The advent of Edge Pro sharpening machines revolutionized without exaggeration. Prices are really high, but no one bothers to copy the principle and create such a device yourself. We offer the design of a simple machine for sharpening knives, chisels and any other blades that you can do with your own hands.

Machine base

Most parts for a sharpening machine can be made literally from anything, following the general principle of the device. As an example, take laminated or polished box plywood with a thickness of 8-12 mm, which was universally used in the manufacture of cases of Soviet radio equipment.

The base must be heavy - about 3.5-5 kg \u200b\u200b- otherwise the machine will be unstable and unsuitable for sharpening a heavy chopping tool. Therefore, the inclusion of steel elements in the design is welcomed, for example, the base of the body can be “shoe” with a 20x20 mm angle.

From plywood, you need to saw two parts in the form of a rectangular trapezoid with a base of 170 and 60 mm and a height of 230 mm with a jigsaw. When cutting, leave an allowance of 0.5-0.7 mm for processing the ends: they must be straight and exactly match the marking.

The third part is an inclined plane from a plywood board measuring 230x150 mm. It is installed between the inclined sides of the side walls, while the trapezoid of the sidewalls rest on the rectangular side.

In other words, the base of the machine is a kind of wedge, but the inclined plane should protrude in front of 40 mm. At the ends of the side walls, lay with a thickness gauge two lines indented half the thickness of the plywood. Drill three holes in each plank to fasten the parts with screws. Transfer the drill to the ends of the inclined part, temporarily connect the base parts.

In the rear part, the side walls are connected by a bar 60x60 mm, which is fastened to the end by two screws on each side. In the bar, you need to make a 10 mm vertical hole with an indent of 50 mm from the center, that is, 25 mm from the edge. To be sure of verticality, it is better to drill with a thin drill on both sides, and then expand. At the top and bottom, screw in two holes with an internal M10 thread, and a 10 mm long 250 mm hairpin in them into the hole. Here it may be necessary to slightly adjust the lower foot if its thread does not coincide with the stud.

Handicraft device

Remove the flat inclined part from the base - it needs to be finalized by equipping with a fixation and clamping device for the tool being machined.

First, set aside 40 mm from the front edge and cut a groove about 2 mm deep along the line with a hacksaw. Use a sectional or shoe knife to chop the top two layers of veneer from the end of the plank to form a sample into which you can insert a 2 mm steel plate flush with the common plane.

The handrail consists of two steel strips 170x60 mm and 150x40 mm. They need to be folded together along a long end with uniform indentation along the edges and to make three through holes of 6 mm. The slats on these holes need to be pulled together, placing the hats on the side of the upper, larger plate. Bake each cap by welding it, welding it with the plate, then remove the influx of metal and grind the plate until a perfectly flat plane is obtained.

Attach a narrower reciprocal level to the selection at the edge and transfer the holes with a drill, then fasten the handrail with bolts. Before installation, it can also be magnetized with direct current, this will help in sharpening small blades.

Locking mechanism

The second part of the handicraft is the clamping bar. It is also made of two parts:

1. The upper L-shaped strip is 150x180 mm with a shelf width of about 45-50 mm.
2. The lower reciprocal level is rectangular 50x100 mm.

The details need to be folded in a manner similar to how the parts of the handicraft were folded, placing the reciprocal bar at the far edge of the upper clamp. In the center we make two holes with an indent of 25 mm from the edges of the small part, through them we tighten the parts with two 8 mm bolts. You need to start them in opposite directions, while the head of the upper (near) bolt is located on the side of the clamping plate. The bolt caps are also welded to the plates and pre-sanded until a smooth fillet is obtained.

On an inclined board with an indent of 40 mm from the edge, draw a line with a thickness gauge, and make one 8 mm hole 25 mm from the upper and lower edges. Connect the marking of the edges of the holes and use a jigsaw to cut with an allowance. Bring the resulting groove with a file to a width of 8.2-8.5 mm.

Fasten the clamping and reciprocal level through the groove in the plank. Tighten the bolt protruding from the top with a nut so that the bar retains minimal mobility, then lock the connection with a second nut. To clamp or release the strap from below (in the base niche), screw the wing nut onto the second bolt.

Sharpening angle adjustment

Put a wide washer on the stud screwed into the base block and tighten the nut so that the shaft does not rotate in the footings.

The adjustment block must be made of a small bar of solid material with dimensions of approximately 20x40x80 mm. Take carbolite, textolite or hardwood.

15 mm from the edge of the block, a 20 mm end is drilled on both sides, the hole expands to 9 mm, then we cut the thread inside. With a distance of 50 mm from the axis of the hole made, a second one is drilled, but in the flat part of the part, that is, perpendicular to the previous one. This hole should have a diameter of about 14 mm, in addition, it must be greatly flared with a round rasp.

The shoe is screwed onto a hairpin, so it is possible to relatively accurately adjust the height of the eye without a complicated screw lock system as in the original machine, which is a little more difficult to implement in practice. In order for the block to be stationary during operation, it must be counter-bolted on both sides with M10 nuts.

Carriage and interchangeable bars

For the sharpening carriage, you will need to coaxially weld 30 cm of the M10 pin and a smooth, even bar 10 mm thick. Two solid whetstones with dimensions of approximately 50x80 mm and a thickness of up to 20 mm are also required. In each bar in the center and indented 20 mm from the top edge, a 10 mm hole should be made.

First, the wing nut is screwed onto the bar, then the wide washer and two bars, again the washer and nut. Between the whetstones, rectangular grindstones can be clamped, but it is better to make several interchangeable whetstones.

As a basis for them, take a lightweight aluminum profile with a flat part 40-50 mm wide. It can be a profile rectangular pipe or pieces of an old cornice profile.

We skim the flat part and degrease it, “Moment” paste on it strips of sandpaper of different grain sizes from 400 to 1200 grit. Choose a fabric-based sandpaper, and glue a strip of suede leather on one of the bars to straighten the blades with abrasive paste.

How to sharpen

For proper sharpening, make several patterns from plywood with angles of 14-20º for cutting and 30-37º for cutting edges, the exact angle depends on the grade of steel. Lock the blade parallel to the edge of the handrail and press it with the bar. According to the template, adjust the angle between the planes of the grinding pad and the inclined table plate.

Begin sharpening with a large (P400) bar if the edge does not have the correct angle. Get the descent strip to take the form of a straight strip without meanders or waves. Reduce the grain size and pass on both sides of the blade first with a bar P800, and then P1000 or P1200. When sharpening the blade, carry out the bar with a little effort in both directions.

After sharpening, the blade needs to be fixed with a “leather” bar, on which a small amount of GOI paste is applied. When editing the blades, the working movement is directed only towards the edge (towards itself), but not against it. And finally, a little advice: if you sharpen knives with polished blades and engraving, paste over them with masking tape so that the crumbling abrasive does not leave scratches. It also does not hurt to glue the surface of the handicraft with vinyl self-adhesive.

Most parts for a sharpening machine can be made literally from anything, following the general principle of the device. As an example, take laminated or polished box plywood with a thickness of 8-12 mm, which was universally used in the manufacture of cases of Soviet radio equipment.

The base must be heavy - about 3.5-5 kg \u200b\u200b- otherwise the machine will be unstable and unsuitable for sharpening a heavy chopping tool. Therefore, the inclusion of steel elements in the design is welcomed, for example, the base of the body can be “shoe” with an angle of 20x20 mm.

From plywood, you need to saw two parts in the form of a rectangular trapezoid with a base of 170 and 60 mm and a height of 230 mm with a jigsaw. When cutting, leave an allowance of 0.5-0.7 mm for processing the ends: they must be straight and exactly match the marking.

The third part is an inclined plane from a plywood board measuring 230x150 mm. It is installed between the inclined sides of the side walls, while the trapezoid of the sidewalls rest on the rectangular side.

In other words, the base of the machine is a kind of wedge, but the inclined plane should protrude in front of 40 mm. At the ends of the side walls, lay with a thickness gauge two lines indented half the thickness of the plywood. Drill three holes in each plank to fasten the parts with screws. Transfer the drill to the ends of the inclined part, temporarily connect the base parts.

In the rear part, the side walls are connected by a bar 60x60 mm, which is fastened to the end by two screws on each side. In the bar, you need to make a 10 mm vertical hole with an indent of 50 mm from the center, that is, 25 mm from the edge. To be sure of verticality, it is better to drill with a thin drill on both sides, and then expand. At the top and bottom, screw in two holes with an internal M10 thread, and a 10 mm long 250 mm hairpin in them into the hole. Here it may be necessary to slightly adjust the lower foot if its thread does not coincide with the stud.

Handicraft device.

Remove the flat inclined part from the base - it needs to be finalized by equipping with a fixation and clamping device for the tool being machined.

First, set aside 40 mm from the front edge and cut a groove about 2 mm deep along the line with a hacksaw. Use a sectional or shoe knife to chop the top two layers of veneer from the end of the plank to form a sample into which you can insert a 2 mm steel plate flush with the common plane.

The handrail consists of two steel strips 170x60 mm and 150x40 mm. They need to be folded together along a long end with uniform indentation along the edges and to make three through holes of 6 mm. The slats on these holes need to be pulled together, placing the hats on the side of the upper, larger plate. Bake each cap by welding it, welding it with the plate, then remove the influx of metal and grind the plate until a perfectly flat plane is obtained.

Attach a narrower reciprocal level to the selection at the edge and transfer the holes with a drill, then fasten the handrail with bolts. Before installation, it can also be magnetized with direct current, this will help in sharpening small blades.

Fixation mechanism.

The second part of the handicraft is the clamping bar. It is also made of two parts:

• The upper L-shaped strip is 150x180 mm with a shelf width of about 45-50 mm.
• The lower reciprocal level is rectangular 50x100 mm.

The details need to be folded in a manner similar to how the parts of the handicraft were folded, placing the reciprocal bar at the far edge of the upper clamp. In the center we make two holes with an indent of 25 mm from the edges of the small part, through them we tighten the parts with two 8 mm bolts. You need to start them in opposite directions, while the head of the upper (near) bolt is located on the side of the clamping plate. The bolt caps are also welded to the plates and pre-sanded until a smooth fillet is obtained.

On an inclined board with an indent of 40 mm from the edge, draw a line with a thickness gauge, and make one 8 mm hole 25 mm from the upper and lower edges. Connect the marking of the edges of the holes and use a jigsaw to cut with an allowance. Bring the resulting groove with a file to a width of 8.2-8.5 mm.

Fasten the clamping and reciprocal level through the groove in the plank. Tighten the bolt protruding from the top with a nut so that the bar retains minimal mobility, then lock the connection with a second nut. To clamp or release the strap from below (in the base niche), screw the wing nut onto the second bolt.

Sharpening angle adjustment.

Put a wide washer on the stud screwed into the base block and tighten the nut so that the shaft does not rotate in the footings.
The adjustment block must be made of a small bar of solid material with dimensions of approximately 20x40x80 mm. Take carbolite, textolite or hardwood.

15 mm from the edge of the block, a 20 mm end is drilled on both sides, the hole expands to 9 mm, then we cut the thread inside. With a distance of 50 mm from the axis of the hole made, a second one is drilled, but in the flat part of the part, that is, perpendicular to the previous one. This hole should have a diameter of about 14 mm, in addition, it must be greatly flared with a round rasp.

The shoe is screwed onto a hairpin, so it is possible to relatively accurately adjust the height of the eye without a complicated screw lock system as in the original machine, which is a little more difficult to implement in practice. In order for the block to be stationary during operation, it must be counter-bolted on both sides with M10 nuts.

Carriage and interchangeable bars.

For the sharpening carriage, you will need to coaxially weld 30 cm of the M10 pin and a smooth, even bar 10 mm thick. Two solid whetstones with dimensions of approximately 50x80 mm and a thickness of up to 20 mm are also required. In each bar in the center and indented 20 mm from the top edge, a 10 mm hole should be made.

First, the wing nut is screwed onto the bar, then the wide washer and two bars, again the washer and nut. Between the whetstones, rectangular grindstones can be clamped, but it is better to make several interchangeable whetstones.
As a basis for them, take a lightweight aluminum profile with a flat part 40-50 mm wide. It can be a profile rectangular pipe or pieces of an old cornice profile.

We skim the flat part and degrease it, “Moment” paste on it strips of sandpaper of different grain sizes from 400 to 1200 grit. Choose a fabric-based sandpaper, and glue a strip of suede leather on one of the bars to straighten the blades with abrasive paste.

How to sharpen.

For proper sharpening, make several patterns from plywood with angles of 14-20? for cutting and 30-37? for cutting edges, the exact angle depends on the grade of steel. Lock the blade parallel to the edge of the handrail and press it with the bar. According to the template, adjust the angle between the planes of the grinding pad and the inclined table plate.

Begin sharpening with a large (P400) bar if the edge does not have the correct angle. Get the descent strip to take the form of a straight strip without meanders or waves. Reduce the grain size and pass on both sides of the blade first with a bar P800, and then P1000 or P1200. When sharpening the blade, carry out the bar with a little effort in both directions.

After sharpening, the blade needs to be fixed with a “leather” bar, on which a small amount of GOI paste is applied. When editing the blades, the working movement is directed only towards the edge (towards itself), but not against it. And finally, a little advice: if you sharpen knives with polished blades and engraving, paste over them with masking tape so that the crumbling abrasive does not leave scratches. It also does not hurt to glue the surface of the handicraft with vinyl self-adhesive.

There are always cutting, sawing and planing tools in the household. During the work, the sharpness is lost, and the blades have to be restored. You can give knives - planers to the workshop, but money is spent on it, and it takes too much time. Therefore, home craftsmen prefer to sharpen the tool.

Important! Only blades with a certain degree of hardening can be sharpened. If the cutting part has a hardness higher than 55 HRC, it cannot be sharpened with improvised tools.

You can buy a knife sharpener or other household utensils in the store. Save time, but spend a considerable amount - good sharpening is expensive.

By the way, there are different opinions about the name of the device for sharpening knives. Emery, donkey, whetstone, whetstone, musat ...

Can these definitions mean the same thing, or different products? About this, and about how to make such a device yourself, we will tell in the article.

Since the advent of cutting objects (weapons, knives, axes), a person has been looking for a way to restore the sharpness of the edge. In the Bronze and Copper Ages, it was simple.

In the household, such a simple device as a knife is constantly used. In the process, sooner or later the knives begin to become dull. Using such household utensils becomes uncomfortable, and often unsafe. When cutting food, such a knife can break and cause injury, so the knives in the household should always be quite sharp. To do this, this tool should be grind periodically.

Very often at home in order to sharpen their cutting tool, use conventional sharpeners or abrasive bars, which does not always lead to a good result. To learn how to sharpen your kitchen tool with sharpeners, you need a special practice, because with the wrong angle of sharpening, the tool will not have the desired sharpness. To carry out work on sharpening knives, there are both the simplest sharpeners with an angular shape of the gap, as well as a variety of factory grinding devices and complex electric grinding machines.

The simplest sharpener made of wooden blocks

In order to independently make the simplest device for sharpening knives, you need a couple of abrasive bars. Then we take two identical wooden blanks and with sandpaper carry out their processing. We carefully process the workpieces so that they do not leave bumps and burrs.

After that, we mark out the places where grindstones will be installed on wooden blocks. To do this, we draw lines on the bar where the grinding bars will be attached, taking into account the desired angle of sharpening the blade. Applying grinding lines to the applied lines, we fix their thickness. Based on the markup we make, cuts 1–1.5 cm deep. Having chosen the wood from the cuts and inserted the grinding bars there, we must get a structure in which the wooden blocks clamp the grinding stones. At the same time, abrasives are located at the angle of knife sharpening.

For the final assembly of our homemade design you need drill two holes   in wooden blocks and with the help of bolts to pull them off. Abrasive stones must stand still. So that the knife does not slip when sharpening the knives, a gasket made of rubberized material can be fixed on the bottom of the bars.

Manual homemade knife sharpener

Currently, home craftsmen have developed a variety of designs for sharpening knives. They differ both in the principle of action and in the materials and tools necessary for manufacturing. If you decide to make a device for sharpening knives with your own hands, drawings of such designs can be found on the Internet. According to the principle of action, machines are divided into two types.

The knife is fixed, the whetstone moves.

Such a device is quite simple to manufacture. Structurally, such a machine consists of two main parts.

The whetstone is fixed, the knife moves.

The second tool for sharpening the blade is based on the fact that the whetstone is fixed on the base, the sharpening of the blade is carried out by moving the knife. With this method of sharpening, a device is made in the form of a movable trolley on which the knife is fixedly fixed. The sharpening angle is set by the height of the bar relative to the site.

Moving the trolley with the knife clamped back and forth, the blade is sharpened, however, you need to adapt to sharpening the rounded edges of the blade. For high-quality sharpening, you need to place this device on a perfectly flat surface, for example, laying a sheet of glass on the table or using a natural stone worktop.

The choice of whetstones for sharpening knives

In the manufacture of a homemade knife sharpener, the main component will be a whetstone. To choose the right type of abrasive, you need to know the parameters of the bars, as well as what tool they are intended to sharpen. There are seven types of whetstones. The materials from which they are made are called abrasives.

Abrasive material is natural and artificial. Artificial abrasives are made from a wide variety of materials, they differ in quality, strength and price. Natural abrasives are novaculite and Japanese water stones. The main parameters of whetstones are grain size and size. In order to completely sharpen the knife, bars of three types of grit are required.

• Coarse grained. Designed for primary processing, correcting the shape of the blade.
• Medium grained. Designed for sharpening, fine-tuning after initial processing.
• Fine grained. Designed for polishing and final finishing of the blade.

For domestic use, sharpeners are also made with two types of grain on both sides of the bar.

DIY knife sharpening rules

Using blunt knives is unsafe, therefore, when the blade is dull, it should be sharpened. It is important that when sharpening the cutting tool is located strictly perpendicular to the direction of the bar, and also sharpen the knife at the same angle along the entire blade.

Most kitchen cutting tools have a factory sharpening of 20 to 25 degrees. When sharpening for domestic use, this angle can be slightly reduced to about 15 degrees, which will increase its cutting properties. Processing should be started from the beginning of the blade, to control the angle of sharpening and quality, you can paint over the machined part of the blade with a marker. Since in the process of use it wears out differently, when performing sharpening, you should focus on the most blunt part of the blade.

We all faced a situation where there is no desire or opportunity to buy a special device for professional sharpening knives or to seek help from a master. There is a great way out - hand assembly   for sharpening knives. For safer and better sharpening, use it strictly for its intended purpose. The plus is that you can choose the mode and level of difficulty yourself, this will quickly and accurately achieve the desired result.

Every housewife sooner or later begins to blunt the knives with which she cuts bread, vegetables or cuts meat. Using a blunt knife is not only inconvenient, but also unsafe. It can at any time break loose from the cut product and cause injury. Therefore, the tool should be sharpened periodically, using a special device for sharpening knives.

Such a wide range of grinding tools are offered in stores. But for one reason or another, they do not always suit the consumer. In this case, the device for sharpening knives can be done with your own hands, having previously studied the types of stones for sharpening, the features of the tool and the proposed drawings.

Knife sharpening - necessary conditions

For efficient and long-term operation of the knife, the most important factor when sharpening it is angle between the edges of the blade. In the process of sharpening, it is necessary to restore the previously set angle, which will fully comply with technological standards and quickly, freely and efficiently cut the material.

For each blade, its optimal angle is selected:

• for a razor and scalpel, the angle of sharpening should be 10-15 degrees;
• knives for cutting bread, fruits and vegetables are sharpened at an angle of 15–20 degrees;
• multifunctional knives for various products are processed at an angle of 20-25 degrees;
• hunting and camping-tourist knives - at an angle of 25-30 degrees;
• knives for cutting hard materials - 30-40 degrees.

Without a special tool, it is difficult to sharpen the blade at the desired angle. Holding the knife with your hands is quite difficult to secure required angle   cutting tool. To facilitate this process, there are special devices that you can make with your own hands. Their designs are quite simple, and the production itself does not take so much time.

There are many types of knife sharpeners, among which you can choose the most appropriate for your needs.

All devices consist of two parts:

• abrasive block;
• emphasis for fastening a knife.

As a bar, you can use ready-made special stones or make it yourself.

Stones for sharpening - types and manufacturing

On sale you can find several types of stones:

Water   instruments. When working with them, water is used, which saves the surface of the stone.

Oil   stone in structure and form resembles water, but its surface is the most oily.

Natural tools are made of natural stones, which are industrial processing.

Artificial   stones are made from unnatural components.

Rubber   tools can also be found on sale, but working on them is not very convenient.

For independent production of an abrasive bar, you can use small plates of glass of rectangular shape and a thickness of 4-5 millimeters. On the surface of the plates using double-sided tape, sandpaper of different grain size must be glued. The cost of such bars will be very small, and sandpaper can be replaced at any time.

However, when using a glass bar it should be very gently tighten the nutsotherwise the glass may crack. In addition, when it is used, water is not used, so the abrasive wears out quickly. For the same reason, when sharpening knives, quick movements should be avoided, which can lead to overheating of the material, and, therefore, to loss of blade properties.

Wooden whetstone sharpener

It is enough just to make a sharpening tool from two wooden and two abrasive blocks, which should be the same size.

For greater stability of the grinder to its bottom surface, it is recommended attach a piece of rubber.

DIY sharpener from mounting angles

The basis for such a device is the Lansky sharpener, the drawings of which can be easily found on the Internet.

• metal plates measuring 4X11 centimeters;
• standard aluminum corners;
• metal rods about 15 centimeters long;
• set of nuts and bolts;
• vise grinder or file;
• file

Instead of a grinding machine, you can use a file, since this tool is only necessary for grinding from corners of sharp corners and for cleaning places of metal cutting.

Stages of manufacturing a sharpener:

1. According to the drawing, markings are made for future holes in the plates.
2. The holes are drilled and a thread is cut into them.
3. Using a file, all sharp corners and edges are rounded. This will allow you to comfortably use the manufactured knife.
4. In the corner, in accordance with the drawing, holes are made.
5. The hole for supporting the needles is expanded with a needle file.
6. Threads are cut into the holes for the studs.
7. The rods are inserted into the outer holes and fixed with nuts of the corresponding diameter (M6).
8. An M8 bolt is screwed into a wider hole, the length of which should be about 14 centimeters. First, a wing nut should be screwed onto it, over which two ordinary nuts are screwed. The bolt in the structure will be used as a support post.
9. Bolts are attached to the remaining holes, with which the knife will be clamped.
10. Nuts are screwed onto the ends of the rods, a corner is strung, which is fixed with the help of nuts. By lowering or raising the rods, it will be possible to adjust the angle of sharpening.
11. From a thin metal rod in the form of the letter G, a rod with M6 thread, two holders and a wing nut, a device is assembled that will hold a stone for sharpening. The extreme holder should be with a through hole for the spoke.

Such a device for sharpening knives has a fairly wide range of degrees of angle of pressure and is most convenient to use.

Massive sharpener with stand

With your own hands, you can imitate the knife sharpener from Apex, the drawings of which are easy to find on the Internet. Such a knife is presented in the form of a stand, on which a platform is installed at an angle, and a support for the end of the nozzle in the form of a rod is placed on the side. This is a very convenient device with which you can very accurately sharpen any cutting tools.

Necessary materials and tools:

Stages of work:

The angle of sharpening on such a device adjustable with bar and lamb, which fixes the part at the desired height.

Each of the described devices has its advantages and disadvantages. When choosing a suitable option, you must proceed from your needs and skills in such work that you will need to do with your own hands.