Author: Alorous
August 14, 2022 08:40
Community: How it's made, how it works, how it works
Tags: sharpening interesting how to properly sharpen kitchen knives knives useful photo
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A knife is one of the most ancient tools. What is most surprising is that the culture of handling knives is quite mediocre.
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Despite the fact that everyone has a knife, and not a single copy, only a few can use a knife correctly, look after it correctly and keep the knife sharp. Even at school, during labor classes, girls are taught to cook, sew, and whatnot, while boys are taught to make pointers, stools, birdhouses and turn bolts... and many other things of dubious need in real life. Our education somehow misses such an important and necessary thing for everyone as sharpening knives and the culture of using knives. I’m not saying that the knife should cut transparent rounds from a lying tomato, but it should cut the food, and not crush or saw through. Here is an example of a very sharp knife:
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In reality, such sharpening is not really necessary at home, since it does not last long, it takes a lot of effort to maintain, and it requires even more precision. The gif is more of a demonstration of the sharpener's skills than a truly functional sharpness. Speaking about the culture of using a knife, I mean that the knife must be used correctly and for its inherent tasks. The reality is that the average person considers it quite normal to cut something with a knife directly in a plate, right in a frying pan, putting it on some pebble or using completely unusual surfaces as a cutting board, for example, different pieces of iron (I honestly don’t know why they use iron tables for cutting and slicing on a production scale, maybe someone competent can enlighten me in the comments) or glass boards, which for some reason are used for slicing, although they are intended for serving. With such use cases, the cutting edge becomes jammed and the knife stops cutting. You can take your knife, go to the light source, hold the knife so that the blade is facing you and look at the cutting edge. Here is a picture of the parts of the knife.
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If the edge is shiny, it means there are wrinkles on it. This means it won’t cut, or it will, but it’s extremely bad. Here is a GIF that clearly shows this moment.
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The second option for unusual use of a knife is various picking, picking, unscrewing and opening canned food with knives that are not intended for this and you get something like this:
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I’m not saying that this shouldn’t be done, but our people open jars with kitchen tools that are intended for something completely different. If you have some kind of harsh chop, shred, pierce, pick, such as ColdSteel recon tanto, Mora Robust, mr.Blade Ferat or Kershaw Thermite (in the same order in the pictures), then it’s okay.
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Oh, knife lovers will throw slippers at me for such examples, but I think the essence is clear: a knife should be used for the tasks for which they are intended. Well, or soberly assess whether the knife is capable of this without harming itself or not. Let's summarize this small section: 1) We cut with a knife only on cutting boards made of wood, plastic or other soft materials. But not on an iron tray or glass/ceramic/porcelain plates. How to cut the meat, you ask? and here are 2 options - you either use special table knives (they have a special cutting edge made for crushing/sawing), or use wooden planks, on which you either lay out and cut, or immediately serve on them: there are round bamboo ones with a groove all around. It’s really atmospheric to eat steaks like this. and any other meat. And for some reason the process itself is perceived very differently.
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2) Perform the work with the knife that is intended for this or can do this work without much harm to yourself. Planing boards or breaking/picking coconut with a kitchen utensil is a bad idea; it’s better to use one of the knives above. At the same time, with the knives presented above, you can certainly chop/cut food, but this is a dubious pleasure. Yes, damn it, it's a pleasure. We spend a lot of time in our lives cooking, and maybe we should learn to enjoy the process? And for this you need a normal suitable tool in good technical condition. Let's move on directly to sharpening. I won’t go into history and just give a lot of scattered information, but I will offer several really working solutions that are suitable for home and warn against mistakes. I don’t pretend to be the ultimate truth, the methods and approaches to the process of sharpening and maintaining a knife sharpness are a little less than crap - it’s like character builds in an RPG. I’ll just tell you something and give you a completely working solution.
1) Longitudinal sharpeners
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We've all seen sharpeners like this. Most people have such sharpeners. Only the result of sharpening with such sharpeners is extremely doubtful without understanding the process and a sound approach. Comrade Livsi has a very good review of such sharpeners at the link, it’s better to go read it, because I don’t see the point in just stupidly reprinting it, but the material there is good and to the point. Here's the same thing, but in video form.
In short, you can use them, but only with cheap thin (or rather, thin cutting, and a certain angle of the cutting edge) knives. The result is dubious and extremely short-lived. If you still use such a thing, then use the one that is double-sided with ceramic rods on the other side (blue in this case). Not much, but the result will improve. What will solve the problem of such sharpeners - ceramic musat or a V-shaped sharpener.
ON STEEL LEVERS.
The most complex and demanding sharpener skills are lever sharpeners. From a mechanical point of view, they are radically different from other designs in that the knife itself is fixed motionless on a support, and sharpening is performed by manipulating abrasive elements of various grain sizes along certain trajectories set using a system of rods, rods and levers.
Lever sharpener with a set of sharpening elements for various tasks.
Such sharpeners do a good job of solving the problem of setting different sharpening angles and performing various operations (repairing, sharpening, straightening, finishing) by varying abrasive materials of different grain sizes and properties. The wide contact zone reduces the time required to complete the work; the cutting edge is formed quickly and efficiently. Even high-quality knives made from high-tech steels can be trusted with such a sharpener.
One of the most sophisticated lever sharpeners with instructions on how to use it.
The main disadvantages include the rather cumbersome design. “Straighten an edge in no time” is not about a lever sharpener, on which even simple work turns into a Ritual: assemble the sharpener, attach the knife to the support, select the correct abrasive element for the task, secure it in the holder, process one side, turn it over to the other side, process the other... In general, even the most ardent apologist of this type of sharpener would be embarrassed to call the whole described process fast. That is, while getting a good result for affordable money, we are again forced to sacrifice speed.
2) Ceramic sharpeners and V-shaped sharpeners.
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Of course, there are iron and diamond ones, but you don’t need those. These things are somewhat different, but not so much that they should be classified in different sections. Musat is simply a ceramic (there are also diamond and metal ones, but you don’t need them) rod attached to a handle, which may have a soft tip. It has different grain sizes, usually designated as coarse, medium and smooth depending on the intensity of metal removal. The principle of operation is to take the musat in one hand and the knife in the other. We leaned the heel of the knife (closer to the handle of the knife) to the beginning of the musat, approximately set the angle and made a “cutting movement” so that the knife, moving from the beginning to the end of the musat, passed along it with the entire length of the blade. Repeat several times on both sides of the knife. You don't need to put in any special effort. Of course, they can throw it at me that musat does not sharpen a knife - it straightens it, but in the case of ceramics this is not entirely true (or not at all), using a ruler rough - medium - smooth you sharpen the knife. Well, or you undermine it))). Price from 800r to 3000r Here is a good short video about the process:
The V-shaped sharpener is a stand into which sharpening rods are inserted.
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What’s a big plus is that we simply insert the rods of the required grain size into the holes for the appropriate angle, take the knife straight and make cutting movements along the rods from top to bottom and along the entire cutting edge of the knife. Just. fast. Comfortable. Prices start from 700 rub. You can buy Idahone rods of different grits separately, and make the stand yourself - there is nothing complicated, drilling at an approximate angle is not a problem. The same company Idahone produces ready-made solutions, as in the picture it costs about 3000 rubles, but the quality sometimes varies. There is a good option Lansky Turn Box triangle (2 rough diamond + 2 smooth ceramic) costs 1750 rubles. You can clean ceramic leads with a regular pencil eraser. Lansky and Idahone have pocket sharpeners (the so-called “bone sharpener”) for around 700 rubles, which you can carry with you on a hike and correct a worn-out knife at any time. An option for lazy people - go to Aliexpress, type “yoyal” into the search, look for a picture of a V-shaped sharpener with 2 pairs of rods (yes, like in the picture above). It will cost around 2 mowers. We order, wait, receive, profit. What is the disadvantage of using musats and V-shaped sharpeners: if there is no rough rod, then at a certain point this will stop helping. The reason is that you do not hit the original angle and this very angle of the cutting edge increases. At one point, it will become too large, or the metal will no longer cope with the required volume of metal being removed. What you can do is give the knife to sharpen your comrades who make keys for locks. On average, it costs 50-100 rubles for an ordinary kitchen utensil, if they produce it on a grindstone, and more expensive if they use something more serious. Just come and say “sharpen it, the musat has stopped helping”, they will understand. This is perhaps the most convenient option for home. Yes, it may seem that 2kr for the same Lansky is expensive, but in reality - this is the thing that, without hemorrhoids and perversions, will provide you with sharp knives for the rest of your life. It's like taking a frying pan made of foil half a millimeter thick (or something similar) for 400 rubles or buying a normal, harsh cast-iron frying pan for 1.5-2 rubles. The first one can be used for a month, spitting from the uneven heating, for another half a year everything will burn on it and it will be stupidly thrown away, and then the children will get the cast iron. Well, or who doesn’t like cast iron, I think the analogy with normal tefal would also be appropriate. I’ll add a little about yoyal as an afterword - this company has an interesting crap that combines a longitudinal sharpener and a diamond plate and a smooth v-shaped sharpener. It costs a little more than a mower. The option for home is just fire. Sharpens both regular and serrated knives. It’s a perfect option to carry on a hike or have at home. I have this. I periodically take it with me when I go on a visit where we are going to cook something.
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3) Electric knife
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You can use them. But normal ones cost from 10,000 rubles, and cheap ones... it’s easier to throw them away right away. they do not fulfill their function. Good electric sharpeners are suitable for food production (including catering kitchens), where iron tables are used or knives simply become dull often. He walked up, turned it on, ran it a couple of times, and went on cutting. This does not eliminate the need to use musat. The quality of sharpening greatly depends on the quality of the sharpener, and, accordingly, on the price. You don't need this at home. If you see something like the following picture, throw it away. It either doesn't work at all or pretends to work. With some cheap ones you can, of course, achieve a certain result... but it is downright modest or dubious. (I’m not talking about special gadgets such as grinders, tormeks and others - this is completely different, few people have them and their review will be in the next post.)
How to test the sharpness
Checking the sharpness of the blade is carried out in several proven ways:
- paper - hold the sheet with one hand and strip the paper with the other. With sufficient sharpness, cutting will go like clockwork;
- tomato - place the vegetable on the table and cut horizontally;
- on hairs - carefully press the blade to the skin of your hand and lightly run through the hair on it. If the “epilation” is successful, then the blade is sharp.
Checking knives on tomatoes.
4) Sharpening stones (stones) and manual sharpening
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We have all seen sharpening stones, almost all of us have touched sharpening stones, many have tried to use sharpening stones. A few did something good. Why? Despite the simplicity of the process of manual sharpening on whetstones, there are quite a lot of nuances. And according to some nuances, people are staging battles and shitting bricks on forums worse than political squabbles, so it’s not as clear-cut as it might seem. Next comes material for those who want to study the issue at a slightly more advanced level. The sharpening process itself does not look difficult: 1) We lay (put? gram natsy, you are definitely needed here) a stone, if necessary, moisten it with water or oil, 2) take a knife, lay (put?) it on the stone, set the angle and begin crawl back and forth on the stone. 3) Turn the knife over and move. 4) We take a stone with a finer grain size and begin to crawl on it.
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And so on until satisfaction comes or the desired results are achieved. It doesn't look complicated, but there are nuances, and let's talk about them.
Nuance 1. Abrasives (stones, bars, etc.) and Choice of abrasive
There are a lot of bars themselves, I won’t write about everything, but anyone interested can read it here (the article is about abrasives in general, there’s a list on the left where you can read more about each and see tests). This site contains very good material on the sharpening process, on the stones themselves (abrasives) and on sharpening systems. What types of abrasives are there: Natural - these are simply pieces of rock, mined somewhere and somehow processed. Different in quality, different in their properties. In most cases, you need to work with them using oil (mineral, petrolatum, oleic acid, extra virgin olive oil). There are natural water stones, most often Japanese ones; you need to work with them after moistening them with water. They cost a hell of a lot. Synthetic - artificially created abrasives. Most often they are a powder made of something solid (diamonds, silicon carbide, CBN, etc.) of a certain grain size, which is filled with one or another binder. The closest analogy is kozinak. Just as abrasive grains are filled with a binder, so the grains in kozinak are filled with sugar. The ligament can be hard or soft. It is responsible for updating the abrasive surface of the sharpening stone. This abrasive can be either several centimeters or diamonds in one layer. Among other things, stones have different grain sizes - the size of the abrasive grain. Choosing an abrasive on your own is quite difficult. Since I had water stones available (the second one and like the third one in the photos at the beginning of the section), I started with them. Honestly, I don't recommend it. If a coarse stone (the second one) can be found in any hardware store for 100 rubles, then the higher the grain size (the smaller the grain, the finer it works) - the more expensive it is. That double-sided one from the hardware store (the second one in the photo at the beginning of the section, the gray one) has a grit of somewhere between 300 and 500 grit if you look at the Japanese grit scale (jis). This is not enough for home cooking. No, the knife will definitely cut better than after a longitudinal sharpener, but this is not enough, you need at least 1000-1500 for the kitchen. Anything higher than a given block is unlikely to be found anywhere or by chance, and prices go for 2-3-5-10 thousand per stone. Firstly, they are not cheap, and secondly, they are produced relatively quickly (the next point is about this). I would say that this is for people who are advanced in sharpening. By the way, instead of stones, you can use pieces of sandpaper glued to something. Usually 1 piece of paper is enough for 1 knife. What I would recommend trying for stones: 1) A rough diamond whetstone to shape the cutting edge. The cheap ones are “bison” plates (that’s what you’re looking for). There are separate plates (approximately 200 rubles each) that you have to glue somewhere yourself, or a set with a stand of 4 plates of different grain sizes, as in the photo (900 rubles). Or a double-sided Veneva diamond block with a grain size of 100/80-50/40 (dimensions 120x35x10 with a diamond concentration of 100% costs 1300 rubles). It’s not necessary to buy exactly these companies and bars, you can take Lansky or DMT for a lot of money, but for a beginner it’s not worth it. Diamonds are great for stripping metal and shaping a cutting edge. Especially on a damaged knife, it’s easier to do it again. 2)Set of natural Arkansas sharpening stones. When I tried sharpening on them, I really liked it. I immediately regretted that I found out about them late and, as a result, did crap with all sorts of water stones (this is purely my IMHO after comparison and experience). What's the plus: they are practically not produced. That is, enough for children and grandchildren. They work with almost all types of steel. not with everyone, but it’s unlikely that you have one that they wouldn’t work with. A huge plus is that you can always stupidly sell them for not much less than you bought them if you don’t like the manual sharpening or the stones themselves. They have a peculiarity - they work with oil (mineral, vaseline, oleic acid, olive oil), so there are certain requirements for organizing the workspace. It is best to have the entire main line of Arkansas Soft (medium grain), Arkansas hard (fine grain), Arkansas black hard (very fine grain). Black Arkansas is the most expensive of this line, it is not necessary; for the home it is more than enough to have Soft and Hard. Buying stones separately is downright expensive. At best, 10 - 15 thousand for a modern line, and the same numbers, but for each stone, if they are old and ancient (so you understand, people are really happy with stones from the late 19th century and early 20th and are actively selling them). BUT! there are interesting options, especially from Dan's Whetstone. Option 1: take this line in the form of a “Large Pocket Arkansas” with dimensions of 10x4x1 cm. The dimensions are more than sufficient, the entire line comes out to about 5 thousand. If you don’t take the black one, it will come out to 2.5 thousand. Option 2: take a miniature set of Arkansas stones on a stand. There will most likely be only soft and hard, possibly True hard, but this is also enough. There are options for 1, 1.5 and so on thousand rubles. Moreover, this option may immediately include a rough rough stone (as in the option for 1000 rubles in the picture), in this case you don’t have to take the diamond.
Blade options
To sharpen a kitchen knife efficiently, you must not only have a regular whetstone on hand, but also know how to use it. It is also important to know what material the blade is made of in order to choose the right sharpening device for it.
Types of blades by material of manufacture:
- Carbon steel. This budget option for inexpensive products is made from an alloy of iron and carbon. Such blades are very easy to sharpen and retain their sharpness for a long period. The disadvantage of this material is oxidation when interacting with an acidic environment, as a result of which stains and rust form on the blade. Oxidation stops after some time when a coating forms on the metal.
- Stainless low carbon steel. The alloy of this material, in addition to iron and carbon, includes chromium. For some products, molybdenum or nickel is additionally added. In terms of strength, stainless steel blades are inferior to their carbon steel counterparts. They become dull faster and therefore require frequent sharpening. The advantage is high corrosion resistance.
- High carbon steel. These are knives of a higher category. A higher quality material with a high carbon content is used to make the blade. Vanadium or cobalt is additionally added to the alloy. Products made from this metal are resistant to corrosion and do not require frequent sharpening.
- Damascus steel. This material is intended for the production of edged weapons. But there are also models of kitchen knives. Such products have a multi-layer blade made from several high-quality alloys. The only negative is the high cost of the product.
- Ceramics. Blades made from this material are famous for their sharpness, which they retain for quite a long time. Due to this quality, they are very popular among consumers. But there is also a big disadvantage of such products - the high fragility of the material. The ceramic blade can be damaged by dropping the product on the floor from a height, or by significant bending.
When buying knives, it is not recommended to be fooled by advertising of self-sharpening products. Blades made of absolutely any material become dull; only those made of high-quality alloy last longer and, accordingly, cost more.
But you shouldn’t spend a lot of money on buying expensive blades; it’s better to buy a set of ordinary kitchen knives, several high-quality sharpening devices and learn how to sharpen knives yourself with a whetstone.
Point 2. Condition of the abrasive
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Most abrasives are initially curved (have a saddle, twist pit or other irregularities) and require finishing to a working condition: for example, leveling on glass, possibly using silicon carbide powder and chamfering the edges of the stone. Moreover, during the grinding process, abrasive will be produced, and it will still have to be leveled. Some earlier, some later. To better understand the process and why and what it looks like, I will again give an analogy: when using laundry soap, due to uneven abrasion/use, its surface becomes uneven and acquires a saddle. The same thing can be seen on the steps of old buildings - where there is the most traffic - a small hole appears. It's exactly the same with abrasives. It will not be possible to sharpen well with an uneven abrasive. I couldn’t find any pictures of the jamb stone, everything is even. Here is a picture of the steps that look... and that’s what they look like, the essence should be clear.
Point 3. Placement of abrasive
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The abrasive itself needs to be secured somehow so that it does not move anywhere during the sharpening process. Some manufacturers provide special stands or substrates for this, but the reality is that they rarely help. In addition, often the abrasive is not that high and it needs to be somehow raised above the table, otherwise it is inconvenient to sharpen. The most common option is to buy a ready-made universal stand for 2kr. Its cost is greatly inflated, often people come up with something and make it out of shit and sticks. Some people use anti-slip mats and other surfaces, some hammer nails into boards, others simply make special boards with notches. I have a similar analogue of this crap:
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2 hockey pucks for 60 rubles, a rod with a thread for 60 for 40 rubles, 2 nuts and 2 wings for 20 rubles. Total - 180 rub. The original is of course better, better quality and more technologically advanced, but asking 2kr for it is beyond good and evil. When working, I clamp one end with an f-shaped clamp and then everything is fine.
Nuance 4. Technique for working with stones
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Everyone has their own. Each sharpener acquires his own unique technique for this very sharp knife on abrasive. Some do better, some do worse. This requires straight hands. At a minimum, keep the knife at the same angle while sharpening... easier said than done. Plus you need to press the knife with the right force, taking into account its individual characteristics. A common mistake is to push as hard as you can. Especially for kitchens. The knife bends and sharpens unevenly, and in some cases the edge of the knife scrapes against the edge of the sharpening stone, which can destroy all previous efforts. There are different devices for maintaining the angle. I know about the “sharpening angle holder”, “crutch” and “mech-hand”. The angle holder is only suitable for wide kitchen knives. It's a bummer with the little ones. I wouldn't take it.
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The crutch... is a good thing, but different abrasives have different sizes. How to get into the same corner when changing abrasives...the big question. There are certain sorceries and life hacks, like stacking stones... but they are not always effective. The mehruk or articulated arm for sharpening is a gorgeous thing (I couldn’t find a good photo). But again, the problem is the evenness of the abrasive and it is completely unclear where to get it. and it relates more to sharpening systems, which I will talk about next time..
Kitchen knife sharpening angle
Knife sharpening angle.
Kitchen knives come in different types, so each one needs to be sharpened differently. Thus, filleting and boning tools are processed at an angle of 25°, cutting tools - 25-30°, shredding tools - 35°.
For hunting knife
A sharpening angle of 30-35° is suitable for hunting knives. You need to restore your cutting ability with the help of professional tools, since the blade is wide and thick.
