Sharpening knives for meat grinders: methods and equipment
Sharpening knives for a meat grinder is a fairly relevant operation even today. Despite the fact that automatic devices use very high-quality material, and there is also an opinion that the knives can sharpen themselves due to constant friction with the metal during operation, they still sometimes have to be sharpened by hand.
When should you sharpen knives?
First, you should figure out how to understand whether sharpening is needed now or whether you can operate the device without it.
Of course, many people think that they can just buy a new knife, but why spend the extra money? In addition, it also happens that it is necessary to sharpen the meat grinder knives while working. Most often, when grinding minced meat, it begins to “chew.”
If this happens, then, in principle, there is nothing to worry about. You can sharpen such a part in just half an hour. For work, you can use both grinding wheels and sandpaper, for example.
Need for sharpening
Sharpening knives for a meat grinder is also necessary because a sufficiently sharp object will cope with its tasks more effectively. If it is a manual machine, then less effort will be spent on work, and if the model is electric, then the operating time will be reduced, which means you can save energy.
Another important point. Manufacturers often claim that sharpening is not required, since the metal is sharpened on the grid during rotation. However, meat is a fairly viscous substance that may contain veins and small cartilages. It is when such small parts hit that the knife becomes rounded.
In other words, sharpening knives for a meat grinder is required after processing a large amount of raw materials. The more intensively the device works, the more often its cutting tool will have to be sharpened.
Experts recommend that you first become familiar with the operating principle of knives before you start sharpening them. With this approach, the chance of success when working independently will be much higher.
Here it is worth paying attention to the fact that the cutting tool, which constantly rotates during operation, is used in conjunction with a metal grid, which has many small holes. Because of this, they also need to be sharpened together.
Since a knife usually has 4 blades, it is important to remember to sharpen them all separately.
How to sharpen meat grinder knives at home? There are a few general points to follow while working:
- To begin with, it is important to check the horizontalness of the surface on which the work will be carried out. To do this, you can take a thick wooden ruler and place it end-to-end on the table; there should be no gap. After this, you can place a circle or sandpaper on the table. Regardless of the sharpening tool chosen, it must be firmly fixed. If the second version of the device is used, then it is worth putting plexiglass under the paper to achieve maximum horizontality.
- Before starting work, you should lubricate the knife for a manual meat grinder, as well as the polished surface of the grate, with sunflower oil, after which you need to leave them there for a couple of minutes. It is also recommended to lubricate those surfaces that will act as a sharpening stone. This will help form a coating that resembles an abrasive paste and will also protect the knives from minor scratches. Since sharpening can be carried out on a special water grinding wheel, you should understand that then you need to moisten it with water, not oil.
- In order to sharpen as evenly as possible, it is recommended to take a small piece of wood and use it to press the knife or grid to the surface. You need to apply it in the center, and then make slow circular movements, without putting too much pressure on the tree.
- After sharpening the knife is completed, you need to sharpen the grate.
If it is very important to sharpen correctly, you should buy a corundum abrasive grinding wheel with parameters such as 180 mm diameter and a grain size of 40-60 microns. Next, as described above, you need to lay the circle on a horizontal surface. You can also wet the circle with water, but then you need to do this constantly so that the metal cools continuously.
Quite often, in order to avoid the sharpening stone itself moving out of place, a thick cloth is placed under it. Next, you need to begin rotational movements, which are performed with the knife clockwise.
As described earlier in the recommendations, you can press the knife with a piece of wood, and with your free hand hold the sharpener for meat grinder knives, in this case an abrasive wheel.
It is important to pay attention to the fact that sharpening should take place as evenly as possible. There should not be any distortion, since the quality of meat cutting in the future depends on this.
After working with the knife, similar operations are carried out with the grill. If the work was done correctly, the sharpened surfaces will be smooth, shiny and sharp. It is very important to check at the end of the work how these two parts fit together. Since they work in pairs, there should be no gap between them at all.
A machine for sharpening knives for a meat grinder is, naturally, the most comfortable way to do the job. However, you need to take into account right away: if you do not have the skills to work with such a unit, then it is still better to resort to manual sharpening. How to use the machine?
It should be noted right away that you will need to work with its side surface. Before turning on the device, you need to apply a small layer of abrasive paste to the coating. After the lubricant has dried, you can begin to work. After this, you can turn on the device and carefully press the knife against the side plane of the sharpening stone.
Since no cooling liquids are used here, it is necessary to carry out the operation intermittently to allow the metal to cool. During cooling, you need to check the quality of sharpening. The characteristic color of overheated metal is tarnish. The grate can also be sharpened on a grinding machine, but it is best to press it using a wooden clamp.
The processing technique remains the same.
However, it is worth saying here that using electrical equipment has its disadvantages.
Firstly, only experienced home craftsmen can use it, as there is a high risk of injury. Secondly, a beginner will most likely simply ruin the part if he uses such a powerful unit. Thirdly, the household sharpening machine itself is an expensive unit, and therefore not every home has it. It is not advisable to purchase a grinding machine just to sharpen knives for a meat grinder.
It is worth saying that it is most convenient to use such paper for several reasons. Firstly, it is most likely available in any home, which means you don’t have to buy an abrasive wheel or machine.
Secondly, even if there is no such grinding device, it will not be difficult to purchase one, since the cost is very low, especially when compared with a wheel, not to mention the price of an electric machine.
It is only worth saying that it is better not to use a blade with too coarse abrasive, as in this case scratches may appear on the surface of the knife.
First you need to place either a piece of regular glass or organic glass on the table surface. It should be thick enough so that it does not crack from subsequent efforts.
Sandpaper is placed on top of the glass, which can be glued to it with glue to avoid shifting during operation. In this case, before starting work, it is necessary to carefully handle all burrs and chips, if any, on the surface of the knife from the meat grinder.
After this, the cutting tool is placed on the surface of the sanding sheet and then the same circular movements are made that were used in previous sharpening methods.
Cutting element material
Today, such meat grinder knives are made from two types of raw materials. It can be either stainless steel or carbon tool steel.
If this is a knife that will be used for an electrical device, then they are usually additionally coated with compounds such as chromium and cobalt, which contain tungsten or molybdenum additives.
Thanks to this, the strength of the cutting device increases, as well as the period of time that the knife can serve without sharpening.
There are also expensive self-sharpening knives for meat grinders, but they are usually only used in industrial machines.
Source: https://www.navolne.life/post/zatochka-nojey-dlya-myasorubki-sposobyi-i-oborudovanie
How to sharpen a meat grinder knife with your own hands?|Comfy Blog
Any meat grinder, automatic or manual, requires periodic sharpening of the knives. To understand whether the time has come for this, there are several obvious and indirect signs:
- The knife or disk with holes has turned black and oxidized.
- A large amount of unground meat remains on the knife.
- The knife and the disk with the hole do not fit well together.
In these cases, you can go to a workshop or sharpen the meat grinder knife yourself at home. What you need for this and how to sharpen it correctly - the instructions below will help you.
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How to sharpen a meat grinder knife
When talking about sharpening knives for a meat grinder, we mean that it is necessary to sharpen both a cross-shaped knife with four blades and a disk with a hole. The quality of the meat grinder’s operation depends on how tightly these two parts fit together for the most part. The following materials can be used for sharpening:
- Sandpaper.
- Grindstone.
- Sharpening stones specially designed for mechanical meat grinders.
- Grinding wheel.
- Bulgarian.
If you want to properly sharpen a meat grinder knife, it is not recommended to use automatic machines. The fact is that during processing with such a tool, the metal knife heats up due to friction. And overheating leads to the fact that the metal loses its properties and the knife can even simply break into two parts.
Sharpening the knife with sandpaper
You can sharpen a meat grinder knife at home using sandpaper. Its size should be at least twice the diameter of the disk with holes. The abrasive part of the paper can contain particles of any fraction.
But still, the final finishing of the meat grinder components is best done with sandpaper marked P1000-P1500 with a fine-grained fraction. To prevent the paper from fidgeting, it must be placed on a flat, non-slip surface.
One great way to place it is to mount it on a piece of wood.
After the sandpaper is secured, you need to take the knife from the meat grinder in your hands and firmly attach it to the paper. You need to sharpen the side that is adjacent to the disk with the hole. After this, using circular movements counterclockwise, you need to start sharpening it.
There is no need to rush, try to press the knife with constant force so that the part of the metal being removed comes off evenly. How do you know if a knife has already been sharpened? Firstly, there should be no traces of oxidation on its blades, that is, they must completely have the color and shine of cleaned metal.
Secondly, it must fit tightly to the disk with holes and be evenly sharpened.
After the knife has been sharpened, you need to start sharpening the disc. Both sides are sharpened, or at least the one that is adjacent to the knife. If the sandpaper has not lost its properties after the knife, then you can use it again, but it is better to take a new piece.
The process of sharpening a disc with holes must also be done in a counterclockwise circular motion. You need to determine whether it has been sharpened visually by inspecting for the presence of remnants of oxidized stains.
Then place a knife on top of the disk and check that they fit tightly, without large gaps.
If you want to reduce the time it takes to sharpen a meat grinder knife or the thickness of the sandpaper you found at home is not sufficient for this, then you can wet the paper. Between the water, particles of already cleaned metal and the paper's own abrasive particles, you will achieve a better effect.
Whetstone for sharpening meat grinder knife
You can sharpen the components for the meat grinder using a whetstone. For knives that are slightly dull, the process goes like this:
- Place the stone on a flat surface.
- Take a knife in your hands, and then a disk with holes, and in a circular motion, counterclockwise, sharpen it.
- The knife should be sharpened with the side that is adjacent to the disk, and the disk should be sharpened with the side that is adjacent to the knife.
- When sharpening, the disc must be lightly pressed at the center (closer to the mounting hole for the meat grinder), the knife must also be pressed, placing your fingers so that all blades are under the same pressure.
If the components for the meat grinder are significantly dull and have not been sharpened for a long time, then you need to work not with a knife and disk, but with a stone:
- Secure the meat grinder knife to a flat surface or pick it up after wearing protective gloves.
- Using circular movements, pressing the whetstone against the knife, you begin the sharpening process.
- Do not make sudden circular movements; stop periodically to allow the metal knife to cool.
Sharpening meat grinder knives with a whetstone and sandpaper are the simplest methods.
There are special sharpening stones for mechanical meat grinders. They are sold either as a set or can be found separately.
Their size is the same as a disk with holes or a little larger, so they are installed inside the meat grinder instead of a disk or a knife, depending on what exactly you want to sharpen. By turning the handle and rotating the whetstone instead of a knife or disk, you automatically sharpen the meat grinder components.
Sharpening a knife with a grinder
It is still not recommended to use an angle grinder, but if you know how to work with it and know how to prevent the metal from overheating, then an angle grinder can reduce the time and sharpen a meat grinder knife well. When using an angle grinder, do not forget about safety precautions, so in addition to personal protective equipment, secure the knife to a pin.
Additionally, protect the metal of the cutting part of the meat grinder from overheating by lubricating it with sunflower oil, this way you will reduce the friction force. It is imperative to periodically stop the sharpening process to allow the metal to cool. It is also recommended to sharpen the knife only at right angles. To check whether the knife is sharpened evenly, you need to place it on a flat surface or glass. When choosing a nozzle for an angle grinder, give preference to a fine-grained one.
Using a grinding wheel
There is no need to purchase a special sharpening wheel to sharpen a knife from a meat grinder. But if you have it at home, then you can use it by following the recommendations below:
- Wear personal protective equipment (gloves).
- Lubricate the blade and disc with oil to reduce friction.
- Turn on the device on which you are using the grinding wheel attachment at a low number of revolutions.
- Press the knife or disc against the grinding wheel.
- Let them rest so that the components do not overheat.
After this, the components of the meat grinder must be thoroughly washed and dried. If you did everything correctly and used a sharpening wheel with a suitable abrasive surface, then the knife and disk sharpened in this way will remain sharp for a long time.
Source: https://blog.comfy.ua/kak-zatochit-nozh-myasorubki_a0-82/
How to properly sharpen a knife in a meat grinder
It is not only the movable four-blade structure that needs to be sharpened. A perforated disc also needs sharpening. What do we mean by perforated disc? It is also called a grid, mesh or fixed knife.
The edges of the knife, as well as the holes of the disk, should be as sharp as possible. How to understand that components are in dire need of sharpening? The meat that comes out is ugly and spread out. If both knives are working properly, a piece of meat turns into minced meat many times faster. And you get less tired. And timely sharpening also makes it easier to disassemble the meat grinder mechanism and clean it.
We sharpen knives at home: an emery block will help us
We sharpen a knife with four blades using fine-grained sandpaper. We apply the knife to the “zero” and begin to move it in a circular motion along its rough surface. If you notice that the blades of the knife have become lighter after close contact with the abrasive, you are on the right path. Run the knife over the paper until all stains are erased from its surface. There should also be no burrs left on the blades.
Let's move on to sharpening the grille. Be prepared for the fact that this procedure will take quite a long time. The area from which stains will need to be removed is quite large.
We place the grid on the sanding plane and begin to rotate the disk in a circle, but in such a way that the placement of small indentations on it is chaotic. Do you want to remove metal evenly from the grate surface? Press the mesh against the block in the center.
Sharpening meat grinder knives on a grinding machine
The moving knife is best processed using a special electrical installation. When sharpening, the angle of deviation from the sanding mechanism must be kept within 70-80 degrees.
If you don’t have a machine and if you don’t mind the money, take the knives to a workshop. The masters will sharpen them, observing all the rules of the operation. They have grinding machines that perfectly polish knives for meat grinders.
Well, I sharpened the knives, but how do I know that they will function normally?
Once sharpening is complete, place the two knives next to each other. The fit should be as tight as possible (no gaps!), otherwise the knives will not be able to cut efficiently.
Source: https://Gae4ka.by/posts/2458129
Sharpening knives for the food industry
Sharpening/grinding of knives for meat grinders is carried out on a high-precision surface grinder using Mobil Cut 140 coolant, which eliminates heating of the metal and its subsequent tempering; tempering of the metal leads to the fact that the metal becomes soft and, accordingly, such knives last very little, sometimes they fail after 5 kg of minced meat.
- Meat grinder TORGMASH MIM300(M) – 200 rubles per element. (1000 for a set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder TORGMASH MIM600(M) – 200 rubles per element (1000 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder TM-12M (220V) – 200 rubles per element (1000 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder TM-32M (220V) – 200 rubles per element (1000 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder Viatto HM-22B – 200 rubles per element (600 per set of 3 elements)
- Meat grinder Robot Coupe Unger – 300 rubles per element. (1500 per set and 5 elements)
- Meat grinder Fimar 22/RS Unger 220V – 300 rubles per element (1500 for a set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder APACH ATI22UT Unger – 300 rubles per element (1500 for a set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder LILIMA TC22HD – 300 rubles per element (1500 for a set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder KT LM-10/P Enterprise – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder Sirman TCG 22E – 300 rubles per element (1500 for a set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder KT LM-82/P Unger – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder KT LM-22/P Enterprise – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder Sirman TC22 Barcellona Q – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder Sirman TC-32 Unger – 300 rubles per element (1500 for a set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder KT LM-98/P Unger – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder KT LM-32/P Enterprise – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder Sirman TC-42 Montana Unger – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder KT LM-82/A Unger – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder Sirman Master 30 Unger – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder Sirman Master 90 HP 7 Unger – 300 rubles per element (1500 per set of 5 elements)
- Meat grinder KT LM-130 Unger – 300 rubles per element (1500 for a set of 5 elements)
SHARPENING OF KNIVES AND GRIDS WITH A DIAMETER MORE THAN 135MM – PRICE NEGOTIABLE.
Sharpening of circular knives for slicers, slicers, machines for slicing Korean carrots, cabbage, potatoes
The following manufacturers: EKSI SL-4T, Airhot SL 220, Gastrorag HBS 250N, LILOMA MS 220, CELME 220, Vortmax GSM 220, Starfood HBS 195, Kocateq MS 220 ST, Convito HBS 250, RGV Lusso 22GS, Beskers 220, MEC, Torgmash LR-250 Sirman, La Minerva 300GC, Rheninghaus Start 300, Hakka HS8, Kronen KUJ 6, Kronen KUJ 7, KRONEN KUJ 8, KRONEN KUJ 9.
Sharpening working parts of juicers, vegetable cutters, electric graters, blenders, mixers
Calculated individually - From 300 rubles per element.
Source: https://www.reservise.ru/zatochka-nozhej.html
