How to quickly and easily sharpen a meat grinder knife at home: 1 bad and 2 good ways
For many years, sharpening a meat grinder knife was a problem for me. Or rather, I was afraid of ruining it, so I preferred not to experiment at home, but to take it, along with ordinary kitchen knives, to a master who worked on a professional machine. However, then I got tired of it. And trips to the other end of the city no longer fit into the work schedule. And the toad began to choke, because for the price of a few sharpenings you could buy a new knife. In general, I had to learn a new craft.
Method 1: unusual file
First of all, I went to a hardware store and asked the seller to show me all the tools for sharpening knives from a meat grinder that were in stock. He shrugged his shoulders, glanced at me with an indifferent glance and declared that they didn’t have anything like that, never had one, and were unlikely to ever have one.
I continued to insist. If there are meat grinders and knives for them on sale, then there is an item that can restore the functionality of these same knives. Even if they get it for me from under the counter, even from underground, I still won’t leave otherwise. The seller thought for a minute, then perked up, went to some stand and a minute later returned with a file in his hand. He solemnly handed it to me, declaring that this file is called musat and together we will be happy forever.
I heard somewhere that ordinary knives can be sharpened with a file.But I didn’t know that it was used for sharpening meat grinder knives. However, the thing was interesting, it was inexpensive, and I would definitely find a use for it, so I decided to buy it.
As a result, I made more than once attempts to put the knife in order using the same musat. No positive changes were observed, quite the contrary. But ordinary knives were sharpened well, which, however, did not solve the problem with the meat grinder.
Method 2: sandpaper
On a warm autumn day, to pass the time remaining before my dentist appointment, I decided to take a walk around the market. It was very conveniently located (almost next to the clinic), and there was always something to see there.
So this time, walking between the aisles with all sorts of things, I unwittingly overheard a conversation between a seller and a buyer who demanded to give him some sandpaper to sharpen knives. This interested me, so, after waiting for the man to leave and taking advantage of the absence of other customers, I interrogated the man who was standing on the other side of the counter. It should be noted that he had limitless patience. It was for this reason that I headed out half an hour later with a set of 10 sheets of waterproof sandpaper for metal working.
As the seller assured, sharpening knives with sandpaper is as easy as shelling pears. Especially if these are knives from a meat grinder. The sharpening process itself, according to him, looked like this:
- You need to place a piece of paper on a very flat, smooth surface. If it is lumpy, ribbed or anything else, nothing good will come of it. Even one small grain caught under a sheet of sandpaper can ruin everything.
- Place the knife on top so that its cutting edges touch the abrasive surface.
- Press the knife down with your fingers and rotate it counterclockwise.It is very important to do exactly this, and not the other way around.
- After a while the edges will begin to shine. When their entire surface becomes silvery-shiny, the sharpening process can be considered complete.
However, that's not all. In order for the meat grinder to work no worse than the jaws of a megalodon, you need to put in order the metal mesh (a circle with holes) through which the minced meat passes. The manipulations with it are the same as with a knife, but it is advisable to bring it to an even shine on both sides. By the way, you can rotate the grid in any direction, and not strictly counterclockwise.
Since this method was suitable for both an electric meat grinder and a manual one, I decided to first test it on knives from a cheaper device. I did everything as the seller advised, assembled the meat grinder, took out the meat I had bought for the occasion from the refrigerator and was truly surprised - the old meat grinder was grinding the beef as if it were apples. And this despite the fact that she had original knives—made in 1958.
Carrying out a repeat experiment, now with the participation of a knife from a modern and quite expensive meat grinder, was no longer scary. And the result was again pleasing! Subsequently, I used this method exclusively for 5 or 6 years, and even now it remains my favorite.
Method 3: abrasive wheel
If it weren’t for another accident, it’s unlikely that I would have learned about this method from anyone. Firstly, because I was no longer interested in such information, and secondly, because, as it seems to me, few people use it.
Late one evening I was doing nothing more than canning tomatoes. When the clock showed five minutes to eleven, it turned out that the house had run out of salt.The last store closed an hour ago, and there was only one way out - to go for salt from the night owl neighbor.
Being invited into the kitchen, I noticed a strange set on the table - among the spare parts from a disassembled meat grinder there was something of the same shape as a mesh, but without holes through which the minced meat passes. I can’t contain my curiosity, so I immediately inquired about the name and purpose of this item. It turned out to be a special abrasive wheel for sharpening a knife from a meat grinder. It's easy to use:
- It is enough to assemble the meat grinder by folding the parts in the usual order, but instead of the mesh, install this same circle and tighten the union nut (the one that holds the mesh, knife and auger together) so that the handle turns with force.
- Turn the handle in the opposite direction (counterclockwise) until the cutting edges of the knife become smooth and shiny.
It’s not easy to get such an abrasive wheel for sharpening knives from a meat grinder. You'll have to go to flea markets or ask your grandparents if they have an extra one lying around. I was lucky to find it on a bulletin board and buy it for a few pennies - 40 rubles. Now I use it most often, which is very convenient.
In my “collection of experience” there are so far only two ways to sharpen a knife from a meat grinder. I can recommend them with a clear conscience to anyone who needs such advice. However, I think there are other, no less interesting and effective options. Tell us how you cope with this task - do you use the services of professionals or purchased a device that can be used at home?
You take the sandpaper, cut it into the shape of the mesh and assemble the meat grinder, just put the sandpaper in front of the mesh - Profit, no stones))
That's it, no hassles.
!!!
You need to sharpen both the knife and the mesh - the mesh is the same knife, the article is stupid
We have such discs in every hardware store, and they are even produced specifically for sharpening electric meat grinder knives?
Alexey, where is this, what city?
There is no point in turning it in the opposite direction when soaking; if you sharpen it clockwise, it will stay sharp longer. I always do this with electric ones.
Thank you for the article.
Have you tried to get married? :O
Figase, I’ve never even heard of the existence of such discs. And I’ve never seen anything like this in our hardware stores, I thought they all sharpen it like I do, with sandpaper...
Nowadays such discs are sold inexpensively in hardware stores.
Meat grinder knives are self-sharpening, I’m 49 and I’ve never seen a problem with knives, what nonsense
You just put them on manually and see the difference, there are no knives that don’t require sharpening.
Self-sharpening knives in electric shavers, and in meat grinders you have to sharpen them periodically. Even new ones are not necessarily sharp.
Do you have a liberal arts education?
What nonsense. There are no self-sharpening knives
the wife probably does everything
I’ve been spinning both manually and electrically for 30 years and I don’t bother before I always skip a piece of lard for lubrication and after that everything works without sharpening.
I agree 100%.
What if you need to twist vegetables or berries?
This way you won't sharpen anything. all cutting edges are sharpened in the direction of work. That is, the meat grinder knife must be sharpened clockwise and on waterproof paper starting from P 120 and ending with P240-320. placed on a polished mirror or piece of display glass.
Sharpens well on a grinding machine
Buy a new knife, don’t bother, you’re fooling people
You can buy anything if finances allow!
Are you screwing up?
This is ignorant. When sharpening, the knives and the mesh are ground together on one grinding table on a grinding machine so that there is a parallel plane, otherwise it will be complete bullshit.
Absolutely, only on the machine.
The mesh and knife themselves are centered relative to each other. The main thing is that they have smooth planes along the cutting edges. Therefore, there is no need to write about illiteracy if you are not sure about the issue; you risk exposing yours.
This is ideal! Not everyone has a grinding machine.
only on polishing, the rest is all bullshit!
I live in the middle of nowhere, 150 km from civilization.And where can I get a grinding machine? Do you need to have 500 sets of knives in order to go out into the world and sharpen knives once every 5 years? Sasha, connect your mind to your brains, they say it helps. And the author suggested the best option - sandpaper, a flat surface and five minutes of work! The next method of making minced meat is the Chukchi method from the joke, chew with your teeth!
The fact is that the crap in the form of a cross, which you call a knife, and the round thing with holes, they are both knives, both are always sharpened, they are practically a kind of guillotine-type scissors, only for meat. In everyday life, sandpaper on a flat surface is the most acceptable option - cheap and cheerful.
I am a 6th grade tool grinder, there is no need to reinvent the wheel, if you compare knives (I emphasize knives) after grinding on a surface grinder and various crap like sandpaper, even an idiot will notice the difference. And myself. You grind the knife on both sides, both the support and the cutting part. Even with all my skill, I won’t be able to sharpen knives while keeping the sides parallel. And what else I wanted to say, often on new sets there is no parallelism, which means they will chew and not cut. When choosing new knives, you need to put the cutting edges against each other and look at the clearance; the non-parallelism will be noticeable.
Why do we need parallel sides!? Or do you put the knife on the shaft for a press fit? Well, if the knife wobbles a couple of tenths on the square, will the meat spoil?
What is needed is not “parallelism”, but “flatness”.
Grinding a knife from the support side is a completely pointless task; once on a flat file I brought it to mind and that’s enough. Also, once, you need to trim off the seat on the auger (so that the surface is flat and perpendicular to the axis).For sharpening, I use an emery stone, always on the same side, and never use it for other purposes. I always sharpen both the knife and the disc (the disc also has only one side, the working one). When sharpening, I use the entire surface of the emery stone, using circular movements, in the direction that is more convenient for someone (someone has their left hand, the main one). In this case, first the knife, and then the disk. The disk is flat; I use its surface to level the worn layer of stone so that it is always flat. And the easiest way to check is by folding the working surfaces; they stick to each other if you move the knife, which is easy to feel. It's a matter of minutes if you don't start it. Grinding meat in an old Soviet meat grinder, taking into account disassembly washing, is faster. And you don’t need to be a 6-bit toolmaker, accuracy is enough. True, if you understand tool steel, then in the store you should first of all look at this, and not at the clearance. I would buy good steel with clearance, then bring it to fruition.
No, guys and girls! I myself am from a remote village. I still sharpen this way: I take sandpaper with a fraction of 120-160. Carpenters will understand.
And the drivers too. This is a very fine spray. I drop half a drop of motor oil onto the paper, place the knife on it and sharpen it DEFINITELY counterclockwise. A cloudy black jelly is formed. This is the real tzimus. I gather them into a pile on this very paper and rush around clockwise. As soon as the knife begins to cut the base of the paper through the film of oil—Stop! Ready! The wife is happy!!!
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Greetings Vitaly!!!! I am grateful to you for a certain trick that you shared..!!! I also sharpened it with sandpaper... there was a result... but it was very... difficult to sharpen.But you suggested it!! you need to add a drop of engine oil... and SUPER!!! (as they say, if you don’t anoint you, you won’t go!! and it’s like that in life..!!!) Thank you!!! Your method is the COOLEST WITHOUT A CERTAIN COST.
No, guys! Love your wives' hands! I do it easier and more efficiently: I take sandpaper of fraction 120-160. A drop of motor oil on it. I lay it down and rotate it COUNTERclockwise until the so-called mush appears on the abrasive. Then I collect the porridge with my finger in one place and rotate the knife CLOCKLY. As soon as the knife begins to cut the base of the sandpaper, STOP! Ready! I'm glad! And not only minced meat - everything is delicious!!! Good luck! Don't be rude, guys!
For a manual or old Soviet electric meat grinder, it’s easier to buy a new set of knife and grate at the fair for 100 rubles. Here in Magnitogorsk you can buy this set for 80 rubles. You can buy a knife or grill separately for 40 rubles. It’s more difficult with imported meat grinders, but maybe you can find something for them too
What, they don’t sell ready-made minced meat anymore?! Myths about “special” hand-rolled meat are a thing of the past.
So, is there any confidence in the composition of this “ready-made minced meat”? Unlike the “myth of special meat” which I personally push into the meat grinder ;))))
Vladimir..!! You are right..!! Yes, I live in the city and it IS!!! But with a good knife.., which not only serves for minced meat..!!! but can also serve for other “options”??? And you know it!!. I won’t be able to come and roll 200g efficiently. (pepper, or other certain vegetables, etc.) They will simply “make me mentally an idiot!!!” and they won’t do THIS!! Therefore, to say... that it’s purely minced meat..??? this is not it....!!!, I hope that’s what you wanted to say??? And advice... WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO SHARE AND ADVICE... THIS IS SUPER!!!
And I don’t sharpen at all. When assembling, I just always put the mesh with the same side to the skin and during the work they rub against each other.
Fine sandpaper is placed on a piece of glass (flat surface) and with circular movements until uniform contact with the sandpaper is noticeable and then the same grid. No more problems.
The best flat surface is a thick (unnecessary) mirror!.
Quite normal for “field conditions”. If you “have tools” in the house, you can sharpen a knife and grill in 30 seconds using a drill, a grinding wheel and an adapter for HEX-square screwdrivers.
The sharpening process itself is simple, just aligning the two planes of the knife and the steel disc. The sharpening angle is made at the factory. Strong metal production creates a gap and therefore the knives and metal discs are replaced. The blade itself can be straightened using an abrasive smooth wheel or abrasive paper.
It won’t cut! Crumple, maybe?
I’ve been using these stones for 20 years, but they also need to be changed periodically, at least once every 2 years. And also, just in case, it’s easier to twist old stringy meat if you add vegetable oil during the process (a little at a time, without fanaticism!)
ahhhhhhhhhh!!! the girl has never seen Musat???-kick-file)) ....haha
I am always surprised by the women who go to the household. Plumbing and tool stores understand it all just like in their own kitchen! At the same time, they usually look decent! So in this case, a woman teaches how to sharpen knives for a meat grinder! Not every man knows how to sharpen them correctly! Are the MEN really being transferred?
7 minutes of show-off and 57 seconds of business.It's simple: take the skin, put it on the table and move the knife in a circular motion while looking at the TV. That's all!
Well done, no words!
This is all fornication, only a grinding machine can sharpen knives and mesh!!!!
Sharpening a flat meat grinder knife with a round grinder already suggests inadequacy. Have you tried using a flat file for sharpening? You need to sharpen the edges of the meat grinder knife, which are at 90 degrees. And here they suggest grinding the knife to the mesh. Then they are surprised that the meat grinder knife crushes the meat. It was impossible to touch those surfaces that form an angle of zero degrees with the sieve.
There are only morons here. Even an electric meat grinder needs to be sharpened. and the knives and meshes are the same for both manual and electric ones. Secondly, the knife practically does not become dull, and if the knife becomes dull, it will take a maximum of half a minute to sharpen it by moving it in any direction along the emery, this is 2. Thirdly, this is the most important thing, the mesh is always the first to become dull. The mesh must be sharpened first. ordinary sandpaper, whetstone. ONLY so that the stone is not greasy. If the stone is greasy, it needs to be cleaned. You can clean the stone with another stone, preferably of the same grain size; if you don’t have the same grain size, you can use any stone. You need to rub both stones against each other for half a minute three times in between, shaking off the abrasive powder with surface dirt and grease. When the stone is clean, you can start sharpening the mesh. If there is no stone, you can use sandpaper. On the stone in any direction, you need to rub the mesh until the surface is mirror-like, there should be no cracks and especially protrusions along the edges from working out the middle. And only after that, within half a minute, you can sharpen the knife.And even if you sharpen 15 knives, the meat grinder will not work if the mesh is not sharpened. The entire process of chopping meat depends 90% on the mesh and only 10% depends on the knife in the meat grinder. Well, another 2% as the error may depend on the play of parts in the housing. and that's unlikely.
Place a homemade gasket between the body of the meat grinder and the auger; a gasket made from a polythene lid will remove the gap between the knife and the mesh of the meat grinder. And you will forget that you need to sharpen knives for it for a long time.
There is a difference between industrial meat and homemade meat. As a rule, ready-made minced meat is made from industrial stuff. And you have to turn the homemade stuff yourself.
The knife itself rubs against the grate, and there is no need to grind it: if the sharp edge has become dull, it is necessary to sharpen this particular edge with a regular abrasive stone or, if available, a sharpener. But sometimes this doesn’t help either, the reason is that the gap between the knife and the grill has developed, and the threads on the nut are no longer enough to tighten and select the gap. In this case, an ordinary washer from a piece of a plastic bottle helps: the gap wears out and the meat is cut easily and at ease, even with veins - only the crunch is worth it. I tried it in different meat grinders, and at a party I used a regular paper clip instead of a washer
Well, after reading all the recommendations, I’ll add my two cents. My specialty is 0501, metal-cutting machines and tools, mechanical engineer. For the process of turning meat, the most important thing is the absence of a gap between the moving and stationary knives. This can be achieved in different ways. The first is to grind both knives on a surface grinding machine, in factory conditions. BUT! This will not give a complete guarantee - I say this as an engineer. This will give a standard, let's say, cutting, aggravated by moving the mesh to the other side. I offer a completely different option, which does not require a surface grinder but gives a 100% guarantee of very easy cutting - tested on my meat grinder. So - you need to take any! an abrasive block, lay a newspaper on the table, and rub the abrasive over the newspaper on any other abrasive or stone. The task is to obtain abrasive chips. You literally need half a teaspoon! Then, assemble the meat grinder, put the movable knife in place, then take a piece of pork lard, rub one side of the mesh on the lard, then dip the mesh in the abrasive so that the abrasive crumbs stick well to the lard. Assemble the meat grinder so that the side with the stuck crumbs faces the movable knives, that is, inward. Lightly tighten the union nut and begin the process of grinding in the knives - calmly rotate the meat grinder handle. Moreover, 10 revolutions forward, then 10 back. Tighten the union nut - and again ten to ten back. Thus, after a few cycles you should hear a very characteristic sound - h-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r. As soon as you hear this sound - everything is ready - stop everything and remove the mesh by unscrewing the nut. look at it - on the side of the mesh facing inward, a shiny ring should be clearly visible across the entire width of the movable knives. If the ring does not occupy the entire width, dip the mesh in lard and abrasive crumbs and repeat the process. As soon as you see a shiny strip across the entire width of the moving knives, the process is over. We take it apart, wash it thoroughly with fairies and rejoice as the meat grinder easily turns frozen meat!! The only condition is that when assembling the meat grinder, always place it with the shiny ring inward, towards the movable knives.And my meat grinder has not needed any knives for 10 years now.
The best sharpening on a surface grinder!
So many comments and it’s not clear who to believe!
Heresy and article and comments.
There is no way to sharpen a knife using a homemade method. You can sand the mesh flat, but usually it is not that damaged.
The main problem is this. Like scissors, a meat grinder, the CLOSING BLADES SHOULD GO IN A LINE, NOT IN PLANES.
That is, the meat grinder knife must be sharpened so that it comes into contact with the mesh only along 4 thin lines in front of the blades. LINES. It is on these four hair-thick lines that all the force of pressing the knife against the mesh should fall.
That is, sharpening occurs at a very small angle. And not on a plane!!! If you want to kill a knife, make it flat, it's that simple!
A flat knife can only cut bread. It wraps any veins on the meat, because it is not able to squeeze them.
I recommend looking at “GOST 4025-95 Household meat grinders. Technical conditions". Knife cutting edge = max. 3 mm. We are not talking about any “LINE”. The same goes for sharpening the cutting edge “at a very small angle.”
One of the conditions for good work is indeed the quality of grinding of the knife to the grate. According to GOST, the roughness should not exceed 1.25 microns.
ALL :)
This is how the knives of the meat grinder are not sharpened, the other edge of the knife is sharpened
When using a meat grinder, it is important to press the knife against the mesh. If the mesh is not original, check its thickness and sufficient pressure, because The thickness of the mesh may vary. and with sufficient pressure, self-sharpening will occur, unless of course there is deformation and wear
I can advise you to buy a knife with serrations; it has two blades, but it works much better than the original three-blade one, no matter how much you sharpen it with a mesh. Electric meat grinder. The knife costs 14 rubles. That is, if it gets dull, it’s probably easier to throw it away. But it has been working for two years now. It chops all the veins without leaving any residue, the meat grinder is clean when disassembling after scrolling.
I sharpen it with sandpaper. I apply a knife or grate to the side surface with a round wooden stick in the center, press lightly and turn on the sandpaper. By changing the pressure, I make sure that the knife or grid starts to rotate. Rotation allows you to achieve a flat surface even if the wheel is slightly worn. There is no need to press hard.
Why did we need to read so many private details? What the hell? I went there, lay down under the dentist, one day I was cutting tomatoes...are we supposed to read this crazy nonsense? The article is made up bullshit to justify the requirements for the number of characters! The point is simple: the sheep from the made-up article was given musat, then she fucked with the skin for 6 years, and then at a baoaholka she bought an old worn-out disc, which she no longer remembers... bullshit...
Only a woman can be forgiven for sharpening knives for a meat grinder. Ideal sharpening is only done on a grinding machine. It achieves sharp edges on both moving (cross-shaped) and fixed (mesh) knives, and most importantly, an ideal plane of surfaces is created and they fit tightly to each other without a gap. Such knives will cut any product easily and quickly. But with the help of sandpaper and abrasive discs you will not achieve such a plane, you will only fill up the edges. and the age of knives will not be long.
Nonsense…..Buy a new knife with a mesh and there will be a holiday….
Gentlemen, specialists! The old-fashioned method is simple: you take both knives, i.e. round and cross-shaped, and grind one by one on the glass (clean) for five minutes and that’s it!
Do you even have meat?
What did you want to hear from the stupid woman? He's talking some nonsense. Knives with bars are sharpened on a grinding machine!
Only the grinder understands the truth, probably because it is his bread. There are different ways to sharpen and kill any tool. It’s a pity that there was even an “engineer”. Apart from a grinding machine, unfortunately, nothing good will come of it. And in some cases it is also necessary to seal the knives. If you don't understand this, then the best way to sharpen a knife and a mesh (necessarily in pairs) is to take it to a grinder. (I won’t shout about education, rank and work experience). And also, if you have them sanded, be sure to look at the back of the knife. It should also be sanded (or kept in good condition from the last time). And it’s really good that it’s also demagnetized. (This is true and necessary for all types of knives: old, new, rusty, self-sharpening and self-dulling, and generally non-cutting). Good luck to all!
I sharpen this way if there is a small electric motor with a fine emery wheel, just press the grate to the end of the circle and remove the unevenness of the grate on both sides, then the knife is also pressed against the end of the emery wheel, it is important that the grate and the knife fit completely into the emery wheel