A dull knife is the bane of every cook’s existence.
The thing to understand about electric knives is that their blades are not magical, they do not have special properties that other blades do not have. Most of them are serrated, indeed, but not all of them, and there are sharpening tools, stones and techniques for any type of blade. The one disadvantage that electric knives blades offer is the fact that they are more difficult to grab. I would not advise you to try sharpening an electric knife’s blade with it still attached to the knife because you will be exerting unnecessary pressure on cogs inside the knife, although I have seen many do it with the blade attached anyway. However you can certainly wrap the base of the blade in several layers of cloth and hold it like that. Once that is done you can go ahead a start taking into consideration the following ideas.
It’s nearly impossible to get any serious prepping and cooking done, if you’re working with a dull electric knife. For daily sharpening I would look into the tool featured in this video. (Note that the video itself is not of the best quality, but it will definitely do for its purpose.
Cutting, chopping and slicing meat, vegetables and fruits with a dull blade is a difficult, tedious, and sometimes dangerous task. It is dangerous because, when you work with a dull knife, you will need to apply more pressure as you cut and this could lead to the knife slipping out of your hand and causing serious damage. Working with a sharp knife is not only expected, but advised.
The trick to avoid working with a dull knife is to sharpen it as often as you can. If you use your knife regularly on different surfaces, it is advisable to sharpen it as frequently as possible, maybe at the end of the week, but perhaps even before each job. If you rarely use your knife, you don’t have to worry too much about sharpening it on a monthly basis; you can opt for sharpening it once every 6 months, or twice a year. The sharpening process is the removal of metal from each side of the blade to give it a finer, sharper feel and edge. If the dull metal is not removed every now and then, the knife then becomes too difficult and even impossible to use for small or big jobs.
There are different methods you could use to sharpen a knife blade, but we will be focusing on the three most popular methods.
- The Electric Knife Sharpener: An electric knife sharpener is an obvious choice for many reasons: it can be purchased online or in a store. It’s convenient and practical to use, and it gets the job done with little to no effort. Electric sharpeners can be quite expensive, but if you have a flexible budget, they are worth the purchase. Most of them come equipped with a three stage design that helps take your blades from dull to razor sharp in a few minutes. For example, the Wusthof PETEC Electric Sharpener, features the aforementioned three stage design: a diamond abrasive wheel, a finer grit diamond wheel, and an advanced stropping material to help polish the blades effectively. One of the more informative videos on this subject that I have found is this:
- The Factory: Another plausible option is to the send the knife back to the manufacturers or to a professional knife sharpener. Mailing the dull blades to the factory will incur shipping and handling costs, but ultimately this decision is worth its price tag. This option will be more advantageous to people who don’t use their knives often and only deem it necessary to sharpen them once or twice a year. If you find that you need to sharpen your blades on weekly or monthly basis, this may not be an an advisable, budget-friendly option. If you do not mind the additional costs, then prepare your stamps and envelopes and let the professionals handle the grunt work.
- The Sharpening Stone: Using a sharpening stone might make you feel like a bit of a cave-man, but not to worry, you don’t have to use the stones and boulders in your backyard to bring your dull blades back to life. You can purchase knife sharpening stones from Amazon, Ebay or any other cutlery stores. The stone is by far the cheapest and most effective method on our list. Unlike the electric sharpener, the stone will remove the least amount of material from your blade which is another reason to consider this method. Most sharpening stones come with varying grit levels which are designed to either repair or sharpen a blade. If you’re primarily focused on reviving a dull blade, it’s advisable to purchase stones with grit that ranges between 1000-1200. Additionally, a sharpening stone is unique in the way you have to either submerge in water or sprinkle some water on it, before use. Wetting the stone with water prevents any form of clogging on its surface.
These three methods will turn your blades from dull to sharp in little to no time. Before you choose a method, ensure you have the appropriate budget and you have done ample research on your method of choice.
