How to Sharpen Meat Grinder Blades – Honest Grinders

Whether you cook at your home for the family or you own a restaurant where you use a meat grinder, you need to sharpen the blades of this grinder frequently. Once the blades are sharp, it makes the grinding of your meat to be comfortable and faster hence minimizing time when preparing your delicious food. However, most of the people find it difficult on how to sharpen meat grinder blades correctly.

Therefore, this makes people spend most of their time looking for places that offer services of sharpening the blades of the grinders. In this article, we will look at the steps which you should follow when sharpening blades so that you make your grinder last for a more extended period.

Steps in Sharpening the Blades of a Meat Grinder

Sharpening the blades of a meat grinder is necessary regularly. But how can you achieve this? To answer the question, let us consider the steps below.

Using sandpaper

(1) Identify the Necessary Materials Needed

Before you begin the sharpening process, it is right for you to prepare and identify the essential tools for use. Some of the items that you need to have include;

• Screwdriver needle
• Nose pliers
• Workman gloves
• Safety gloves
• Grit sandpaper of 120 and 600
• Scrap paper
• A sheet of glass with 12 by 12 dimension

Once you have obtained all these necessary materials, it is good also to find a surface that is flat that is more suitable for the sharpening of the blades. Consider choosing the surface that is stable enough because you will put more weight on the surface throughout the sharpening process. Lay a sheet of glass on the surface that you have identified.

Next, clean the glass sheet almost twice using the cloth. Ensure that the fabric you are using is somehow damp than being wet. Besides, it would help if you put the sandpaper of 120 grips on the top of the glass sheet. Note that the size of the sandpaper should be similar to the size of the surface of the glass.

(2) Remove the Blades from Your Grinder

The next step is to disassemble the blades from the grinder carefully since you will assemble them back again. You can put all the parts that you remove on a paper and mark each portion with a number so that to make it easy when assembling them. In case there is a scrap of meat that remains on the grinder’s plate, use a small piece of paper to remove them away.

(3) Sharpen the Grinder Blades

At this stage, ensure to use the safety gloves so that you can avoid several problems during the process. The gloves play a vital role in preventing and protecting your hands from touching the blades directly, which reduces the cutting dangers accident when working on it. As you begin the process, ensure to test the level of sharpness of the edges before you proceed.

Do you know how you can check the sharpness of your blade? It is straightforward, take a blade and try to slice the scrap piece of paper. Once you complete sharpening, repeat the step one more time to determine whether your work is successful and efficient. Now that you have tested the grinder blade put it on the sandpaper.

Once you have put it on the sandpaper, make sure that the angle formed between the sandpaper and the blades is exactly 45⁰ while moving them in a circular motion. Usually, the circular motion movement is necessary for allowing an excellent sharpening of the blade’s edge.

Be patient enough and repeat the entire process for up to ten times for you to obtain an excellent result. Notably, when you do it only three times, the blades may not be sharp enough for use in grinding; hence, that is why you should repeat sharpening for at least ten times. Use a scrap paper to test your blades again after the regular repetition of cleaning.

You can as well use the 600 grit sandpaper along with that of the 120-grit. Lay it on the surface of glass paper so that to obtain a very smooth finish to the blades of the grinder. Besides, you can as well put the grinder blade to the sandpaper with 600-grit at an angle of 45 degrees while moving them in a circular motion. You may find these steps easy and straightforward since they are similar to the first one.

Once you are through with the sharpening process, you can use a piece of paper or cloth for wiping the extra particles and other dirtiness. But, first, you must put the blades into the water and immediately rinse it. Additionally, before the installation of the blades back to the grinder, remember to dry it completely and clean the entire grinder for future use.

Using a Knife Sharpening System

The knife sharpening system involves the use of two ceramic stones with an appropriate size, which applies to all types of blades and plates. The entire process includes;

• Soaking the sand for about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Next, you can gather the grinder with the correct stone.
• Attach the rings to the grinder while keeping them somehow loose.
• After successful attachment, turn on the grinder for about 3 to 5 seconds.
• Turn the grinder off and immediately repeat the whole process on both sides.
• Rub the grinder blade on the cardboard so that you can remove the burr once you finish the process. Finally, you can now comfortably enjoy your grinding.

Using a Sharpening Stone

Besides using the sandpaper and knife sharpening system, you can make use of the sharpening stone in sharpening the blades of the grinder. Usually, the diamond stone is suitable for use in this method since it is durable and highly resistant to oil and water. The steps for sharpening involve picking of gritstone that is fine, as you start scrubbing so that to produce a mirror polishes at the blade.

Next, place your diamond stone on a flat surface, take the blade. Sharpen it in all directions in a circular motion until you obtain the sharpness that you desire. Continue sharpening until you clean all the scratches thoroughly.

Conclusion

If you are not careful enough, your meat grinder may wear out, especially when you don’t have proper knowledge on how to sharpen meat grinder blades. Therefore, sharpening the blades helps in delivering excellent results hence preventing jamming and smearing. Follow the steps above and enjoy grinding your meat quickly.