How to Sharpen and Care for Biltong Slicer Blades
By the Claasens team, makers of South African biltong slicers since 1955.
The blade is the part of a biltong slicer that does the work. The frame holds the geometry. The handle gives the leverage. The blade decides whether a slice comes off clean and glossy or shredded and ragged. A well looked after blade will last 3 to 5 years of regular use. A neglected blade will be useless in months.
This guide covers everything we tell customers when they bring a slicer in for service. How to clean a blade after use, how to keep it sharp, how to know when it has reached the end of its life, and how to replace it without doing yourself a serious injury.
How a biltong slicer blade is made
Our blades are high carbon stainless steel, hardened to around 56 to 58 HRC, with a single bevel ground edge. That hardness range gives a balance of edge retention and sharpenability. A softer blade dulls quickly. A harder blade is brittle and chips on bone fragments or hard cured edges.
The single bevel means the blade has a cutting edge on one side and a flat back on the other. This is what gives biltong slicers their clean, almost surgical cut. It also means the blade must be sharpened on one side only, which we will come to.
Daily and weekly care
After every slicing session
- Unplug the slicer if it is electric. The blade is exposed during cleaning. Treat it the way you would treat any sharp knife.
- Wipe the blade. A damp cloth removes biltong oils and spice particles. Wipe in the direction of the blade, not across it, so the cloth does not snag and tear.
- Wipe again with a dry cloth. Moisture left on the blade overnight starts surface corrosion, even on stainless steel.
- Light oil. A drop of food grade mineral oil rubbed onto the blade with a cloth. This is what stops corrosion between sessions and what stops the blade sticking to the meat next time.
What never to do
- Never put the blade in the dishwasher. The detergent strips the protective oil and the heat warps the blade. Both shorten its life dramatically.
- Never leave the blade wet. Even stainless steel will spot corrode given enough hours of contact with water.
- Never use steel wool or harsh scouring pads. They damage the edge geometry. A soft cloth and warm soapy water is all the cleaning the blade ever needs.
- Never lift the blade by the cutting edge. Always hold the spine.
Sharpening
A biltong slicer blade does not need sharpening as often as a kitchen knife because the work is mostly slicing through cured meat, not bone or hard surfaces. With proper care, a blade needs touching up every 3 to 6 months and a proper resharpen every 18 to 24 months.
How to tell when sharpening is needed
Three signs.
- The blade tears rather than slices. Look at the surface of a finished slice. A sharp blade gives a glossy, almost mirror like surface. A dull blade gives a rough, fibrous surface.
- You are pushing harder. If the slice that used to take a light press now needs your bodyweight, the blade is dull.
- The slices come out uneven thickness. A dull blade compresses the meat instead of cutting cleanly, which gives wedge shaped slices.
Touching up at home
For routine maintenance between proper sharpens, a fine ceramic rod or a high grit whetstone (4000 grit or finer) on the bevel side will restore most of the edge. Hold the rod or stone at the angle of the existing bevel (about 25 degrees) and draw the rod along the edge from heel to tip, applying very light pressure. Three to five passes per side. Wipe the blade clean. Test on a stick of biltong.
What you are doing is realigning the edge, not removing metal. If the blade is properly dull, this will not be enough.
Proper sharpening
Proper sharpening on a biltong blade requires either a bench grinder with a guide, or sending the blade to a sharpening service. We sharpen blades at our workshop for customers who bring or post them in. The single bevel must be maintained precisely, and the back of the blade must be lapped flat. This is not something most home users have the right equipment for.
If you are inclined to do it yourself, use a wet stone setup with progressively finer grits (1000, 4000, 8000) on the bevel side, then a single light pass on a flat 8000 grit stone on the back to deburr. Patience and a steady hand. The wrong angle ruins the blade.
When to replace
A blade reaches the end of its life when sharpening no longer restores a usable edge. There are a few specific signs.
- Chipping along the edge. Small chips can be sharpened out once or twice. Larger chips or repeated chipping means the steel has fatigued.
- Pitting on the surface. Corrosion pits weaken the blade and make slices uneven. A few small pits are fine. Widespread pitting is not.
- A worn bevel. If the bevel has been ground back so far that the blade is noticeably narrower than when new, the geometry is compromised and the blade will not hold an edge.
- Visible warp. A blade that has been overheated (dishwasher, left near a stove) can warp. A warped blade slices unevenly and cannot be straightened.
For a household user, expect 3 to 5 years per blade. For a commercial user, 2 to 4 years. We stock hand slicer replacement blades and electric slicer blades for every machine we make. Stainless steel options are available for the 3 to 25 mm and chunk formats.
How to replace a blade
This is a five minute job that occasionally goes wrong because people rush.
- Disconnect the slicer. Unplug it if electric. Engage the safety lock.
- Wear cut resistant gloves. Even a worn blade is sharp.
- Remove the retaining hardware. Most of our slicers use two or three Allen bolts that hold the blade to the carrier.
- Lift the blade out by the spine. Do not touch the cutting edge.
- Wipe the carrier clean. Spice and meat oil collect under the blade and prevent the new blade from seating flat.
- Install the new blade. Bevel facing the same direction as the old blade. Tighten the bolts evenly in a cross pattern. Hand tight plus a quarter turn with the Allen key. Do not overtorque.
- Test. Run the slicer empty briefly to make sure the blade is seated and clear of the housing. If electric, listen for any rubbing. If hand, run the carriage gently.
- Slice a test stick. Check the first slice for clean cut and even thickness.
Stainless steel blades vs high carbon
We make both. The differences matter.
| Property | High carbon | Stainless steel |
|---|---|---|
| Edge sharpness | Sharper edge possible | Slightly less sharp |
| Corrosion resistance | Lower (needs oil) | Much higher |
| Edge retention | Longer between touches | Slightly shorter |
| Best for | Dry climates, careful users | Coastal humidity, busy butcheries |
FAQ
How often should I sharpen a biltong slicer blade?
For household use, touch up the edge every 3 to 6 months and resharpen properly every 18 to 24 months. Commercial use can double that frequency.
Can I sharpen a single bevel biltong blade with a kitchen knife sharpener?
Not effectively. Most kitchen sharpeners are designed for double bevel knives and will damage the geometry of a single bevel blade. Use a ceramic rod, a whetstone, or send the blade to a sharpening service.
Why does my blade keep going dull quickly?
Three usual causes. The blade is being washed in the dishwasher (do not). The biltong is being cut while still partially frozen (do not). The blade is being stored wet (do not). Any of these will halve the life of a blade.
What is the difference between a hand slicer blade and an electric slicer blade?
Geometry, mainly. Electric blades are wider and longer because the cutting stroke is longer. Hand blades are narrower and shorter. They are not interchangeable.
Can I sharpen a blade with a file?
A diamond file in fine grit can touch up a dull edge in an emergency. It is not a long term solution. Replace the file with a whetstone setup as soon as you can.
Where can I buy a replacement Claasens blade?
Direct from us. We stock blades for every machine we have ever made, including some 30 year old discontinued models. Browse our products or call the workshop.
About Claasens
The Claasens family has been making biltong slicers and replacement blades in South Africa since 1955. Every blade we manufacture is hand finished and tested in our workshop before it leaves. If you have a question that is not answered above, our workshop is a phone call away.