How To Sharpen A Serrated Knife With An Electric Sharpener

Some folks believe serrated knives need no sharpening but whenever it needs to restore the sharpness, a manual sharpener is sufficient. You may not need an electric knife sharpener for serrated knives.

Admittedly, it’s true.

A ceramic sharpening rod can do the job well but it requires skills and time. A lot of effort needs to be put in to avoid over-sharpening and widening the gullets or the micro serrations of the serrated blade.

Electric Serrated Knife Sharpener For Serrated Knives – More Than What You Expect

A good alternative is to use an electric knife sharpener for serrated knives. But it’ll be a waste if the sole purpose of an electric sharpener is to sharpen serrated knives.

No worries.

This article is a guide on how to sharpen a serrated knife with an electric sharpener. It’s much simpler than using any manual method and the serrated knife sharpeners we listed below can do much more.

There are a few high-quality electric knife sharpeners we came across that are worth buying. These sharpeners can effectively sharpen kitchen knives, hunting knives, and other blades as well.

So you get the best of both worlds.

It sounds like a great idea of sharpening your serrated knives with these technologically advanced electric sharpeners. Yes, times have changed.

However, we’ve to admit the quicker method is not as perfect as the professional knife sharpening services out there. But it gets the job done from the comfort of your home – in minutes, not weeks.

And it requires a very little learning curve.

So, before getting into the details of why’s, how’s, and other parameters of serrated knife sharpeners, first let’s start with a brief on what serrated knives are.

Advantages of Serrated Knives

Serrated knives, also known as bread knives, are known for two of their features and advantages:-

• Saw-Tooth Edge – The saw-tooth edge requires less pressure to cut down on all textured materials like rough skin vegetables, bread, fruits, cloth fabrics, ropes, and many more. Unlike straight knives, it requires slicing like a saw to cut through food.
• Better Grip – The serrations offer more grip on smooth texture than a straight blade, hence it’ll not slip when force is applied.

Bread knives are one of the most used knives by chefs and home cooks. The serrated knives are an excellent choice to make sandwiches. And these knives can easily cut cucumbers, tomatoes, fruit, and vegetables.

With continuous usage, the serrated knife’s edges start losing their sharpness. And sharpening these knives is not as quick and straightforward as it may seem like.

We believe every home should have a bunch of knives including a serrated knife and you’ll need to sharpen them one day. We never dispose of any knife unless it’s badly damaged beyond repair.

We only need to sharpen the knives.

It’s never too late to restore dull knives. However, to shorten the learning curve, learn how to sharpen a serrated knife with an electric sharpener in just a few minutes.

In fact, we can sharpen any type of knife with an electric knife sharpener.

How To Sharpen A Serrated Knife With An Electric Sharpener – Steps and Precautions

Let’s start with the Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener which is famous for its versatility and quality.

The WSKTS is not just a serrated knife sharpener. It’s a multi-purpose tool to sharpen kitchen knives, hunting knives, and pocket knives including scissors, lawnmowers, axes, swords, and any other tools with a blade.

Buy this belt drive sharpener if you’ve not already owned one. Well worth the money.

>> Check It Out <<

Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener (WSKTS)

 

• Remove the sharpening guide from the unit as serrated blade sharpening does not require an angle guide.
• Use the finest belt (grid 6000) only to polish the blade. Be aware the coarsest belt will grind away more steel which is not what we want.
• Place the sharpener on the countertop or on a flat surface to ensure stability while operating the unit.
• Place the flat side of the serrated knife against the belt at about 10 degrees and pull the trigger to run the motor.
• Pull the knife across the belt slowly and steadily about 3 to 5 strokes. Remember, this method will only sharpen the flat side of the serrated knife and not the gullets or the micro serrations.

Sharpening a serrated knife with an electric knife sharpener will only take a few minutes. Short and sharp.

You can easily optimize the blade sharpness once you have gained some experience with this Work Sharp Belt Knife Sharpener.

Always read the user’s guide the first time using the sharpener. The dos and don’ts will help you avoid injuries and save the knives from unnecessary damage.

You might even catch on some advanced tips on optimizing the blade sharpness.

If you think of upgrading your sharpening skills to handle wider blades, consider the Ken Onion Edition as a lifetime sharpener for home use. The Ken Onion Sharpener is the best of all Work Sharp models.

Tip: The WSKTS and the Ken Onion Edition are the best handhelds and portable belt knife sharpeners we know of.

Chef’s Choice Knife Sharpener Model 120

 

The Chef’s Choice 120 is a diamond hone 3-stage professional knife sharpener. Every stage uses 100% diamond abrasives to get that super sharp edge.

>> Check It Out <<

Each stage is assisted with a 20-degree angle guide for that precision sharpening to avoid mishaps and wrong angle sharpening. Please ensure you only need to sharpen the European style of knives and not the 15-degree Japanese knives.

• As usual, ensure the sharpener is firm and stable on a flat surface before operating the unit.
• Switch on the unit and only use the third stage to sharpen the bread knife. This is the final stage for stropping and polishing straight-edge knives as well.
• Pull the serrated knife for a few strokes on each side of this stage against the angle guide. Repeat if necessary.

Do not use the first two stages (coarse and medium stages) to sharpen serrated knives. It will cause damage to the serrations unless you intend to re-profile it into a straight-edge knife. In this case, I’d recommend the Trizor XV Edgeselect Electric Knife Sharpener for 15-degree knives.

Regardless of chef’s knives or serrated knives, the sharpening process is rather straightforward with the built-in angle guides. The Chef’s Choice 120 is one of the best 3-stage electric knife sharpeners on the market for the European style of knives.

 

Performance-wise, the Chef’s Choice 120 does a decent job of serrated knives. It will realign, reshape, and polish the distorted teeth with the flexible stropping disk in stage 3.

Rest assured you can get better-than-factory performance with the Chef’s Choice 120.

Word of Caution: Some users commented the serrated teeth were deeply grinded and eventually turned into a straight-edge knife. So, the best way to sharpen the serrated knives is only when necessary.

Once the serrations get lesser, why not transform it into a straight-edge knife for other cutting purposes?

Also, read Chef’s Choice 120 review for more insights into sharpening different types of knives.

Conclusion

The above two examples to sharpen a serrated knife with an electric knife sharpener is a piece of cake. We hope you have some insights into the electric sharpener by now.

We recommend Chef’s Choice and Work Sharp for all your sharpening needs. They’re the best electric knife sharpeners in the US.

You may query if it is worth buying an electric knife sharpener for serrated knives.

First, check your kitchen drawer if you have other types of knives other than a serrated blade.

If yes, then this is a wise investment.  The one-off payment for a good electric knife sharpener to bring back the glory of many knives including the serrated blade is a prudent decision.

You will never depend on any sharpening service on the market which can cost you at least $10 to $20 a blade. There are no weeks of downtime if you were to get it sharpened at home.

Our recommendation – if you have not bought one or need to upgrade to a better knife sharpener, why not take this opportunity to buy a good knife sharpener that can last for many years to come.

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