Sharpening knives on a sharpener. How to properly sharpen knives with a whetstone: expert advice for perfectly sharp kitchen and hunting knives

Currently, there are many ways to sharpen knives using all kinds of devices. This issue can be solved simply, and most importantly, effectively, with the help of a sharpening machine, especially since it comes in different sizes, which means it is available for use at home.

Such a device can confidently be called an electric emery, which is advisable to have in your home. Those who are not familiar with this device have doubts about its necessity, so we present the advantageous features of this useful device:

Capable of sharpening not only ordinary knives, but also garden shears, a massive ax blade, as well as other piercing and cutting equipment.
The process itself takes a minimal amount of time.
Even if you don’t have the skills to operate a machine, you can learn it on your own. Usually its meaning is to turn on the machine and, through reciprocating movements, sharpen the knife blade, carefully touching the cylindrical surface of the abrasive wheel with the edges of the blade.
It implies the presence of two main abrasive wheels:

large – for working with rough metals;
fine – used for sharpening certain cutlery items and giving them the appropriate appearance.

It is worth considering the size of the knives before carrying out this process. If we are talking about small or medium-sized ones, then a fine-grained abrasive wheel will ideally cope with the task. There are also some nuances related to sharpening itself, the observance of which has a positive effect on the final result.

Independent approach - rules and features

Before moving on to the fundamental process, you need to know that the sharpening machine is installed on special flanges with a sleeve. Moreover, their diameter must be absolutely the same.

The sharpening unit must be carefully balanced and centered, otherwise malfunctions may occur, including small electric shocks due to the high rotation speed. The sequence of actions is important, which include:

as already mentioned, this is the alignment and balancing of disks, regardless of their type;
installing a clamp for the correct choice of sharpening angle relative to the abrasive wheel itself;
the process of preparing oil for subsequent cooling of metal surfaces;
processing, if necessary, with a circle of a coarse-grained variety;
consistent editing without physical effort along the knife blade;
final dressing using a grinding wheel.

It is worth paying attention to a number of features of such work, including the following points:

Correct sharpening of a knife is carried out along the side surface of the abrasive wheel, but the angle indicators can have completely different indicators, which directly depend on the expected load. They vary from 20 to 40 degrees. Determining these indicators can be quite difficult, so it is advisable to use the width of the feeds, in other words, the width of the part that will be ground down. Under such circumstances and following the recommendations, the angle will definitely be the same.
Failure to comply with the above conditions and the angle indicator is not maintained - the width will be completely different. The same can be said about a too sharp angle of inclination, but the width should not exceed 4 to 5 mm.
The choice of sharpening angle options is determined by several indicators such as the quality of the alloy, the hardness of the blade and the purposes for further use. Special razors and scalpels require an angle with an edge occupying from 10 to 17%, kitchen knives from 20 to 25%. Special sharpening is also possible, where the edge takes up from 30 to 40%; with such knives you can cut thick cardboard, carpet or rubber hoses.

The ideal sharpening option is to have a neat, even approach that has the same width and complete symmetry of the blade. The most important stage of working on a sharpening machine is adjusting the knife and removing burrs.

If, after reading, you have a desire to purchase such a machine, then it is advisable to do this on specialized websites or stores, where you can choose according to your individual needs and purposes. Giving preference to domestic or foreign manufacturers is a purely personal matter, based on the existing characteristics.

When preparing food, you must use sharp knives. Of course, it’s easier to contact a specialist who can sharpen a knife correctly quickly and for little money, but you can do it yourself.

It is necessary to sharpen a knife according to certain rules, otherwise you can damage the blade.

Correct knife sharpening angle

When sharpening kitchen knives, it is important that the objects are in a certain position in relation to the work surface. To do this, you need to choose the correct sharpening angle.

This parameter depends on many factors, for example, the type and level of strength of the metal from which the blade is made, as well as the purpose for which this tool is used. So, the degree of sharpening for different types of knives:

scalpel and razor blade - from 10 to 15 degrees;
vegetable, meat and fish knives - from 15 to 20 degrees;
other chef's utensils - from 20 to 25 degrees;
hunting blades – 25–30 degrees.

It is important to choose the right sharpening angle; this is necessary to achieve the desired sharpness of the kitchen appliance.

What grit size is needed for sharpening knives?

When sharpening blades, special stones are used. Their surface is an abrasive consisting of grains of different sizes. The grain size of the stone depends on this indicator. Devices for adding spice are divided into the following groups:

the most coarse-grained (especially coarse material);
regular coarse-grained;
medium grain;
fine-grained (delicate abrasive);
micro-grained (material of increased fineness).

How to sharpen a knife correctly? A good master knows that using only one type of stone is ineffective. According to the rules, sharpening is performed alternately, moving from coarse-grained and rough stones to delicate, thin stones.

How to sharpen knives on a sharpening machine

Using a machine is considered an effective way of sharpening, however, the mechanism is cumbersome, and for this reason not every home has it. But if you have the opportunity to use it to sharpen dull kitchen appliances, you should know some of the intricacies of this work:

Please note that you will need a lot of time to work. In addition, those who do not have sufficient experience in this matter should not undertake sharpening on a machine.

How to properly sharpen knives with sandpaper

If you have some experience and know how emery works, sharpening knives will not be difficult for you. So, when sharpening blades on sandpaper, adhere to the following rules:

When applying the blade to the abrasive, you should not apply large mechanical forces;
the trajectory of rotation of the abrasive should be in the direction from the butt to the edge;
the knife on the emery is moved across the circle, smoothly moving from the handle of the device to the tip of the blade;
When sharpening on both sides, you cannot change the angle of fixation of the blade, you just need to move it to the other side;
At the end of the work, straighten the knife with a block, musat or sandpaper.

Of course, real craftsmen prefer sharpening by hand, which allows them to achieve maximum effect. But if we are not talking about giving the blade a scalpel sharpness, but simply making it quite sharp, using sandpaper will achieve decent results.

How to sharpen kitchen knives with a sharpener

Today you can purchase special devices for sharpening knives - these are blade sharpeners. These devices are either mechanical or electrical. If you are not very experienced or have not tried sharpening knives at all yourself, it is better to use the electric option.

This sharpener independently selects the sharpening angle, and is used to sharpen any type of household blade. The work is done like this:

Once you follow these steps, you no longer have to worry about ruining your knife. The sharpener will do the work on its own, and you will get a wonderfully sharp blade. This is the best way to achieve the desired sharpness of a kitchen appliance at home.

How to use a round disc knife sharpener

There are various devices for sharpening knives, including sharpeners with round discs. The difference is that the sharpening material in this case is a special rotating roller that grinds the cutting surface at an angle of 45 degrees.

The main advantage of such devices is that after sharpening there is no burr left on the blade, and the work is done simply. In addition, tools sharpened with roller sharpeners stay sharp much longer than with V-shaped tools.

Most often, such sharpeners are suitable not only for knives, but also for scissors.

How to sharpen Damascus steel knives

Damascus steel knives have been popular at all times; they are considered the most durable, and their sharpness cannot be compared with anything else. But even this material tends to become dull.

It is important to know that no electric sharpeners can be used here, only manual processing is needed. When sharpening a Damascus steel knife, you must adhere to the following principles:

First, determine the strength of the metal. This can be done by paying attention to the sharpening angle; the stronger the material, the sharper it will be.
Use fine-grained abrasives, gradually moving to micro-coatings.
Sharpen the blade only along the cutting surface.
If there are nicks, the edge must be ground along its entire length.
If the bevels need to be polished, this must be done before the cutting edge is sharpened. If you process an already sharpened blade, the tip may simply become rounded.

If you are not sure that you will do everything correctly, it is better not to risk it and contact a specialist.

Is it possible to sharpen a knife without a stone?

It happens that a knife needs urgent sharpening, but there are no suitable tools. But don’t worry, you can solve the problem in the following ways:

This will allow you to briefly sharpen a dull device, but such methods cannot be called full-fledged sharpening. Remember that it is better to reserve these measures for extreme cases and not to use them constantly, otherwise the blades will quickly become unusable.

How to sharpen a knife on a knife

What to do if the blade becomes dull and you don’t have a whetstone or an electric sharpener at hand? Sharpen your knife on your knife! Perform this procedure like this:

apply the cutting surface of the dull blade to the back of another knife;
take the tools so that you sharpen “from yourself”, that is, the cutting edges should be directed to the sides;
perform 10-15 vigorous strokes, rubbing one blade against the other.

This will briefly “revive” a dull knife, however, such a procedure is not a full-fledged sharpening.

How to sharpen a knife to razor sharpness

Almost any blade can be given a razor sharpness. To achieve this, use one of the methods below:

When working, be careful not to get injured in the form of a cut or damage the blade.

How to sharpen a serrated knife

If you have serrated knives in your kitchen, then you need to know that these utensils cannot be sharpened with regular sharpeners. To make this version of the cutting surface sharp, you need to do the following:

Prepare a special tool for serrated blades, namely a cone-shaped sharpening rod, preferably made of ceramic.
Determine the side on which the beveled teeth are located and sharpen this part of the blade.
Place the sharpening device at an angle to the beveled part of the blade.
Sharpen each depression with several movements, moving the blade in the direction “away from you.”
Remove the formed burrs using sandpaper or the same rod, but do not press on the surface, but act gently.
Sharpen the smooth side of the blade with a suitable tool.

Remember not to use a rod to trim the serrated surfaces on the side of the blade where they are missing, otherwise you will ruin the knife.

Hello again!

Somehow he comes up to me, my comrade:

“Temych,” he says, “I looked all over the Internet and couldn’t find any information on how to sharpen a knife.” Will you write an article?

- No problem, Lekha! - I tell him, - I just can’t believe that you, a well-known “hacker” in narrow circles, could not find the necessary information.

To which Lekha answers me:

- Yes, of course I found it, but everything is somehow abstruse, and you’ll explain it “on your fingers”...

Well, I think why not. So an article about sharpening knives was born.

Introductory

Sharpening was carried out on a simple kitchen knife, produced by unknown comrades from the Middle Kingdom. The knife was cleaned of dirt, slightly polished and, of course, sharpened. You can see what happened below

It’s unlikely that everyone uses Japanese Damascus kitchen utensils, although the sharpening principle is the same. Still, it doesn’t matter what to sharpen: a Chinese knife for 100 rubles or a Japanese (German) knife made of VG10 thousand steel for 15 rubles, or even more.

The only question is how long the knife will hold an edge. And this just depends on the quality of the steel and the geometry of the blade.

Theory

A little theory. As in any business, we cannot do without theoretical knowledge.

Knife geometry

If you don’t yet know the anatomy of a knife, that is, what a knife is, I advise you to read. The article is encyclopedic, but I hope the basic terms will be clear.

Take any knife and look at it from the edge.

What do you see? Well, except for the edge. Don't you see anything? Strange! You should see a WEDGE. Have you seen it now? Here's something like this:

The cross-section of the knife is a wedge formed by slopes. What allows the knife to cut or chop (it all depends on the purpose of the knife).

And since the slopes form too sharp an angle, somewhere around 10 degrees, this will not allow the knife to remain sharp for a long time (the cutting edge will certainly curl or crumble, depending on the steel). To prevent this from happening, they do carts, which form the cutting edge (CR).

For some steels, such a “trick with ears” as micro-leads is also used. Micro-leads make it possible to increase the service life of the RC on some steels, but this trick does not always work.

Thus, the task of sharpening is to create the correct approach angle. This angle may vary. Different tasks require different sharpening angles.

For example, a fillet knife (designed for thin slicing of meat and fish) is sharpened to an angle of 30-40 degrees,

A machete or survival knife, which is most often used to chop something, is 50-60 degrees. But most often, knives are sharpened to an angle of 40-45 degrees, which is recognized as optimal for solving most household problems.

Let's move on to physics.

Physics of the sharpening process

Did everyone study physics at school? How do hard and soft interact with each other if a softer material is rubbed against a harder one?

Most often, soft material wears out under the influence of friction. The same goes for sharpening. The soft one, in our case, is a knife, and the hard one is an abrasive block.

Under the influence of solid inclusions of the grindstone, metal particles are abraded. Which, in turn, leads to the appearance of a sort of microsaw on the cutting edge of the knife.

This microsaw can be seen on the cutting edge of any knife if you look closely. It is especially visible on new knives. So I tried to photograph her.

Do you see vertical transverse stripes on the cutting edge? These are the marks of a grindstone. The picture below can be seen in more detail.

Thus, it turns out that the smaller the size of the hard inclusions of the whetstone, the smaller the microsaw will be on the cutting edge. Accordingly, the smaller the microsaw, the longer the knife will remain sharp. That's what we need.

That's all physics... And now it's time to move on to practice.

Practice

Theory is good, but you need to practice as much as possible, then your hands will remember and the whole process will settle down in your head.

The most important thing in sharpening is maintaining the angle correctly. And this requires practice. The more you practice, the better you will get. Well, as in any business that requires skill and patience. I dare to assure you that you will not be able to sharpen a knife the first time. But with due diligence... well, you get the idea.

Tool

So, for sharpening you need a whetstone, a little bit of any machine oil and a knife, which we will sharpen.

Grindstone

Buy a simple block at any hardware store. It comes in the shape of a boat, but it’s better to buy a double-sided one and a longer one. When you start to succeed, you will buy something more respectable. Diamond bars, for example...

The bar should not be shorter than 150 millimeters. You can see why this is so simply by trying to sharpen on bars of different lengths. The longer the block, the more convenient it is to sharpen.

Oil

We will need machine or gun oil. Oil is needed to lubricate the whetstone during the sharpening process so that the whetstone does not become clogged with metal particles.

Under no circumstances should you use organic oil, such as sunflower oil. The block will instantly become greasy and can be thrown away.

For the first time, do not take a new knife or the knife you use all the time. Find some knife that you don't mind ruining. This is how you train. My knife for experiments was this, old, old kitchen knife.

Well, we have the tool, let's start sharpening.

Sharpening process

Let's get comfortable. Place the block on the table in front of you, with the short side facing you. You can place something like a rubber mat or newspaper under the block so that it does not slide on the table when sharpening.

We take a knife and start sharpening it.

The sharpening process takes place on sharpening stones of different grain sizes. From large to small. The larger the grain, the faster the metal is removed from the blade. And the smaller the grain, the smaller the microsaw on the cutting edge, and the smaller the microsaw on the cutting edge, the longer the knife will remain sharp.

Since we are sharpening a kitchen knife, we do not need razor sharpness; it is enough that the knife cuts food well. I will tell you about checking the sharpening result below. And now I will repeat.

The block lies on the table, with the short side facing you and the large grain facing up. Easily and naturally, without much pressure, we begin to form the cutting edge. Pre-drop a few drops of oil onto the bar.

The movement shown in the picture below.

Please note that the movement of the knife on the stone should be clear and consistent. From mouth to tip.

They brought it to the edge, tore it off and again. Repeating this movement many times, we achieve the formation of a burr on the back side of the blade, along the entire length of the cutting edge.

Repeatedly - I “bent” this a little, of course. Kitchen knives, if they are not “Japanese”, are made of fairly soft steel; it will be enough to make 40-50 movements to obtain the desired result. Don’t forget to add a few drops of oil as the bar becomes dirty.

A hangnail can be seen or felt. Run your finger across the cutting edge, you feel that your finger seems to be clinging to something. There is some roughness felt. This is a burr, which should be uniform along the entire length of the cutting edge.

Well, we're done with one side. Now you need to perform the same actions on the other side.

You can sharpen the other side by holding the knife by the handle with your left hand, but for example, this is not convenient for me, so I hold the knife in my right hand, but I sharpen it not away from myself, but towards myself.

We carry out the procedure for obtaining a burr along the entire length of the cutting edge on the other side of the knife.

Now you can move to the finer side of the whetstone. On the shallow side of the bar, you need to repeat everything described above.

That's the whole sharpening process. It seems not difficult, but it requires certain skills and a lot of patience.

Sharpening angle control

It is very difficult to hold the knife in the desired position. After all, the most important thing is that you need to hold it at a certain angle during the entire sharpening process. And while on one side it’s even more or less convenient, on the opposite side it’s quite difficult to get into the right corner.

You can use the “crutch method”. That is, some improvised devices or techniques.

Crutch first

A simple office clip is used. We put it on the blade and get an approximate angle of 20-25 degrees (meaning half of the total sharpening angle).

Instead of a clamp, you can make small templates at the desired angles, for example, from wood.

Second crutch

This is not a device, but a technique. Take a simple permanent marker and paint over the lines. When sharpening, the paint will wear off at the points of contact between the leads and the sharpening stone, which will allow you to see what needs to be done - raise the butt or lower it.

The third crutch

The technique is for experienced sharpeners, but the most effective.

The correct angle is determined by the glare on the leads. When the side being sharpened is illuminated at a certain angle, glare appears on the leads. These highlights clearly show where the corner is blocked.

I can’t show you a photo, it’s quite difficult to photograph, and you can’t really explain it in words. This is a must see...

There are several other devices and techniques, but I will talk about them in another article. After all, we still need to check what happened. How well, after all the effort, we sharpened the knife.

Checking the sharpness

A well-sharpened knife should easily shave the hair on your forearm.

After sharpening the next knife, from wrist to elbow I don’t have a single hair left, and only on my left hand. It looks cool - one arm is hairy, and the other is carefully shaved)))

Poems taken from the excellent public brutalica.ru

The knife should shave hair, and, as they say, “with a rebound.” That is, without pressure and at the slightest touch.

But in reality, such sharpness is not needed.

Women especially will swear. After all, they cook delicious dinners using a knife. And with such sharpness, you can cut yourself like hell. And you won’t feel anything, you’ll only notice when the blood starts flowing. Tested it myself.

Therefore, a well-sharpened kitchen knife should easily cut a soft, fresh loaf of bread, chop tomatoes for salad (just not store-bought balls from abroad, but good, juicy tomatoes with thin skin, the kind you can find at grannies’ markets) and easily cope with cling film, also called stretch film (if the knife is dull, it is easier to tear this stretch film with your hands than to cut it).

Does the knife pass all three tests or at least one of them? Congratulations! You managed to sharpen the knife properly. If not, then you will have to work harder...

Conclusion

Well what can I say. When sharpening, you need to develop certain skills. This is not a bike where you learn it once and remember it for life. This requires constant training so that your hands remember the position of the knife and its angle of inclination.

In general, sharpening a knife is a good method of relaxation and distraction. Your hands are busy and your head is off. You sit... shirk... shirk... shirk..., turn it over... and again - shirk... shirk... shirk... The most important thing is that the wife does not need the knife to be sharpened at that very moment... to chop up the salad :-)

So, I advise you to approach sharpening (namely sharpening, there is also such a thing as “sharpening a knife”, this is a little different) to approach it thoroughly, and not from a running start.

With this cheerful picture, let me bow until the next article...

Sometimes sharpening is not necessary, you just need to update the edge a little, removing irregularities and lightly grinding, which makes the knife sharper.

This is called editing.

It is done using musats, fine-grained sandpaper, or the old-fashioned way, on a leather belt.

In this case, the angle is not set, but the one that already exists is maintained.

But if you need to change or restore the geometry of the angle of the cutting edge, then this is sharpening.

And if you don’t maintain the right angle, then cutting will become simply impossible.

A few words about laser sharpening and self-sharpening steel

Some are afraid to sharpen knives at home, because they believe that now workshops offer almost nanotechnology, as a result of which the blade will remain sharp longer. We are talking about laser sharpening, as you understand.

So here it is: it's a myth and marketing.

The laser cannot sharpen absolutely anything., the beam simply indicates the correct angle (just like a laser level to determine the plane). But it sharpens an ordinary stone, so there is nothing special in such a procedure.

Self-sharpening steel is also a fantasy.

Absolutely everything gets dull, but the higher quality the alloy, the longer the knife lasts. Therefore, there is no point in wasting money on such knives; it is better to buy a good sharpener for ordinary ones.

What knives cannot be sharpened yourself?

Let's start with the most important thing: What knives cannot be sharpened?

If you are doing this for the first time, then you cannot sharpen your favorite and convenient knives.

An incorrect sharpening angle can completely ruin the blade, therefore, it is better to experiment with something simpler, so that you can safely throw it away and not be annoyed.

More You shouldn’t sharpen ceramic knives yourself with regular whetstones.. Only diamond takes ceramics, and if you don’t have such a stone, then it’s better to give the knife to a professional.

But if there is, then you can try to sharpen it yourself, since the technology for sharpening a ceramic knife is no different from sharpening steel blades.

Knives made of Damascus steel and damask steel– on the contrary, sharpening on a diamond stone is strictly not recommended, as the blade may crumble.

It is better to give it to a master, since grinding such steel with an ordinary whetstone is not a task for the faint of heart: it is a long process.

Also, You should not sharpen knives with a wavy edge at home.. Moreover, there is no point in taking them to the workshop either, since it is simply impossible to return the saw knife to its original properties.

It’s easier to buy a new one or resharpen it to a regular one.

What to sharpen with? We are considering options

There are many tools for sharpening knives, ranging from electric ones to regular whetstones, which are very inexpensive.

Electric sharpeners

At electric sharpeners two big minuses: expensive price (within 10,000 rubles) and the ability to greatly remove steel when sharpening, which leads to rapid wear of the knife.

But the process is fast, fully automated and there is no need to manually maintain the degree of inclination when sharpening.

How to sharpen a knife on a sharpener is usually written in the instructions that come with the device.

Musat

Musat is a good thing, but They won't be able to sharpen a very dull knife., since it is mainly intended for editing. And the effect of such sharpening lasts for a couple of days at most.

How to sharpen a knife with musat is shown schematically here:

Roller knife

Not a bad option for women. Just a couple of movements on the rollers and the knife cuts well (but not for long). They are inexpensive and everyone can afford them.

Sandpaper

Sharpeners are skeptical about using sandpaper for these purposes. But the practice of those who use it convinces us that this is a completely acceptable option.

I can't say it's the most comfortable, but if you don’t have anything at hand, and you need to sharpen the knife urgently, then you can use sandpaper. Moreover, the article is not for masters, but for amateurs.

Sandpaper strips must be secured to any wooden base (in the form of a block) using tape. On the one hand - the coarse-grained fraction, on the other - the fine-grained fraction.

Ceramic bar

It’s not worth talking about the price here, since they are very cheap. The main thing is to choose it correctly so that you can sharpen it comfortably later.

You need two bars. One with a rougher surface (320 grit), for basic sharpening and edge angle correction, and the second for surface grinding (1000 grit).

The length of the stone should be approximately the same as the longest knife in the house.

Width – the wider, the more convenient it is to work with it. You can read how to sharpen knives with a whetstone below, in a separate block.

Diamond block

Diamond bars don’t cost five kopecks, but the result cannot be compared with an ordinary stone. It’s more comfortable to work with, and it’s also more durable..

It consists of a plastic or aluminum base, onto which two metal plates coated with diamond grains are attached.

Such bars do not wear off like ceramic ones and even after repeated sharpening they remain smooth, rectangular in shape with sharp corners.

Besides all these advantages there is more benefits:

They are not afraid of impact and will not break if accidentally dropped
The diamond block is not clogged with steel particles. After sharpening, you only need to rinse it lightly under water and wipe it clean.
The sharpening process on diamond stones is very fast, which means that the stone will serve you for a very long time, as it hardly wears down
You don't need to buy two bars, as they are made in such a way that one side is rough and the other is for sanding.

There is only one drawback to diamond stones:– price. They are not cheaper than 800 rubles, and if they are, then they are clearly a fake, which will become unusable after five sharpenings.

Japanese water stones

A water stone is also a block. But it should not be used dry, but moistened with water.

During the friction process, a suspension is formed, which simultaneously with sharpening polishes the surface.

They are not cheap, but they wear out quite quickly. So, for simple kitchen knives this is not the best choice.

Sharpening using an abrasive wheel on a drill or machine

Should not be doing that if this is your first time sharpening a knife.

A couple of seconds is enough to cause irreparable harm. Moreover, in this case the steel gets too hot and it is necessary to cool it during the process, and if this is not done, the edge may crumble.

How to properly sharpen knives on a machine is the topic of a separate and extensive article, therefore, we will not focus on this here.

Also be sure to watch this video, it is very on topic.

Since, in this matter, it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times!

About sharpening angles and methods of fixing the blade

But no matter what stone you choose, the sharpening technology is the same. And this is the main thing you should learn.

First, practice on the simplest ceramic block, and when you see what you can do, buy something more expensive.

The most important thing in the sharpening process is to return the original angle of the edge. For kitchen and home knives it is usually standard: from 25 to 45 degrees.

Moreover, the lower the degree, the thinner the cutting edge becomes. Yes, the knife will be sharp, but it will also dull much faster, and also lose its edge shape as soon as it touches something hard.

So, if you want to resort to sharpening as little as possible, you should not make an angle of 25 degrees.

A knife that is too sharp is a rather traumatic thing in everyday life.

It will cut well not only vegetables and meat, but also kitchen towels along with your hands at the moment you wipe it.

And here, pay attention to the fact that the angle in the table is indicated as full, that is, it is the sum of the two sides of the edge. And if you want to sharpen a knife by 30 degrees, then you need to remove 15 degrees from each side of the blade.

Accordingly, if you need an angle of 45 degrees, then remove 22.5 degrees from each side.

You need to maintain this angle during the entire sharpening process, trying not to deviate from the specified value, since the final result depends on it.

Now the question is different: how to fix and calculate this angle by eye?

This can be done as shown in the picture:

After you place the paper, you will approximately know at what angle you need to hold the knife.

Well, now let's move on to the sharpening process itself.

Step-by-step guide to sharpening a knife on a whetstone

1. First things first place the block on the table so that it is convenient for you to sharpen. You can place a kitchen towel under it to prevent slipping.
There is no need to hold the block in your hands, since in this case there can be no question of controlling the angles.
2. Wet it with water. This is necessary for better sliding of the steel over the stone and further easy cleaning of the block from metal particles.
3. Place the knife across the block and start making movements away from you, as if you are sharpening a pencil. It’s best to look at the video we posted in the last block to see exactly what it looks like.

You can’t put too much pressure on the stone, this will not speed up the process at all, but it can seriously deform the edge. Swipe one side of the block 50 times, trying to maintain the angle all the time.

As soon as you notice that a slight roughness, the so-called burr, has formed on the cutting edge, turn the knife over and sharpen the other side.

This is what a hangnail looks like:

Important! If a burr does not form, then continue sharpening. Only this unevenness will show that the steel has been ground down enough and there is no point in sharpening it further.

Once you've finished the second side, the burr may transfer to that side.

In this case, turn the knife again with the other side and sharpen. And do this until it completely disappears.

And only after that you can proceed to grinding the edge on a fine stone. Here you no longer need to move the knife 50 times, 20 times is enough.

And if you want the knife to dull less often, then you can bring the edge to a mirror shine using a regular leather belt, which is lubricated with GOI paste.

In this case, the movements should not be point down, but vice versa. That is, you also “shape” the belt, only in the other direction.

We have described the most basic method, which does not require any special costs or equipment. And there is another one, very convenient, but for it you need to build a small machine.

Here's the one in the photo:

As you can see, there is no need to hold the blade during the process, controlling the degree. The inclined and fixed block does everything for you, and the main task is to hold the knife straight, at 90 degrees.

And this, you see, is much easier than maintaining the level of 22.5 degrees (to be honest, this is an almost impossible task for a beginner, even though in theory everything sounds simple).

After all, a deviation of some micron already leads to the fact that the quality of sharpening will not be the best.

How to sharpen a knife in extreme conditions?

And it happens that there is absolutely nothing suitable at hand, and you just need to sharpen a knife urgently.

In this case, the following methods will help you out:

Sharpening a knife on the corner of a concrete step in the entrance (just wash it thoroughly before doing this)
Sharpening a knife on an ordinary stone from the street, which looks more or less smooth
Sharpening a knife on the rough edge of a ceramic plate or regular cup

We hope that now you will have an understanding of all the ways you can sharpen any knife at home without damaging the blade or yourself.

If dull knives no longer perform their primary function or you're worried about cutting yourself on them, it's time to sharpen them with a whetstone. Sharpening stones, also called whetstones, are made from natural or synthetic materials and can be used dry, with oil or water. Having chosen a suitable sharpening stone, all that remains is to sharpen the knife blade on it to its former sharpness. And with skillful hands, your knives will be like new again!

Steps

Part 1

Selecting a whetstone

Examine the knives. Take out the knives you would like to sharpen. Look to see how dull the blades are so you can select a sharpening stone with the right grit. To test the knife, cut a tomato or apple with it. Assess the resistance that occurs when working with a knife. The greater the resistance, the duller the knife.
- The frequency of use of knives should also be taken into account. If you use them daily, they will probably be duller than if you use them occasionally.
Select the appropriate type of whetstone. You will have to choose between a natural or synthetic whetstone, which can be used for wet sharpening (using water), oil sharpening, or dry sharpening. There are also diamond sharpening stones, which are metal whetstones coated with a layer of very small artificial diamonds. Sharpening stones for wet sharpening are the softest of all, so they can quickly sharpen knives. But, unfortunately, these stones wear out faster than others. Oil sharpening stones are among the cheapest and are made from harder materials.
- Working with an oil sharpening stone is quite messy and you have to clean up after yourself, but this type of sharpening stone itself lasts a long time.
- Diamond sharpening stones are among the most expensive, but they also last the longest.
Select the grit of the whetstone. Sharpening stones come in different grits. In general, they are divided into coarse, medium and fine grain stones. If your knives are completely dull, you need to start sharpening with a coarse-grained stone and finish with a fine-grained stone. If the knives have been sharpened recently and are not too dull, try sharpening them on a medium-grit stone. The grit markings for the right sharpening stones for you can be indicated by numbers ranging from 325 (coarse-grained stones) to 1200 (fine-grained stones).
- You may be able to purchase a whetstone with a different grit on both sides.
Part 2
Preparation for sharpening
1. Follow the instructions that came with the sharpening stone you purchased. Since there are a wide variety of whetstones available, it is important to read the instructions that come with the whetstone you purchase. The instructions will tell you whether to wet the stone with water or oil it during the sharpening process.
  - Diamond sharpening stones are usually used dry or moistened with water.
2. Practice holding the knife at a 20-degree angle to a flat surface. To find the right angle, first hold the knife in front of you with the cutting edge of the blade pointing straight down. This will be a right angle (90 degree angle). Tilt the knife about halfway to the side until it is at a 45-degree angle to the surface. Tilt the knife halfway to the side again so that the blunt edge is just slightly raised off the table. This will be an angle of approximately 20 degrees.
  - If the knife blade is very large or thick, it may require a slightly larger sharpening angle.
  - When using a very fine grit whetstone, you may want to use a shallower sharpening angle to avoid sharpening the knife blade too much.
3. Soak the wet sharpening stone for 45 minutes in water. If you took a wet sharpening stone, place it in a tray and completely fill it with water. Let it sit in the water for at least 45 minutes before sharpening your knives.
  - If such a stone is too dry, it may scratch the knife blade or leave burrs on it.
  - Do not soak a sharpening stone intended for sharpening with oil in water, otherwise it may be damaged.
4. Place the whetstone on a damp cloth. Dampen a cloth with water and wring it out. Place a cloth on your work surface and place a sharpening stone on top of it. The cloth will prevent the stone from moving when you sharpen your knives. Do this with any type of sharpening stone (wet sharpening stone, oil sharpening stone or diamond sharpening stone).
  - If you have a double-sided sharpening stone with different grits, place it with the coarser side facing up. This allows you to quickly sharpen your knives before turning the stone over to the other side to polish the edge.
  - You'll probably want to use an old cloth for the job, since you won't be able to clean it off any crumbs left after sharpening.
5. Lubricate the sharpening stone with oil. If you have a sharpening stone that requires oiling, you can spray it with oil or pour oil directly onto it. Rub the oil into the stone with your fingers. Make sure it is completely covered with oil.
  - Use special oil designed for sharpening. It can be either mineral oil or oil made without the use of petroleum products. The sharpening oil will contain special additives that protect the metal of the blades being sharpened.
  - Refrain from lubricating the whetstone with cooking oils (vegetable or vegetable oils).
  Part 3
  Knife sharpening
  1. Place the knife on the whetstone. With one hand, grasp the handle of the knife and place it against the sharpening stone at a 20-degree angle. The cutting edge of the blade should be facing away from you. Place the fingertips of your other hand on the flat part of the blade next to its cutting edge.
    - The fingertips placed on the blade will apply pressure and control the position of the blade while sharpening.
  2. Run one side of the blade along the whetstone. Slowly move the blade along the stone, gradually moving it in an arc. As a result, the entire cutting edge of the blade from base to tip should pass over the stone, ensuring uniform sharpening. Continue sharpening the knife on one side until it becomes sharp.
    - Remember to moisten or oil the whetstone when it dries.