It is difficult to imagine a modern kitchen without such a useful mechanism as a meat grinder. With its help, any hostess can do without even a food processor. But over time, even the sharpest blade becomes dull and ceases to perform its functions. The way out of this situation is quite simple - you need to sharpen the knife again. We will talk about sharpening methods further.
Characteristics of knives
Any meat grinder has at least two knives:
- stationary;
- mobile.
One of them is stationary. It is a circle with a lot of small holes. The second knife is a spare part with several blades usually with four. During operation, the knife rotates and due to this, the products are crushed. And after that, the crushed pieces are pushed through the holes of the stationary part.
Causes of failure
One of the parameters of the good work of the meat grinder is the sharpness of the cutting edges of the movable blade. However, when small bones or veins in the meat the blade becomes dull. Gradually, more effort is required to grind the products.
Another parameter of efficient operation is the distance from the stationary part to the moving part. The smaller this distance, the better the grinding will be. Over time, due to wear and tear, this distance increases. In addition, due to the fact that knives, as a rule, are made of black metal, they lose their sharpness as they oxidize and rust.
So that reduce the amount of effort to grind food(and in modern conditions, the amount of electricity consumed), you need to sharpen the blades for the meat grinder in a timely manner.
Methods for sharpening a knife for a meat grinder
There are several options for sharpening a knife:
Whatever sharpening method is chosen, it is imperative to carry out preparatory work. Lubricate the blades with sunflower oil and let dry for 5-10 minutes. You also need to do with the tool for sharpening. This is required so that the sharpening tool does not deteriorate at the very beginning of work. In addition, such a preparatory stage prevents the formation of splinters due to the possible incorrect position of the knife during sharpening.
Using a special machine
The most convenient option, of course, is to use a special machine. It is designed specifically for sharpening blades for meat grinders and has a smooth abrasive surface. Before work a special paste is applied to the disc, which contains the smallest abrasive particles. Due to this, after the composition dries, the surface of the disk becomes rough. After connecting the device to the electrical network, the disk begins to rotate and the cutting edge of the parts is gently pressed against it. During work, be sure to take breaks to prevent overheating of the metal.
Despite the simplicity of the method, this procedure requires certain skills. If you hold the knives at the wrong angle, you will not be able to sharpen, moreover, it can be dangerous.
Another The disadvantage of this option is its high cost.. A knife sharpening machine is a rather expensive thing, and it is not so easy to find it in a regular store. Sometimes it is easier and safer to see a specialist or use another method.
Using a whetstone
It is much easier to buy a grindstone in a store. It is much cheaper than the machine, and there are several options for its use.
First option. Sharpening is done by rotating the knife. The sharpening stone in this case should exceed the diameter of the knife by at least 2 times. The knife lies in the center so that the blades fit snugly against the surface of the stone.
Holding the knife in the middle of the stone with your hands, it is necessary to make circular movements. Gradually you need to increase the speed of rotation as much as possible. You can finish sharpening if all the blades become the same without nicks and visible irregularities. At the same time, this method of sharpening can only be used on knives that are not too blunt.
The second option is the rotation of the stone. This method is suitable if there is no result from the first. Since the sharpening force will depend on the amount of friction, then the stone must be fine. The size of the stone may not exceed the size of the part. A knife is taken in one hand, a stone in the other. They are tightly pressed against each other and circular movements are made. This procedure can be performed more effectively if you fix the part, and not hold it in your hands. Be sure to wear gloves for protection. After sharpening, the blade is allowed to cool and rinsed under running cold water.
Using sandpaper
Another popular way to sharpen a meat grinder knife is to use sandpaper. The thickness of the sandpaper depends on the thickness of the blade. The thicker the metal needs to be processed, the larger the grain fraction should be.
The procedure itself is very simple. Taking a knife in one hand and paper in the other, you just need to gently rub each blade until it becomes sharp. The movements at the same time are similar to those that happen if you just wipe the surface.
Thus, if you follow any simple method, you can keep the meat grinder in perfect condition without turning to outside specialists.
With the help of this a simple fixture you will be able to quickly and correctly sharpen your meat grinder knives. Quickly, because a drill, machine tool or screwdriver is used to rotate the knife, but correctly, because the device gives the optimal pressing force on the entire plane without distortion.
Required to assemble fixture
- A pair of long bolts with four nuts to them.
- A pair of thin bolts with two nuts to them.
- Two springs.
- A piece of thin steel plate.
Making a tool for sharpening meat grinder knives
First we will make a device for sharpening a cross-shaped knife. We measure the internal size of the square hole with a caliper.
We grind the bolt head on a taphole machine to a square with the dimensions of a square hole in the knife.
We assemble the device in the following sequence:
We put a washer on a bolt with a square cap, then a spring. Next, another washer, two nuts. We tighten the spring with nuts so that pressure is created and the spring does not hang out just like that. Now we tighten the nuts together with two wrenches so that nothing will unscrew in the future.
The device is ready.
But before starting to sharpen the edges that are adjacent to the mesh knife, we sharpen the perpendicular planes. Let's do it on the same tape machine.
Let's put everything aside for now and proceed to the manufacture of a device for a mesh knife.
You will need a rectangular piece of metal. You can take steel or aluminum.
We apply grids to the knife to mark the boundaries and cut off the excess, drill three holes: in the center and on the sides for the guides.
Drill the middle hole for the large bolt. And va small under thin bolts.
We assemble the device. We insert the central thick bolt, having previously screwed one nut onto it. After fixing with another nut.
We insert thin bolts of the same length into small holes and also fix them with nuts with force.
The device is ready. The main thing is that the central bolt should be lower than or equal to the length of the thin bolts relative to the level of the rectangular plate. See photo.
Now the fixtures are ready.
Sharpening meat grinder knives
Sharpening will be done on a vertical drilling machine, but you can use a hand drill or a screwdriver.We fix in the cartridge a device for sharpening a mesh knife.
We will sharpen in three stages: first with coarse sandpaper, then with fine, and at the end with the finest.
We put it on a flat lining made of a piece of steel or other material. The main thing is that the surface is perfectly flat. Then we put sandpaper with a large grain on top, then the mesh knife itself. We lower the fixture so that all the bolts fall into the holes. You don't have to go all the way to the end. It is necessary that the spring create a pressing force.
We turn on the machine and within a few minutes we sharpen the knife.
Next, stop the machine and replace the sandpaper with a finer one. Continue sharpening the knife for a few minutes.
Now it's time for the finest grit finish paper.
The result is there:
The same must be done with a cross-shaped knife: first, large paper.
A meat grinder is an indispensable thing in the kitchen. With its help, every housewife will be able to cook a huge number of dishes from minced meat and vegetables. Despite the fact that on modern kitchen other universal devices have already appeared, such as a blender or a food processor, the meat grinder still confidently competes with them. However, the blades of the device become dull after prolonged use, and the question of how to properly sharpen the meat grinder knives one day becomes relevant.
Why do meat grinder knives need to be sharpened?
Depending on the frequency of use of the meat grinder, its blades lose their sharpness. This can occur due to the formation of small chips and depressions in the place where the movable and fixed cutting elements come into contact.
Knives in a meat grinder must be sharpened at regular intervals.
The most common reason for the unsatisfactory operation of the meat grinder is the blunting of the knives, if they were originally made from low-quality raw materials.
Basically, the device works with a relatively soft product - meat. But small bones or tendons, when grinding, fall on the cutting edge of the blade, which leads to a gradual loss of sharpness. At the initial stage, you can find that the meat grinder began to "chew" the meat, and soon after that it completely stops grinding it.
Also, with improper care, the metal from which the knives are made begins to oxidize and rust. It also negatively affects their sharpness.
Today, manufacturers produce all the components for small household appliances in sufficient quantities. You can easily buy a new sharp knife for a meat grinder,. But this will require additional costs, in addition, often the problem is detected at the moment when the cooking process has already begun.
Cutting elements for electrical and mechanical meat grinders have approximately the same shape and composition of the metal alloy. The only difference is that in a mechanical device, the knives are scrolled manually, and in automated devices, an engine is built in that performs a similar function. Therefore, you can sharpen the blades in the same ways.
Important! The frequency of sharpening knives should correspond to their blunting. As soon as you start to notice that the meat grinder does not grind food enough or simply crushes them, it is worth updating the edges of the blades.
The nuances of correct sharpening
Grinding products in a meat grinder is provided by 2 knives:
- fixed knife mesh;
- four blade cutter.
The second knife is a rotating part, thanks to which the main grinding takes place. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the sharpening of all its sides.
In the accompanying instructions for the device, depending on the manufacturer, the mesh knife may have a different name. It is often referred to as a stationary knife or simply a mesh.
Fundamental rules:
- If sharpening will be done with a whetstone, take a metal ruler and make sure that its surface is strictly horizontal.
- If the abrasive is used sandpaper, then it is better to fix it on the work surface. It would be useful to place any flat removable surface under it, for example, glass, to protect the table from scratches during operation.
- Pre-treat the knives with vegetable oil and leave for 5 minutes. Do the same with the tool with which sharpening will be performed. This is necessary so that a gentle abrasive paste can form during sharpening. It will also help minimize scratches and splinters on the knives.
- To ensure even removal of the metal layer, try to press the center of the knife against the grinding surface.
- The mesh knife also becomes dull during operation, so it also needs to be sharpened.
3 ways to sharpen meat grinder knives at home
Regardless of which sharpening method you choose, you need to prepare necessary materials with which the work will be done. Proper organization of the process will allow sharpening knives quickly, efficiently and without damaging them. You can return the blades to their former sharpness on their own, having one of the sharpening tools at home and about 30 minutes of time.
There are several ways to sharpen meat grinder knives:
- on a grinder;
- with a grindstone;
- sandpaper.
All these methods do not require special skills and expensive devices. You can buy everything you need in hardware stores.
On the grindstone
If you have absolutely no experience in sharpening meat grinder knives, buy a corundum whetstone in a specialized store. The best option will be if its diameter is approximately 180 mm, and the grain size is from 40 to 60 microns.
Sharpening stone - a simple and affordable tool for sharpening knives
The process itself has the following features:
- Sharpening should be done under a gentle stream of water. To do this, place the stone in the sink and moisten it abundantly. The water will act as a lubricant and cool the metal.
- Fix the grindstone on the work surface. To do this, you can put a rag under it.
- Take the cutter and place it with the blade towards the stone.
- Perform circular movements in a clockwise direction with even pressure on the knife.
- Continue sharpening until the surface of the element is completely shiny.
- After the sharpening of the rotating knife is completed, do the same with the mesh knife. To do this, place it on the stone with the side adjacent to the first knife.
- After sharpening both knives, check the fit. To do this, fold them together with the corresponding sides and look at the light. No cracks should be visible.
- Finally, rinse the knives under running warm water to remove the abrasive.
- Assemble the meat grinder and try it in work.
Important! The considered method is effective for not too dull blades. If the knives have rusted and are in a state of disrepair, then it most likely will not give the desired result.
Video: how to sharpen meat grinder knives with a grindstone
On the machine
It's very simple and fast way sharpen your own knives. Sharpening is done using a rotating grinding wheel. Before starting work, an abrasive goi paste is applied to its surface, which, when dried, creates a rough surface on the disc due to the content of small particles in its composition.
To work on a grinder, you need a little skill
Important! Use Goi Paste No. 4 with a grit of 17-8 microns.
Grinding of the mesh knife on the machine is carried out as follows:
- Apply abrasive paste to the surface of the machine disk and wait for it to dry. Only after that the device will be ready for operation.
- Turn on the machine. The disk will start spinning.
- Gently press the mesh knife against the surface of the disc. Try to distribute pressure evenly.
Sharpening a torch with a machine can be difficult if you are not experienced with a machine. It needs to be done in 2 steps:
- First, sharpen each of the 4 knife blades by leaning them against the rotating disc at an 80° angle.
It is very important to maintain the angle of inclination relative to the machine evenly.
- The second stage will be the grinding of the formed burrs. To do this, follow the steps similar to sharpening a mesh knife.
It is necessary to sharpen the cutter on the machine, observing small breaks between stages. This is necessary in order to allow the metal of the knife to cool.
Video: an example of processing blades on a machine
sandpaper
One of the easiest and most affordable ways is to use sandpaper. She will definitely be in your home. In extreme cases, you can buy it at a hardware or hardware store. The cost of this tool is several times less than the cost of a grindstone or machine.
Do not use paper with a large fraction of grains to sharpen meat grinder knives.
So, the sharpening process is carried out in the following sequence:
- Place a sheet of sandpaper horizontally on the desktop. For convenience, it is desirable to provide him with additional fixation.
- In a clockwise circular motion, begin to rub the knife until you achieve a sheen and sharpness of the blades.
- Do the same with the mesh.
Important! The movements should be only circular and resemble wiping the surface.
Video: sandpaper sharpening master class
The process of sharpening knives for a meat grinder at home is quite feasible even for people without special experience and skills. All you need is a sharpening tool and some free time. If you notice a deterioration in the sharpness of the blades in the device, do not hesitate to process them.
An old manual or new electric meat grinder in the house is simply a must. Cooking minced meat is a matter of a few minutes, but this requires a working meat grinder that will not let you down in the midst of work. And if the unit started to malfunction, the answer is always the same - blunt knives. So the question arises, where and how to sharpen a knife for a meat grinder, if it is necessary at the most crucial moment.
The device and principle of operation of the meat grinder
To understand how knives work and why it is necessary to constantly monitor the condition of the cutting surfaces, consider the device and the principle of operation of the unit.
The meat grinder consists of the following units:
- cast body (cast iron or aluminum alloy);
- cast auger (cast iron or aluminum alloy);
- movable four-bladed knife;
- fixed grate with many holes;
- large front nut;
- handle for rotating the auger (in electric meat grinders - an electric motor).
The meat is loaded into the receiving hopper, from where it is fed to a fixed grid with the help of an auger. Here, the process of cutting meat between the fixed mesh and the movable four-bladed knife takes place. Chopped meat in the form of minced meat is pressed through the mesh holes into the receiving container.
When sharpening is needed
To understand why sharpening is needed, it is necessary to understand the operation of all the details during the production of minced meat.
When buying a meat grinder, all parts are brand new, as they were not used. Therefore, the knives have an ideal contact surface. This is very important during the operation of the unit. There is an ideal cut of the next portion of meat falling into working area unit.
But after some time of operation, the meat grinder starts to malfunction. If the unit is manual, then you have to make more effort to rotate the handle. At electric drive, there are interruptions in the rotation of the auger, overheating of the electric motor and its breakdown is possible.
With an ideal way out, it is enough to buy spare parts in the store and, after replacement, continue to work quietly. But this option cannot suit the hostess. After all, buying parts is not economically viable. It is necessary to figure out what is happening and how you can get out of the situation without buying new parts.
What's going on with the grinder
After buying a meat grinder in a store, you need to read the instruction manual. Almost all manufacturers assure buyers that the knives of their unit do not have a wear period and even sharpen themselves. Allegedly, during operation, the movable cutter, in close contact with the fixed mesh, slides over it and mutual self-sharpening occurs due to friction. But in reality we don't see it. Indeed, even in electric meat grinders, cutting parts are made not from high-quality steel, but from ordinary steel.
When grinding the product, tendons, all kinds of inclusions, up to small fragments of bones fall. As a result of such work, the usual blunting of the cutting parts occurs and the minced meat grinding process is disrupted. After a while, the meat grinder simply does not grind the meat, but crushes it. That's when the question arises, where to sharpen the knives for the meat grinder.
Sharpening knives for meat grinders
So that you are not tormented by the question of where you can sharpen the meat grinder knives at the time of minced meat production, try to regularly inspect the parts. To do this, simply disassemble the unit and inspect the condition of the cutting units. If the surface is covered with rust, it must be pierced to prevent destruction by corrosion. You always have a choice: where to sharpen knives for a meat grinder.
If you prefer to entrust this work to specialists, then you can contact one of the sharpening centers of specialized enterprises in your city.
Sharpening knives in the workshop
If you decide to sharpen the cutting parts in the workshop, then this must be done in advance. It is necessary to inspect the meat grinder once a month and identify all defects.
In the workshops, the Adems grinder is used for sharpening and sharpening abrasive stones are used.
If you have such a machine in your home workshop or garage, then you can sharpen knives at home. Let's see how this can be done.
The machine consists of an electric drive and a horizontal faceplate. To perform this operation, you must:
- lubricate the plan washer over the entire surface with oil;
- sprinkle abrasive powder on the lubricated surface and distribute it evenly over the faceplate;
- turn on the machine and magnetic holder We install the knife with the processed surface on the faceplate, pressing it in the center.
After surface treatment, another element is placed on the machine. Thus, the horizontality of the working surfaces working in a pair of parts is achieved. The next operation is the sharpening of the edges of the movable four-blade cutter at an angle of 80 degrees on a sharpening abrasive. The final touch is the grinding of the cutting edges of the movable knife and the horizontal surface of the grate on the vulcanite stone.
Sharpening at home with sandpaper
What to do if you understand in the process of minced meat production: meat is not cut, but "chewed"?
You can sharpen knives at home. The easiest way to sharpen cutting element- at home with your own hands. You need sandpaper for sharpening fine-grained knives. It is not advisable to use a coarse-grained skin, as this can damage the surface of the knife. After all, when sharpening knives in this way, one should not allow a lot of wear and damage to the cutting surfaces.
Sharpening is carried out on a perfectly horizontal surface. Having fixed a sheet of paper, we begin to rub it with the treated surface of the knife until we achieve a clean working surface. We do the same with the other knife. Having finished processing, we check the parallelism of the surfaces in the light. It would be ideal if no gap is visible between the cutter and the grate.
You can check the meat grinder with the help of threads inserted through the grate of the meat grinder when assembled. Turning on the electric meat grinder, the cut threads should fall on the table.
On the grindstone
You can sharpen knives using whetstones. To do this, we buy a corundum grinding stone from 40 to 60 microns in the store. We make a platform from the board to strengthen it and provide water supply during work. Having strengthened the stone on a stand, having previously moistened it with water, we begin to sharpen the movable element, making circular rotational-translational movements. In this case, a finely dispersed abrasive paste is formed, which brings the surface to grinding. Periodically rinse the cutter in water. When a shiny surface is reached, the part is considered ground.
We process the grid in the same way. At the same time, we check the fit of the knives to the clearance of the surfaces. If there is no gap between the applied working surfaces, then the result of sharpening is achieved and the meat grinder can be tested in operation.
On a grinder
The two previous methods work if the wear of the cutting parts is insignificant, you just need to make a small reconstruction of the cutting edges and contact surfaces. With more serious wear and damage, a grinder will help you.
When starting work, it is necessary to check the condition of the working disk of the machine. It should be perfectly flat and should only be used for sharpening work..
- It is necessary to apply GOI No. 4 paste on the working surface of the disc and let it dry.
- Then we turn on the machine and when the disk picks up speed, we begin to work.
- Pressing the mesh to the disk, we process until a uniformly shiny surface is obtained.
When processing a knife, it is necessary to work intermittently in order to prevent overheating of the workpiece.
Then we proceed to sharpening the four-bladed movable cutter. Here the work is carried out in stages..
Work on the grinder will be efficient and fast if you know how to work and follow the safety rules.
Dear visitors!!!
As we know, sharpening knives for meat grinders is carried out by specialists working in workshops that are equipped with the appropriate equipment. But usually, we do not have everything free time and the opportunity to visit specialized workshops to meet their needs.
Usually, for grinding a circular knife (lattice) and sharpening the cutting edge of a cross-shaped knife (for a meat grinder), you can use an electric emery.
Emery electric
Currently, electric emery is available in a large assortment in specialized stores, which of course meet their technical requirements.
Nevertheless, for some reason, we have to make this electrical appliance with our own hands. Insignificant costs for the manufacture of electric emery include the purchase of an emery wheel and a nozzle, which is installed on the rotor shaft of the electric motor. The electric motor for emery is borrowed most often - from unnecessary washing machine. It should be noted here that for grinding the grating and sharpening the cross-shaped knife, there should be no radial and end runout during the rotation of the emery wheel. The axial and radial runout of a rotating emery wheel will depend on how you set the emery wheel. That is, it is initially necessary to determine the displacement of the emery wheel (during its rotation) and then eliminate its beating.
Nevertheless, in terms of quality, preference should be given to special types of machines designed for grinding grates and sharpening cruciform meat grinder knives.
Machine for sharpening meat grinder knives
Using this sharpening machine, you can set the required angle for sharpening the cutting edge of the knife, as well as grind the meat grinder grate itself.
If it is not possible to purchase grinding machine for meat grinder knives and other cutting tools - I suggest you watch the video, which, in my opinion, contains useful information.
That's all for now. Follow the rubric.
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