How to sharpen a hunting knife correctly and at what angle?

Every novice hunter knows that choosing a special knife for hunting is far from easy. In this case, what is meant is not so much the popularity of the model, the cost of the tool, the uniqueness of the shape, or the time of existence of the manufacturing company in the domestic or world market. The choice of a knife for hunting is primarily based on the stated technical characteristics of the product, the materials chosen for manufacturing and the individual preferences of the future owner.

Possible defects on knives

Improper use of the knife can cause the following damage:

• notches and microcracks appear on the edge of the knife;
• the tip of the knife may bend or break off;
• The knife handle and shank may break off.

A real hunting knife is a very expensive item, and for many, knives become a source of pride. In order for a knife to last for many years, as it loses its ability to cut, it needs to be sharpened. There is no need to test the strength of the tool and try to cut the carcass with a dull knife, as this may deteriorate it even more.

Touchstone

A homemade knife sharpener will be much more convenient and accurate if you do not buy a whetstone for it, but make it from a piece of square corrugated pipe 200-300 mm long (on the left in the figure below) or a wooden block.

Homemade whetstones for knife sharpeners

The edges of the base are covered with sandpaper, respectively. numbers. Glue – stationery adhesive stick. The advantages of a skin-based donkey are obvious:

• Much cheaper than an emery block.
• Can be made with 4 numbers of abrasive, while sanding blocks have a maximum of 2 sides.
• Wear (depletion) of the abrasive is possible no more than the thickness of the abrasive layer of the sandpaper; the waviness of the RK due to the rotation of the whetstone on the sharpener rod (see below) is also no more than this amount.
• As a result, the sharpening angle error due to the development and rotation of the whetstone does not exceed fractions of a degree.
• The chip from the pipe can be put on a threaded rod (in the center in the figure), which makes changing the abrasive faster and easier.
• A touchstone made from a pipe or a wooden block is held in any clamps under an emery block no worse than the last one, on the right in Fig.

Hunting knife maintenance and optimal sharpening angle

In the manufacture of all hunting knives, only hard grades of steel are used, so sharpening them correctly is quite difficult. And I would like to note that the modern alloys used for making knives are quite flexible, which allows the blade to maintain the sharpness of the cutting edge for quite a long period of time, especially when the tool is handled correctly. A knowledgeable hunter will never leave his knife sticking in the ground, will not put it in boiling water when cooking, will not open canned food with it, or leave the blade uncleaned after cutting up the prey.

Usually, sharpening a hunting knife is enough to sand and debone one or two large carcasses, but over time the blade loses its sharpness and the tool loses the accuracy and quality of the cut. And in this case, the correct sharpening is of great importance; it is important not to spoil the cutting edge and slopes, to maintain the sharpening angle of the hunting knife, preventing the metal from chipping from the sharp strip of the tool.

It is impossible to properly sharpen a hunting knife without studying the design of the blade. The blade must have bevels on both sides (they are also called chamfers). These chamfers represent a decreasing plane extending from the butt to the blade, as well as a sharp edge of the cutting part, which is sharpened.

The angle of the narrow and even cutting edge determines how sharp the blade is. This sharpening angle for hunting knives should be in the range of 15-30°, and the accuracy and quality of the cut of this tool depends on how accurately it is observed in the process of sharpening the blade. Thus, the first thing to do when sharpening hunting knives is to determine the angle of the cutting edge.

Hunting knives have a certain classification of products in accordance with the existing cutting edge angle, which determines the specification for processing the prey. Hunting knives sharpened at an angle of 30° are suitable for rough chopping and boning work, at 20° - universal knives designed for work of varying complexity, at 15° - for neat thin cuts when sanding prey, as well as separating cartilage and bones.

The angle of the cutting edge is common to both sides. Thus, in order to understand how to sharpen a hunting knife, it is necessary to divide its size in half. The result will decide the question of what the correct sharpening angle for a hunting knife should be, as well as how exactly to position the sharpening device over the tool or place the knife above the abrasive surface.

Blade anatomy

Of course, different blades have different cross-sectional shapes, but their common details can still be identified and clearly defined. Therefore, let’s take an average image, using which we can understand all the necessary terms.

Bold italics indicate details that can be found in the figure.

• The thickness of the blade is the thickness usually measured closer to the butt , where the descents .
• The thickness of the reduction is the distance between the points where the descents end and the approaches (one point on each side, see figure). Why the thickness of the information? Because it is there that the metal begins to converge into one line - the cutting edge.
• Leads are narrow planes that, when converging at one point, form a cutting edge. When examining the blade, it is they that shine in the light, and not the edge, as is mistakenly believed.
• The cutting edge is practically an “imaginary” line, which is still several microns thick, but is conditionally only a place where the leads meet.
• Sharpening angle - the angle at which the leads intersect (or descents - in the absence of leads); This term is popularly understood as the “sharpness” of sharpening. By the way, this angle is always greater than the one at which the slopes meet.

Anatomy of a blade: a clear understanding of what descents, approaches and cutting edges are

The smaller the angle between the slopes (and this value ranges from 8 to 50 degrees), the sharper the knife, that is, we have to apply less force to cut.

How to sharpen a hunting knife correctly?

You can use a variety of tools to sharpen hunting knives. So, usually knife manufacturing companies offer to purchase an additional special sharpener when purchasing. Often, special sheaths for hunting knives have convenient compartments for storing such sharpening devices. In field conditions, mechanical pocket sharpeners are the best choice. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, but are always made from only the best materials so that you can restore the sharpness of your instrument with just a few simple movements.

If we talk about the shape of sharpeners from manufacturing companies, they can have the shape of round, light rods, up to 15 centimeters long and several centimeters in diameter. Such devices are housed in protective plastic cases and also have fastening elements that allow the sharpeners to be placed on a hunter’s belt or in a sheath. Tools of the same type can also have the form of plates. The material for the manufacture of cylindrical devices is ceramics, flat ones are made of diamond abrasive.

Pocket sharpeners from the manufacturer can also be a small tool of a round, rectangular or oval (with smoothed corners) shape that fits in the palm of your hand. In them, miniature plates of carbide or ceramic stones are located at an angle specified for sharpening in special recesses made in a plastic case.

The greatest effect can be achieved if you take advantage of manufacturers' offers and buy a knife sharpener case. It will help sharpen a hunting knife on a clamp with numbered sharpening angles, using whetstones of different colors, each of which indicates the size of the abrasive grains.

The additionally supplied special oil allows you to achieve perfect sharpening sharpness. This set of sharpeners is not pocket-sized. It is perfect for teaching beginners, and you can start using sharpeners by sharpening, for example, kitchen knives, and gradually master sharpening any cutting tools.

It should be noted that pocket sharpeners are the best choice directly for hunting, but thorough preparation of the tool for it should be done at home.

How to correctly set the overall cutting edge angle

This is important: if we are talking about a knife with symmetrical slopes, then the sharpening angle will be twice as large as the one under which we place the sharpening stone. For example, if we prefer to sharpen our hunting knife at 30 degrees, then there should be an angle of 15 degrees between the blade and the block.

From this we derive two concepts:

• full angle, which is the sharpening angle (in our example - 30 degrees);
• half angle is the one at which we place the blade in relation to the block (in our example - 15 degrees).

We determine the angle itself based on the purpose of the knife.

Special, particularly delicate cutting tools

By these we mean surgical instruments, shaving devices, blades, etc.

The sharpening angle for delicate instruments is 8–10 degrees.

The expression “razor sharp” arose for a reason - the angle of approach of the razor is one of the sharpest among all cutting tools

Knives for working on soft materials

These are mostly kitchen knives: fillet knives, vegetable chopping knives, etc.

The sharpening angle for fillet and vegetable knives is 10–20 degrees.

Fillet knives work with soft materials, so their approaches can be brought at a fairly sharp angle, up to 20 degrees

Universal kitchen knives

Chef's knives for various purposes can work on both soft and hard materials - cartilage, small bones, frozen fish or meat.

The sharpening angle of kitchen “universal” is 20–25 degrees.

“Universalists” have to work both with soft meat and bread, and with cartilage. We take the approach angle for them at a medium angle, up to 25 degrees

Knives for hunters, fishermen, survivalists. Tactical knives

Such tools are often found not only with soft camping products such as sandwiches, but are also designed to cut branches and fishing lines. Sometimes they are even used as sling cutters.

The sharpening angle of “street” knives is 22–25 degrees.

Hunting, tactical (pictured) and survivalist knives encounter hard materials and require a larger approach angle

Knives and other tools for working on hard materials

This includes kukris, machetes, garden knives, tourist and ordinary household axes.

The sharpening angle of knives for heavy work is 20–40 degrees, sometimes up to 50.

Machetes, kukri and other tools that work for striking and chopping need to be sharpened to 40–50 degrees

How to sharpen a knife at home?

The most affordable and fairly effective way is to sharpen a knife at home using abrasive stones. Such bars are presented in a wide range in almost any hardware store, however, in the case of a hunting knife, options with a wide and perfectly flat surface, up to 25 centimeters long and a dense fine- and medium-grained structure can be used.

Sharpening a cutting edge with your own hands must be done in the following way:

• a device with medium-sized abrasive grains is placed and preferably secured on a completely flat surface;
• on a block moistened with any vegetable oil, a knife blade is placed at the calculated desired angle and held with both hands;
• under pressure, the blade is pulled across the surface with intersecting movements, several times towards itself on one side, then the same on the other;
• the process is repeated until a new smooth shiny strip with the same width on both sides is obtained in place of the cutting edge;
• it is necessary to replace the timber with its fine-grained analogue; it is used to fine-tune the sharpness of the blade using several sliding movements without pressure;
• to achieve the ideal condition of the cutting edge, the blade is edited on the back side of the belt, ten times on each side;
• checking the quality of sharpening involves lightly cutting a vertically placed newspaper sheet in one motion.

Expensive tools are best sharpened using special equipment. Specialized service centers and workshops can help with this.

L.M.

The use of a manual knife sharpener such as Lansky-Metabo, pos. 1 in Fig. The diagram of its device is given in pos. 2, and the procedure for use is in pos. 3. The disadvantage of the Lansky-Metabo sharpener is the instability of the sharpening angle along the length of the blade: a rod with a touchstone is driven along it. The offset of the touch point is constantly changing, because it describes an arc of a circle, and the blade has a different configuration. Resp. The angle also “floats”. Therefore, the Lansky-Metabo sharpener is used primarily for sharpening camping and hunting knives with a relatively short blade.

Knife sharpener type Lansky-Metabo

However, this disadvantage can be turned into an advantage if the blade is clamped in the terminals with the root part A (at the handle) and the tip slightly turned away from you, pos. 4. Then the sharpening angle at the root of the blade will be greatest, which is optimal for processing hard materials or using the knife as a cleaver. This is how they work in such cases, so that the outer arm of the arm-blade lever is shorter.

Towards the middle of blade B, the sharpening angle will gradually decrease and reach a minimum at the bend of its generatrix B1, which is convenient for fine work. Then towards the tip the B angle will increase again, making the tip more resistant to drilling, chiselling/impacting and punching (piercing).

Note: Another disadvantage of the Lansky-Metabo sharpener is the difficulty of using it in a desktop version. But this drawback, as they say, is fake, see pos. 5.

Drawings of parts of the original Lansky-Metabo sharpener are given in Fig. The numbers at the windows under the rod (guide) correspond to FULL sharpening angles.

Drawings of Lansky-Metabo knife sharpener parts

On the trail. rice. An assembly drawing of the clamp is given, and then there are drawings and dimensions of Lansky-Metabo terminals made from angle 90x90x6 mm. The author of the development hides under the pseudonym Serjant. This is certainly a matter of his modesty. But, by the way, in production, technological innovations that make it possible to use standard profiles for the manufacture of shaped parts are sometimes valued more than serious inventions.

Assembly drawing of a Lansky-Metabo knife sharpener clamp

Drawings of homemade terminals for a Lansky-Metabo sharpener from a 90x90x6 corner

Note: next rice. An assembly drawing of the Serjant sharpener is given. Regarding the inconvenience of fastening in a vice, see above.

General assembly drawing of the Lansky-Metabo knife sharpener

Tips for sharpening knives quickly

There are times in life when, finding yourself in nature, you need to sharpen a dull knife, but there is no opportunity to use a sharpening tool. Some tips that can help in this situation:

• For editing, cobblestone is suitable as an abrasive stone. By choosing the right angle and having experience in editing the blade, you can achieve a decent result with it;
• you can use the second knife as a grinder;
• glass and ceramic products (back side of the plate) can act as a sharpening stone;
• A tightened leather belt can be a substitute for musat; you won’t be able to achieve much sharpness, but the blade will polish “excellent.”

Choose good knives and take care of them. In return, they will “thank you” with high-quality and long-term work.

What determines the sharpness of a knife?

Sharpness is the main characteristic of a cutting tool. The higher its degree, the easier the knife enters the material. What does this characteristic depend on?

• Properties of steel. The composition and grade of the metal directly affect the properties of the blade.
• Features of mechanical processing of the part.
• Temperature treatment during the hardening process.
• Features of the cross-section and dimensions of the blade.
• Sharpening quality. The main characteristic that affects sharpness.

We see that the effective quality of a knife depends on the coordinated work of several specialists. Fortunately, modern industry does all this work for us; all we have to do is maintain the tool in working condition, which involves its timely and correct sharpening.

Table of sharpening angles for different types of knives

In order to perform high-quality processing and maintenance of tools, it is necessary to maintain the basic sharpening angles of knives for various types of tasks with their use. To control the correct sharpening of corners, you can use a table that presents recommended values ​​for various types of knives:

Sharpening tools

There are many ways to sharpen, as well as devices used for this process. Let's look at the most popular ones. Among them the following are popular:

Sharpening stone

Natural whetstones are popular among professional sharpeners; when used correctly, they achieve the highest cutting quality of the tool being sharpened. Arkansas novaculite stone and Japanese water stone are favorites of natural stones. The price of such bars is high, although they are produced artificially in an industrial way. The wear of the stone is high, which is suitable for lens-shaped sharpening of blades. A beginner will need patience and perseverance, high qualifications to work with such stones:

• Diamond stones are a popular and very affordable material for turning any tool. They produce fine and coarse grains of different shapes and sizes. They are an excellent choice for a beginner. The price is budget-friendly, allowing you to have a set of stones in your arsenal for any need. The wear of the diamond stone is very low, the abrasive effect is strong, so control of the sharpened edge of the blade should be increased as much as possible. Used in most cases for initial processing of the cutting part and setting the sharpening angle.
• Ceramic whetstones are modern sharpening stones that combine the advantages of natural and diamond materials used by sharpeners. The main application is final finishing after working with a knife on a diamond abrasive. They have little wear and allow to achieve high quality cuts, just like natural stones.
• abrasive artificial stones. The main representatives are carbides and electrocorundum. They have minimal cost, availability, and high wear. They are used, like diamond stones, for the initial preparation of the blade to be sharpened.

7 Helpful Tips for Cleaning Pots Without Scratching

Mechanical sharpener

A mechanical sharpener is a device for sharpening knives that requires physical effort and has the following capabilities:

• choosing the right grinding stone in terms of grain size and hardness;
• securing, holding the blade in the position required for proper processing;
• setting a suitable angle of the abrasive relative to the cutting edge of the blade being processed;
• availability of instructions for proper use of the device;
• obtaining a consistently positive result after correctly performed actions.

Electric sharpener

It is used for straightening and sharpening all types of cutting tools, even with a ceramic blade, does not require a professional approach, just read the instructions. The working element is replaceable (mostly a diamond roller is used). It is possible to sharpen knives with single-sided and double-sided sharpening. Powered by electric current.

Musat

This is a type of mechanical sharpener that requires the application of physical force and maintaining the sharpening angle. Used for straightening a properly sharpened blade. The external shape of such a device resembles a file with a round or oval cross-section. It has a working part, a handle with stops for safe sharpening, and protects your hand from the knife slipping.

The working part of the musat is made from:

• magnetized steel;
• aluminum coated with a thin layer of oxide of this metal (leucosapphire);
• metal rod with ceramic coating;
• solid ceramics.

Musats are not used for sharpening, only for straightening the blade of a cutting tool with a hardness of the material from which they are made up to 60 HRC units. To straighten the razor, use a razor belt.

Sharpening and grinding machines

This is a category of electrical devices in which, to perform a given job, an electric motor and replaceable abrasive materials attached to its shaft are used. They can be discs, sanding tapes.

Types of machines:

• household, universal. They are used for sharpening all types of cutting tools. The sharpening angle of the blades is selected visually. The pressing force on the rotating abrasive is self-maintained;
• special purpose. Initially they were created for a specific tool (scissors, drills, chainsaw chains, electric saws), with a choice of sharpening angle and limited clamping force.

Lansky sharpener

This is a sharpening device for forming the desired angle on the cutting edge of the blade. It is used after processing the blank of the future knife on an emery machine, when it is necessary to set the desired sharpening angle of the blade. To do this, the blade is fixed in an aluminum clamp, the guide with the stone holder is inserted into the marked hole on the holder, corresponding to the desired sharpening angle. Next, the desired cutting angle of the blade is formed. This device also works well for straightening the blade and sharpening angle on a finished cutting tool of any configuration.

Caring for a hunting knife

Basic rules for caring for a hunting knife:

1. It is necessary to have your knife professionally sharpened regularly to ensure that its edge is always sharp.
2. Over time, the blade becomes dull and sometimes rusts. To give it shine, you need to clean it with steel wool, which is soaked in special oil. And to remove rust, its surface must be treated with polishing paste.
3. If the knife handle is made of wood, then caring for it requires special care. Due to the possible drying of the wood, it is recommended to keep the blade away from the stove, warm radiators or open sunlight. If the knife handle is made of leather, it can also be treated with special products.

Blades that cannot be sharpened

Modern models of self-sharpening knives do not require additional processing. Moreover, sharpening will only harm the blade, since its surface is treated with a special layer that will be damaged by friction.

It is not recommended to sharpen knives that have a wavy or saw-toothed cutting edge, since they can be sharpened correctly only with special equipment and with certain skills.

Rules for using a whetstone

To ensure the desired cutting qualities of the knife, the following recommendations should be taken into account:

• Soak the stone in water for 15 - 20 minutes;
• to work you need a table in a well-lit place or with a lamp;
• to prevent the stone from slipping and damaging the table covering, place a cloth or paper on the table;
• to visually determine the sharpening angle of the knife, the blade is applied to the sharpening stone;
• the blade being sharpened is directed away from you at the selected angle;
• with gentle pressure, a reciprocating movement is produced, simulating cutting off a thin film from a grindstone along its entire plane. In this case, the blade moves relative to the block from the handle to the tip and back;
• the selected sharpening angle is maintained during each stroke of the stone;
• the blade and stone are periodically moistened with water and cleaned;
• after 20 - 30 repetitions on both sides of the blade, the cutting edge is inspected. When sharpened with a razor, it is not visible to the naked eye;
• The sharpness of the blade is checked on a sheet of paper by cutting it from top to bottom. A sufficiently sharp blade cuts and does not tear paper.

Folk remedies for washing dishes - benefits, savings or a waste of time