How to sharpen a meat grinder knife?

The meat grinder is one of those items that are present in every kitchen, in every housewife. For cooking your favorite dishes, it is simply irreplaceable. Whether it is an electric device or a mechanical one, knife sharpening is necessary to the same extent in both cases.

As already mentioned, there are manual and electric meat grinders. But regardless of the drive, the principle of operation is exactly the same. An electric meat grinder differs only in that it works from electricity, and in a mechanical model you will have to twist the handle yourself.

Despite the process of improving the meat grinder, any of the models is equipped with a flat fixed knife with many through holes (in the instructions for use it is also called a mesh or grill) and a knife shaped like a screw that has four blades.

The process of grinding meat or other products both in an electric meat grinder and in a mechanical model is carried out by rotating a cross-shaped knife, which drives a special screw. A part is separated from the main volume of the product and pushed out through openings under pressure. Depending on the diameter of the holes, the stuffing is obtained in different fractions.

An important factor here is the very tight contact of the knives to each other over the entire surface.

The quality of the issued product depends on this directly. As a rule, both of these elements are blunt at the same time, but still the four-blade knife dominates the chopping of meat, and its sharpness must be monitored to a greater extent.

As a rule, the understanding that this is required arises at the very height of using the device. Grinding food becomes more difficult, especially if it is a manual meat grinder (cranking the handle is rather difficult).

The meat can be turned idle, more juice is squeezed out of it, the veins are wound on the screw, and the minced meat turns out to look like gruel. In addition, if the knives of an electric model are dull, then it begins to spend more electricity on the grinding process. But the worst thing is that the engine overheats in this mode of operation - your meat grinder can completely fail.

If these cases are the case, then it's time for sharpening. But do not be upset about this, quit cooking dinner and run to the store for new knives. This is quite expensive, and not necessary.

Despite the fact that the manufacturers of this unit claim that the service life of the knives is infinite and they self-sharpen by rubbing against each other in the process of twisting the products, in reality everything happens differently. For starters, it's worth figuring out why the knives are dull. There are several reasons.

• The steel from which they are made is completely ordinary, even in expensive electrical appliances it can rust and oxidize over time, which leads to their blunting.
• In meat grinders, meat products are most often twisted, which have a soft structure, but nevertheless, small, crushed bones, cartilage and tendons are periodically found in them. It is they who contribute to the gradual blunting of knives.

There is always a choice which way to fix this problem:

• give to a specialist;
• sharpen yourself;
• buy new ones.

Consider how to sharpen manually knives.

Surely you have a grindstone at home, if not, it’s worth buying. By the way with some modern models of meat grinder, he comes in the kit, but there is also a free sale. The stone should be new for the best effect or not used before for sharpening ordinary knives and other objects, otherwise its surface may be damaged by chips and scratches, which will negatively affect the knives from the meat grinder.

Its granularity should not exceed forty to sixty microns, then it will not leave nicks and scratches on the surface. Put the stone on a flat surface, it is better to lay a dense material under it so that the stone does not slip. Sprinkle liberally with water from a spray bottle or soak for two to three minutes in a container with liquid. It is necessary to constantly monitor that moisture from the grindstone does not evaporate.

Now take a knife, place it on a stone, firmly press and rotate with movements to the left and in a circle until the cutting blades get a smooth, smooth, mirror surface. For a better hold, use a wooden block. Carefully inspect after, check for scratches. It is important that the sharpening is uniform across all four surfaces of the knife. If you still see scratches on the cutting part, then sanded with fine sandpaper.

If there was an oxidation film, then during rotational movements periodically check that it is also cleaned evenly. This is extremely important, as it affects the further operation of the knife. After that, do the same sharpening algorithm with a mesh knife.

When finished, do not forget to attach the four-blade knife to the mesh knife and check for clearance. It should not be.

Now you need to rinse both elements well under running water to wash off small metal filings, assemble a meat grinder and scroll a piece of meat. You will immediately feel the difference and understand whether you have done well enough with sharpening. If not, repeat the whole procedure again.

Perhaps this is the fastest way to sharpen knives, but not for everyone. Here you need the skill to work with this unit, and if you do not have it, then it is better to use a special stone, whetstone or sanding paper. To use the machine, it is necessary to apply a special GOI paste (number four) with a fine abrasive on a smooth surface of the grinding stone and let it dry completely. Only then can you get to work.

We start the device and carefully press the blades of the knife to the rotating circle. The angle of inclination of the petals should be approximately seventy to eighty degrees, the conservation of angles is important here. Constantly you need to monitor the surface being ground and let the metal cool in time so as not to burn it. To do the same procedure with the grill, but in order to avoid damage to the skin of the fingers, use the same wooden block for pressing.

The easiest and most financially affordable way, as sandpaper can often be found in the tool box in any home. But even if not, then buy it is not difficult at any nearby building materials store. The abrasive part of the sandpaper should be small so as not to damage the surface, otherwise additional grinding will be required. The action algorithm is very simple and similar to the previous ones.

Firmly fix the paper on a flat surface, it is best to stick it on organic glass or another object. Moisten a knife with water, scroll counterclockwise until a smooth surface appears. With the second knife, do the same.

If the cutting parts are very rusty, then to save power and simplify the process, you can use a drill. Fix the knife through the hole in the center with a suitable screw and carefully clean the rust from the surface to a uniform shine at low revolutions in reverse reverse mode.

Finish the subsequent processing of the part by hand. Remember to rub both knives together to check for a snug fit. To do this, press one knife to another and rotate, looking at the clearance, so that there is no distance between them. A clearance of 0.05 millimeters is allowed. This is an approximate thickness of a human hair. If the gap is greater, it does not matter how sharply the knives are sharpened - they will not work very well. Therefore, it is worth repeating the grinding.

• Experts advise for better processing of the cutting part of the knives immediately before sharpening, lubricate them with any edible oil and let stand for five minutes. A machine is also suitable, but then thoroughly rinse with grease and rub with alcohol.
• For uniform sharpening, rotate the knife periodically around its axis.
• Pressing when sharpening should be done directly on the central part. So you will avoid the risk of draining metal on one side more than on the other.
• For a long service life, the parts of the meat grinder must be well cleaned after use and always dried on a towel or paper to avoid corrosion.
• Inspection of the meat grinder must be done once a month in order to sharpen it in time.

In such simple ways, you can return your kitchen assistant to the “combat system”. Following expert advice, you will extend the life of the meat grinder for many years.

See how to sharpen the meat grinder knives in the next video.