Even the best quality knife can become blunt over time, making it impossible to use kitchen equipment for its intended purpose. Due to the presence in the sale of special devices to restore the sharpness of the cutting surface, this problem can be easily solved on its own. How to choose a quality sharpener, as well as how to use this device, will be discussed further.
Varieties
In order to figure out which model of knife sharpening device to purchase, it is necessary to carefully examine the main differences between sharpeners. Most often on sale you can find the following models:
- Devices with one-sided sharpening.
- Sharpeners, sharpening knives on both sides.
- Mechanical products.
- Electrical devices.
Not only the cost of products, but also the speed and quality of sharpening knives will depend on the type of sharpener used. The advantage of mechanical products is that it is possible to restore kitchen equipment even in the absence of electricity in the network.
Also, such devices can be taken along for long hikes, expeditions and fishing. Devices that operate on 220 V mains, depend on electricity, but allow sharpening knives without any extra physical effort and in a shorter time.
How to choose a knife sharpener
The choice of the type of product will depend on how often the knife sharpening device is used. If the sharpener is necessary for home use, then it is enough to purchase an inexpensive electric model with a capacity of up to 100 watts. Typically, the magnitude of the revolutions of such a device does not exceed 150 rpm, but even with such a speed of processing a metal surface, it is possible to achieve high-quality sharpening.
When choosing an electric model, you need to choose a device that will be most suitable for a set of functions.
If you often have to sharpen severely damaged knives, then it is better to choose a sharpener, in which there is a possibility of pre-processing the tool.
If sharpening is necessary for professional use, then the most suitable option would be to purchase a device in which there is a possibility to replace the emery element.
The use of mechanical devices will require a large investment of time and effort, but such devices are inexpensive, work without connection to the power grid, and the service life with careful handling will be at least 10 years. The mechanical systems consist of a device for fixing a knife and a movable lever located at a fixed angle relative to the surface to be ground.
To achieve excellent results in sharpening kitchen tools, you must not only choose a quality device, but also learn how to use it correctly.
How to use a sharpener
Sharpener is easy to use. In mechanical models in which there are V-shaped cutting edges, to perform sharpening, you should install the knife in the device and, moving the kitchen equipment back and forth, to remove the metal on both sides.
In such devices, you can very quickly sharpen the knife, but with frequent use of this method, the knife blade is too quickly erased. More gentle with respect to the metal of the cutting tool is the use of a device within which there are diamond-coated rollers.
If you need to sharpen a ceramic knife, then you can not do without a device, the rollers of which are also made of ceramic. These knives allow you to sharpen kitchen equipment more qualitatively by turning the rollers during the movement of the knife. To use a roller sharpener should be the same as when using a V-shaped device.
Electric models allow you to sharpen knives with higher quality. Even in inexpensive sharpeners there is the possibility of additional turning after the main processing. Sharpening kitchen knives with a network-powered device is performed by slowly moving the knife in a special recess in which the emery rollers rotate.
Browse popular models
To immediately purchase a quality device, it is recommended to compare the sharpeners suggested in the article and choose the most suitable model. The most popular among customers are the devices listed below.
Chefs choice 220
It belongs to the category of hybrid models. The device has a main sharpening mechanism, driven by both a 40 W electric motor and a mechanical part for final sharpening of the tool. The device has tapered rollers with a diamond coating, which produce metal removal at an angle of 20 degrees.
Despite the considerable cost, model Chefs Choice 220 is ideal for both professional use and for private. It is enough to purchase a high-quality grinding station once, the diamond working elements of which are designed for 2,000 knife sharpening, in order to forget about the problem of insufficient sharpness of kitchen equipment. Price sharpeners Chefs Choice 2200 + 6000 rubles.
KitchenIQ 50073
This model can only be used for sharpening knives with a straight blade. The sharpener has an electrical and mechanical part, which are used respectively for the main sharpening and subsequent finishing of the blade. Through the use of ceramic rollers can achieve high quality metal polishing. The disadvantage of this device is the inability to replace the abrasive element, so it is recommended to use the KitchenIQ 50073 only as a non-professional tool. The cost of a knife sharpening machine is about 4,000 rubles.
Knife sharpener
Ideal for home use. The little tool perfectly copes both with sharpening of ceramic, and with restoration of steel tools. With a power consumption of 40 W, the device will allow you to sharpen the knife for 2-3 minutes. The main advantage of this model is the presence of rubberized legs with suction cups, which will allow sharpening more comfortable and safe. The cost of sharpeners - 2 000 rubles.
Any of the proposed models will allow you to perform high-quality processing of the cutting surface, but if for any reason there is no opportunity to purchase a high-quality branded sharpener, you can make an improvised product from improvised means, with the help of which you can also perform an operation to restore the sharpness of kitchen equipment.
How to make a machine for sharpening knives do it yourself
Sharpening the knife qualitatively is also possible with a conventional abrasive block, but the main difficulty in this case lies in the location of the tool to be sharpened relative to the emery stone. Perform this work on the eye can a person with the necessary skills and experience. Significantly simplify the process of self-sharpening can, if you make a machine in which the surface to be treated and the abrasive bar will be correctly fixed.
With your own hands such a device will not make much work. If you follow the rules below, the homemade mechanical machine will not be inferior in quality to the best store samples.
First of all, it is necessary to prepare abrasive sticks of high granularity. You should also stock up with GOI paste, which the blade will be polished at the final stage of processing.
Production of the machine begins with the base. The material is ideal laminated plywood with a thickness of 12 mm. Plywood is necessary to cut several polygons, which are then connected with screws. The result should be a wedge-shaped part.
Then, in the lower horizontal plane, a hole with a diameter of 8 mm is drilled into which a 200 mm long stud is inserted. In the upper part of the stud is fixed with a lamb nut metal plate with a hole in the middle.
In this hole you need to install a lever of a suitable diameter. It is necessary to pick up this part in such a way that its opposite end lightly touches the upper part of the wedge-shaped base. In this place the knife for sharpening at a certain angle will be fixed.
For ease of use homemade machine is recommended to install a magnetic holder. To do this, you need to glue a powerful neodymium magnet to the back of the plywood base. The emery block is attached to the lever with a screw clamp.
It is possible to make a machine from scrap materials, on which it will be possible to sharpen not only knives, but also larger tools. You can significantly complicate the design, if you make the upper plane of the base adjustable.
To do this, it is enough to install the upper part on the canopy, and to move the lower part using a threaded mechanism. The adjustable base allows sharpening at a different angle, which makes the homemade machine more versatile.
Conclusion
To address each time the knives are blunted, in specialized workshops not only is financially costly, but also rather wasteful in terms of spending personal time. It is much easier to purchase a sharpener that will allow you to restore the cutting tool in a matter of minutes.
If there is a desire to make independently a mechanical device for sharpening knives, then the instruction given in this article will allow you to make a working machine with your own hands that will not be inferior in its functionality to factory specimens.
