Shearing sheep is a time consuming and responsible process. It requires not only experience and knowledge of the case, but also the ability to choose the right tool for the job. Scissors or an electric machine is the choice of the farmer himself. But the most important thing in this matter is the sharpness of the cutting object and the quality of the haircut.

Knife sharpening for sheep shearing

Even on the best clipper, the blade tends to become dull. As a rule, the knife is made of stainless steel. Some of them have a layer of diamond or titanium coating.

But even this does not make the cutting object sharp forever. Sharpening of the blades must be carried out regularly, as the quality of shearing of sheep wool is significantly impaired.

Did you know? With one adult sheep, with good feeding, you can cut up to 10 kg of wool.

Signs of need for sharpening

To timely eliminate blunting of knives, you must pay attention to the following symptoms:

• the blade does not capture the coat;
• on the skin of the animal after shearing, irritation or cuts remain;
• uncoated areas of wool remain.

Knife sharpening methods

In workshops, knife sharpeners use professional equipment and various machines in their work. Specialized equipment is useful for shearing sheep on large farms. At home, you can cope on your own.

Professional sharpening kit

This kit is a very convenient and quick solution to blunt knives and blades. Working with the kit is easy and straightforward.

The set includes the following items:

• laser pointer;
• machine with a cover;
• special greases;
• magnet;
• aluminum disc;
• composition for cleansing.

Consider the sequence of actions with the kit:

1. To remove the knives from the machine it is necessary to use a screwdriver;
2. The aluminum disk is cleaned of dust before work. Next, the aluminum disc is coated with special oil, and then sprinkled with abrasive powder.
3. Magnetic clamp for fixing the knife and laser pointer.

4. It is necessary to set the correct rotation speed of the disk, after which the machine turns on.
5. The blade must be tightened by pressing it against a rotating disc.
6. Sharpening occurs as a result of moving the knife or blade from the center to the edge (the process lasts about 2 minutes).
7. After completing work, the kit must be cleaned of small pieces of metal and assembled before next use.

Important!After using the kit for the first time, take a photo of it during parsing. This will help you in its further operation.

On the grinding machine

This device is often used for sharpening various cutting tools. This method is dangerous, therefore it is very important to adhere to safety precautions.

The algorithm of actions will be as follows:

1. The product must be disassembled and the knives removed.
2. Turn on the machine.
3. During the grinding period, the blade must be pressed against the working part of the grinder.
4. The machine is disassembled and cleaned of contaminants.

Video: knife sharpening

On a lathe

If you have a lathe in your home, you don’t have to work with blunt cutting tools. The sharpening process will not take much time, but the skills for this will not hinder you. First you need to cook an aluminum disc and abrasive paste.

Further, the workflow involves the following steps:

1. Knives must be fixed to the work surface.
2. Turn on the machine.
3. Sharpening occurs.
4. Clean the blade and wipe the paste.
5. The assembly process is completed.

Important!Work on lathes and grinders is not safe. During sharpening, protect your hands and eyes with special gloves and glasses.

On the emery machine

The principle of operation on this device resembles a lathe. The algorithm of work is identical. All actions require attention and accuracy. Emery is dangerous because it can quickly erase the top layer of the cutting device, thereby shortening its useful life. Stick to safety precautions as this can save you from dangerous injuries.

Using a bar and sandpaper

The sharpening method using these devices is suitable for farmers who do not often use a sheep shearing machine. These are the safest methods of sharpening cutting tools. The result of working with a bar depends on the experience and skill of the hands.

The blade must be pressed to the surface of the bar and moved on it until you achieve the desired result. When working with sandpaper, you need to fix it as tight as possible. The material is used taking into account the granularity of abrasive inclusions. During sharpening, graininess should decrease.

Home-made / sharpening machine

Each house should have a device with which you can sharpen knives, scissors, blades and other cutting devices. If this is not, then you can do it yourself. Of course, this task is not an easy one. There are different ways to make these machines. For sharpening the blades that are used for shearing sheep’s wool, two versions of homemade machines can be suitable. We will consider them in detail.

The simplest

Everyone can make this device.

To create it you will need:

• protractor;
• corners of wood (2 pcs. 20-30 cm each);
• whetstone;
• screws with clamping nuts (6–8 pcs.).

The manufacture of the apparatus is as follows:

1. Wooden corners are applied one to another in order to fasten them. They need to make 3-4 holes.
2. A bar is installed between the corners. The installation must take into account the angle of inclination.
3. It is important to fix the bar in the correct position, for this it is necessary to tighten it with screws.
4. For convenience, marks are applied to the corners, which indicate the angles of inclination.

Sharpening on such a machine occurs as a result of holding the knife blade down the bar. The cutting device must be strictly vertical. Changing the angle on the fixture is very easy. To do this, loosen the screws, after which the block can be moved.

Improved

This version of the machine is a bit more complicated to manufacture. But on such a device, it will be more convenient for you to sharpen cutting devices, including the blade for the machine that shears the sheep.

To make an advanced sharpening machine you will need:

• piece of plywood;
• sandpaper;
• felt-tip pen or pencil;
• bolts with tightening nuts (2 pcs.);
• protractor;
• wood hacksaw;
• a piece of laminate;
• 2 wooden slats (optimal parameters: one is 70 cm long, the second is up to 40 cm).

Video: Shearing Machine

The manufacturing algorithm is as follows:

1. First you need to cut a piece of laminate (10 × 4 cm). A knife holder will be made from it.
2. The wide side of the holder is cut back by 7 cm, so that during sharpening it does not interfere with the movement of the bar.
3. The base of the machine will be a piece of plywood (optimal size is 30 × 10 cm). It must be drilled with a holder and fastened. The distance of the holder from the base should be 2 cm.

The next stage of work involves the manufacture of racks. Her task is to keep the bar constantly at the same angle during grinding.

Did you know? If a knife with good steel is sharpened at an angle of 50 °, then such a cutting edge can chop nails.

To do this, you need:

1. Vertically install a wooden rail (70 cm) on the base.
2. The part of the rail that protrudes is cut off, while the main condition is that the angle between the holder and the rail should be 20-30 °.
3. The rack should be U-shaped. To do this, cut off the second such piece and set it (the angle between the holder and their top is 20-30 °).
4. Further on the delivered pieces it is necessary to establish a cross rail. The angle should be the same. To do this, the tops of the vertical rails are cut at an angle.
5. The design (transverse and vertical rails) is glued with hot glue.

It remains to craft a holder for sandpaper. It will function as a whetstone.

Phase:

1. The rail up to 40 cm in size must be put on the holder and stand.
2. The part of the rail that goes from the rack to the holder must be cut off, while leaving 5-10 cm of reserve.
3. At the end, it is necessary to glue emery, the abrasive of which should be from P600 to P2000.

The machine is ready. In work, it is set on the edge of the table. The bolts on the bottom of the device will act as “brakes”, since they will protrude slightly. It is very important that the device is stable in operation. The quality of sharpening depends not only on the tool, but also on the skill of the hands. All of the above types of sharpeners are able to make the cutting device suitable for work.