How to properly sharpen a knife from a meat grinder at home
Almost every housewife has a special meat grinder, which is used to prepare minced meat. If you use such a device for a long time, its blades will start to clog and cut food more. Therefore, you need to learn how to properly sharpen a knife from a meat grinder.
The device and principle of operation of the meat grinder
Before starting the repair, you need to familiarize yourself with the principle of operation of a mechanical device and understand how it turns fresh meat into minced meat.
If you look at the device from above, you can see a special tray for feeding products, inside which a spiral-shaped shaft is installed. This auger rotates by turning the handle. During the spinning process, the meat loaded inside the meat grinder is crushed and turns into a thick mince. The shredding is carried out using two knives. The first is installed near the outlet, and the second rotates with the shaft.
Sign sharpening
Several signs can be used to determine that the knife needs to be sharpened:
- The meat grinder begins to clog more often. When the knives no longer chop the meat well, the appliance becomes more clogged.For this reason, you often have to take it apart and clean it.
- Winding the products on a tree. If the knife is dull, its blade cuts the meat even more and begins to roll it up. To solve this problem, you will need to sharpen a dull blade.
- Mechanical damage to the surface. Dull knives show scratches and corrosion.
Procedure
To properly sharpen a knife, you must familiarize yourself with the procedure for performing the procedure.
Instrument preparation
The following tools can be used to sharpen dull blades:
- Sandpaper. It is recommended to choose sandpaper, which is better than others for working with meat grinder knives. Experts advise using coarse-grained types of paper. They will help sharpen the blade and clean it from corrosion. Fine grit sandpaper is used to grind metal surfaces;
- abrasive wheel. Before using such a tool, it must be carefully examined. It is necessary to use circles with a flat surface. If it is uneven, the knife could be accidentally damaged.
Fat
Dull blades should be lubricated before starting work. Therefore, it is recommended to preselect a lubricant for the pretreatment of knives. Most often, ordinary sunflower oil is used as a lubricant, which can be found in almost every household. You also need to use a special abrasive paste. It is applied to a metal surface to protect the metal from scratches that may occur during the sharpening process.
If the work is to be done with a grinding wheel, then water is used instead of sunflower oil.
Using the pliers
Sometimes it is not possible to evenly process the surface of the blade, and you have to use special pliers.Most often people use wooden structures, with the help of which it is possible to evenly process the workpiece. It is necessary to press into the central part of the knife or grate. Circular movements are done carefully so as not to overdo it and not damage anything.
Knife and grid sharpening
There are several ways to sharpen knives, which you should familiarize yourself with in advance.
Sandpaper
To sharpen the blade at home, sandpaper is most often used. Before using sandpaper, treat the workpiece with vegetable oil, which will protect it from mechanical damage.
After using such a lubricant, an abrasive layer remains on the surface, which improves the sliding of the paper and contributes to the grinding of the surface.
When sharpening a knife, sandpaper is applied to the surface of the product and rotated clockwise. The procedure is carried out for 30-40 minutes, after which the slide is examined. If the surface is not shiny, it is being reprocessed.
grinding wheel
Some people prefer to sharpen their blades with special whetstones. The principle of working with such a tool is very similar to using sandpaper. However, there are several distinguishing features:
- Before starting work, the surface of the iron is treated not with oil, but with water.
- Sharpening the blade with a stone is much easier, since you do not need to think about additional attachment of the tool. Simply position it on a substrate so that it does not slip.
Crusher
A grinder is rarely used to sharpen the knives of a meat grinder. Not everyone has this device, because it is quite expensive and requires certain knowledge from a person for the correct use of the machine. Therefore, beginners should not use such a sharpener.
To sharpen a knife, you need to pre-treat it with oil and press it against a rotating circle. Just press it for a few seconds to sharpen the blade.
In a workshop
Sometimes people are unable to sharpen a high quality dull knife themselves. In this case, it is recommended to turn to specialists who have a special grinding machine. This device evenly removes a thin layer of steel from the surface of the knife. Thanks to this, it is possible to get rid of the unevenness of the coating and the corrosion that has eaten away at it.
The sander should only be used if the blade has not been sharpened for several years.
Quality Control
After sharpening the knife, you need to check the quality of the work done. To do this, the product is laid on a flat metal or glass surface, slightly pressed and moved. If all goes well, then the knife is sharp. Also, the quality of work is checked by placing one sharpened blade on top of another. They should fit snugly into each other, with no gaps. If there are small gaps, the knife must be sharpened again.
Tips & Tricks
There are several recommendations and tips that will help you sharpen your knives correctly:
- before work, you need to make sure that the products need sharpening;
- the blade that will be sharpened is pre-treated with a lubricant;
- after the completion of the work, they must check the quality of their implementation.
Conclusion
After prolonged use of the meat grinder, the blades of its knives begin to become dull and due to this, it is not possible to make minced meat. Before sharpening them, you need to understand the methods of work and the features of using the necessary tools.
