Do-it-yourself knife sharpener - instructions on how to make a sharpener with your own hands with step-by-step diagrams + photo reviews of finished products

An apartment kitchen, a fishing camp, a hunting lodge - in these places, as in many others, knives are required. Working with any knife only brings joy and satisfaction when the knife is sharp. An incorrectly sharpened knife is no different from a dull one, so below we will talk about how to create a machine for sharpening knives with your own hands without the use of complex technologies and expensive materials.

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.

Recommendation for choosing a motor for a homemade grinding machine

The engine is taken depending on your needs, if you are going to sharpen only awls, small knives, etc., then an engine from a washing machine from the USSR will suit you. Such engines usually have 1380 rpm. per minute and 180-250 watts of power. Now there are motors from modern automatic washing machines, but they are more difficult to connect - you need a special board, but you can regulate the speed on them.

For more confident work, it is better to take a 400W engine and 1380-3000 rpm. Such a sharpener will be a good help in the workshop.

But if you want to work with large parts, sharpen crowbars, for example :), then you need to use a motor of about 750 W or more and 3000 rpm.

Photo of self-made emery:

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.

1. From 200 to 300 grit is rare and is not used for sharpening knives.
2. 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.
3. 400-500 grit – medium roughness. Little used abrasiveness. There are no or almost no such stones.
4. 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.
5. 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.

What to sharpen with?

Before you start restoring the sharpness of an edge, you need to familiarize yourself with all types of tools for work and their features. Not every device can sharpen a blade to working condition.

Sharpening stone

Sharpening stones, made from abrasive materials, are the most popular tools used for restoring cutting edges. Foreign companies indicate on the surface of the bars the number of abrasive grains per 1 square millimeter. There are stones with small, medium, and large grains on sale. With their help, you can perform both rough and finishing metal processing. Sharpening knives on sandpaper must be done carefully, making movements only in one direction.

Mechanical sharpener

Popular sharpeners that are purchased for sharpening kitchen knives. It is a structure that has two abrasive plates that are fixed at equal angles. It is enough to run the blade over them several times to restore sharpness. Cannot be used for sharpening special blades (hunting, sporting).

Electric sharpener

Expensive devices that are used for sharpening various blades. Allows you to achieve better results compared to mechanical sharpeners. This is due to the fact that this mechanism automatically selects the optimal sharpening angle.

Musat

A cylindrical file, sold separately, included with kitchen tools. Used to bring the cutting edge back to working condition after a short period of use with the blade. If there is serious damage to it, musat will not help.

Lansky sharpener

A special device that is used to restore sharpness to small blades. The main advantage of this sharpener is the ability to set any angles and maintain them throughout the working process. The sharpener is equipped with several bars for rough and finishing processing. The work is carried out manually.

Sharpening and grinding machines

In production, blades are often sharpened on machines. Using industrial equipment, you can accurately sharpen any tool. However, a master must operate the machines. This is due to the fact that the abrasive disc at high speeds can damage the cutting edge if moved incorrectly. We must not forget about cooling the metal during work.

Sharpening a knife on a machine

Whetstone material

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

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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).

At what angle should knives be sharpened, and how to fix the knife when sharpening

The main conditions that determine the sharpening angles of the blade are the purpose and conditions of use of the blade. The smallest sharpening angle assumes the sharpest blade for thin cuts, as an example of a fillet cut. A larger angle of the sharpened blade is preferred when editing a chopping tool - an ax, a camp knife. When applying knowledge in practice, simply to obtain the desired sharpness and resistance to dullness of different tools, be sure to take into account the type of steel of the blade.

Having decided on the sharpening angle, hold the knife with one or two hands, pressing it against the abrasive. Holding with two hands occurs by the handle and the opposite part from the edge of the blade being sharpened, thus holding a tool with a long and wide cutting part. Control over the required fixation and compliance with the angle is visually tactile and acquired with experience.

The required angle for each tool used when sharpening the blade:

No. n\n	Types of knife	Angle (degrees)
1	dining room	55 — 60
2	kitchen utility - household	30 — 35
3	professional kitchen	25 — 30
4	professional chef	20 — 25
5	professional for fish	25
6	professional for meat	30
7	vegetable	35
8	for root vegetables	22 — 25
9	meat deboning	25 — 30
10	sirloin	10 — 15
11	for chopping bones	30 — 45
12	folding - pocket	20 — 25
13	tourist - universal	30 — 35
14	tourist, camp knife	40 — 45
15	special purpose shoemaker	30 — 40
16	leather cutting knife	20 — 25
17	carpentry	30 — 45
18	camper - machete	45 — 60

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.

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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.

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.

To begin with, train on the simplest ceramic bar, 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.

Here is a table of recommended angles:

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 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.

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.

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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.

Knife sharpening device

Essentially this is a holder for sharpening stones. The principle is quite simple, two triangular wood corners are connected to each other by pins with wings. A sharpening stone is clamped between them at the required angle.

You can set the required angle using a protractor or using a special program on your smartphone. When sharpened this way, the blade is kept strictly vertical. This is easier than holding it at a constant angle.

The same idea has another embodiment. On a reliable base, fixed holders are made into which the bars are inserted and secured in the desired position.

Similar sharpeners are sold in stores. But you can do it yourself.

A homemade sharpener is made from wooden blocks. In which a hole is made for stones. You can hold the product with your hand. To maintain the correct sharpening angle, do not forget to hold the blade strictly vertically. At the beginning it is difficult, but then your hand gets used to it.

Homemade bar holders.

What will you need?

1. Metal rod 5-6 mm in diameter. It will be cut into pieces of varying lengths.
2. Electrode for welding. It is needed in the manufacture of corner guides. The element must be freed from flux and cleaned with fine sandpaper.
3. 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)
4. Metal corners 9x9x0.6 cm.
5. All that is usually needed for fastening: a few nuts and screws.

Hiking methods

If conditions do not allow sharpening a knife using one of the methods listed above, you can use simpler hiking methods:

• glass;
• bottom of ceramic dishes;
• sandpaper;
• second knife
• stone.

When using traditional methods, you should carefully follow safety rules.

Glass

When traveling, you can sharpen a knife using glass. For this purpose, you can take the rear side window of your own car. The main thing is to lower it as low as possible so that most of the surface is hidden inside.

Bottom of ceramic dishes

If you don’t have glass on hand, but have ceramic dishes, they are also suitable for sharpening blades. Ceramic itself is slightly harder than metal. The bottom part of the cookware is suitable for sharpening. The disadvantage of this method is the long time that will have to be spent on work.

Sandpaper

If you have sandpaper, you may not be able to sharpen the blade properly, but it is quite possible to “sharpen” a dull edge. The algorithm of actions in this case is identical to sharpening using a whetstone. The blade must be moved along the grainy side.

Second knife

Using a second knife, you can sharpen two blades at the same time. To do this, hold a knife in each hand and begin to sharpen both edges against each other. 10 minutes are enough for the tools to become sharp again.

Stone

If you don’t have any other tools at hand, you can sharpen the knife with an ordinary stone. It will replace a special block. It is impossible to achieve ideal sharpness as a result of such sharpening, but returning the device to working condition is quite possible.

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:

1. The base is a rectangular wooden plate with dimensions 440*92 mm and a thickness of 18 mm.
2. Wooden die 92*45*45 mm (for fixing the vertical threaded rod).
3. A wooden block 245*92 mm and 18 mm thick (the plate to which the knife will be attached).
4. Iron plate 200*65 mm and metal thickness 4 mm.
5. Piano hinge, 92 mm long.
6. M8 hairpin 325 mm long.
7. Nuts and bolts with M8 thread.
8. Drill 6.5 mm.
9. M8 tap.
10. 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.

Correct sharpening of knives

There are knives that are impossible to sharpen due to their textured blades. Also, ceramic products cannot be sharpened independently. There are blades made of high-strength steel that very rarely become dull. But sharpening such a blade is not an easy task.

On the contrary, there are knives made from low-quality alloys that need to be sharpened frequently. For sharpening you will need abrasive wheels. If it is not possible to purchase them, then you can make the bars yourself. Using a wooden block and sandpaper.

Maintaining the desired sharpening angle during operation is quite difficult. Great experience and dexterity are required. Standard angles are 20-30 degrees. When sharpening a knife yourself, the main rule is to maintain the correct angle.

No special force is required in the process. The abrasive stone and the blade must touch at a certain angle. This is the basic rule of the technique of sharpening knives with your own hands.

Basic mistakes

At first glance, sharpening is a simple process, but once you delve deeper, it becomes clear that there are quite a few nuances. An incorrect process leads to damage and uneven sharpening of the product. Common mistakes:

Lack of cutting edge

As a result, small burrs appear on the sides. Which give a temporary feeling of the sharpness of the knife, but after a short period of work, the blade again becomes dull. Both edges should be sharpened carefully. And at the final stage you should use fine sandpaper or an abrasive wheel.

Presence of paint, oil, dirt

These contaminants mix with the grinding abrasive and cause scratches and microchips of the blade.

Pressing the knife

The important point is not the applied force, but the duration of the sharpening process. Strong pressure is accompanied by chipping of microparticles from the blade, which leads to poor-quality sharpening.

Incorrect sharpening angle

It depends on the purpose of the tool and the grade of steel you are processing. For household knives, the sharpening angle is 20-25 degrees. For products that will work with heavy loads, the angle should be kept at 40 degrees.

Simple rules will help you save time and nerves. If you follow them, you won’t have to sharpen the knife. Everything will work out the first time.

At what angle to sharpen?

The area of ​​application of the knife determines its sharpening angle. It is different for each blade:

• Straight razors are sharpened at 8-12°. A small angle allows you to shave off small hairs, but cutting anything else is not recommended; the blade will quickly become dull;
• fillet knives are sharpened almost the same at an angle of 10-15°;
• knives for slicing food are sharpened at 15-20°;
• for hunting knives you should choose an angle of 20-25°. At this angle, soft foods are cut perfectly and the blade can handle bones and tendons;
• Heavy chopping knives, such as machetes, are sharpened at an angle of 30-50°. It is difficult to cut bread with such a knife, but it will perfectly cut the trunks of small trees, vines and other vegetation.

These sharpening angles were chosen based on many years of experience. But there are knives with several zones of different sharpening. But such products are rare and making a blade like this is quite difficult. The sharpening device must maintain the required angle. This is the main criterion for homemade sharpeners.

Example of sharpening angles.

What are the differences between abrasive stones?

Sharpening stones have different characteristics. They come in different sizes, shapes and grains. The ideal dimensions are one and a half times the length of the knife being sharpened. It will be much easier and more comfortable to work with such a block.

Sharpening stones are divided according to grain size. They come in different sizes, let’s look at the most popular ones:

• grain of 200-300 units, super coarse. In English they are called Extra coarse. Such bars are not used for sharpening knives. They are suitable for sharpening construction tools;
• grain of 300-350 units, rough stones. They are called Coarse in English. Damaged or severely dull blades are sharpened with such stones;
• grain of 400-500 units, medium grain. In English it sounds like Me. You can live without such a stone in a household;
• grain 600-700 units, fine grain. In English it is called Fine. These bars are considered the most popular in the home workshop. Imo can sharpen knives and tools;
• grain 1000-1200 units, very fine. In English it is called Ultra fine. Such bars are intended for finishing the knife. They are often used in homemade sharpeners.

There are also smaller grains on stones. But they are used by professional craftsmen who bring the knives to razor sharpness.

Examples of abrasive stones.

Stages of work on knife processing

1. You need to start sharpening from the edge of the blade that is located closer to the handle of the blade.
2. To make it more convenient to control and not go beyond the desired part, you can paint it over with some bright marker.
3. The movement itself during the process is consistent, light, without pressure.
4. 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.

How to sharpen a ceramic knife

The right choice for sharpening a ceramic knife is an electric sharpener. The material used to make blades for such knives has high hardness, resistance to oxidation and abrasion, and therefore holds the factory sharpening for a very long time. During operation, careful handling and storage is the key to the sharpness of the cutting edge of a ceramic blade. It is not recommended to use whetstones, sharpening machines, pastes, or sandpaper for sharpening, as there is a chance of doing more harm than good. Therefore, if you are unable to use your own electric sharpener, it is better to contact a specialized workshop that provides such a service (always with a guarantee).

Photo of a DIY knife sharpener