle of the cutting edge, then it is recommended to immediately begin finishing.

First, a medium-grain abrasive is installed on the sharpener. The edge angle is formed on it. The canvas is picked up and, with emphasis on the machine support, formed at the desired angle

It is important here that the blade is sharpened equally across the entire width of the cutting edge.

On a fine abrasive, the blade is polished with periodic wetting in water; it is important to prevent the metal from overheating. Final finishing is done on a high-grit whetstone.

Before work, the stone is soaked in water for 2-3 hours to ensure easy movement and the formation of an abrasive paste on the surface.

The final finishing is done on a high-grit whetstone. Before work, the stone is soaked in water for 2-3 hours to ensure easy movement and the formation of an abrasive paste on the surface.

Movement along the plane is made smooth, the blade is pressed with light force, so as to feel the resistance of the stone. After the initial processing, finishing is done using sandpaper with a grain size of 1000-1200 units. The paper is placed on a piece of glass, after which the final finishing is done without removing the canvas from the device.

Sharpening electric planer knives

Sharpening electric planer knives is done more carefully and accurately. The fact is that there are two of them installed on the drum of an electric planer, and if the balancing is disrupted by removing more metal from one during sharpening than from the other, the balancing of the drum will be disrupted during operation and the entire plane will have to be repaired. The second point is that many models of planes with 5 mm thick knives use special steel plates as cutting tools, which requires precision when working. For such a tool, special abrasives for pobedite plates are used.

Knives for electric planers are immediately clamped in the sharpening device, since it is very difficult to hold them correctly in your hands. The work is carried out using fine-grained abrasive using a water bath.