Fast and cheap method to manually sharpen both serrated/non-serrated kitchn knifes?

[willz06jw]

Hi and thanks for looking at my question,

I am trying to find a fast and cheap way to manually (no-electrics) sharpen both serrated and non-serrated kitchen knifes. Does anyone have a good method or product I should buy?

Thank you,
Will

 

[simioh]

Define cheap.

Probably the Spyderco Sharpmaker, Lansky, or Wicked Edge.

 

[rnbtexas]

Agreed, define cheap. I've heard of some chefs using the concrete on sidewalks. That's free, but I couldn't imagine great results.

 

[willz06jw]

Less than 100 dollars

 

[S.Alexander]

I have a diamond sharpener with a surface also designed for sharpening serrations. Works quick and costs about $10.

 

[rnbtexas]

Less than 100 dollars

Sharpmaker with extra stones.

 

[bgentry]

I'm a fan of the SharpMaker, but with caveats. If your knives have edge angles that are set to 40 degrees (inclusive) or lower, *and* they aren't very dull, the SharpMaker will get the job done quite well. For knives that need the edge angles lowered, or for very dull knives, you'll need something else.

A coworker of mine is quite hard on his knives. I've got one of his pocket knives reprofiled to around 30 degrees inclusive on diamond stones. Once every couple of weeks he brings the blade to me. It's always somewhere between kinda dull (no shaving, barely slices paper) and so dull I can see flat spots on the edge. Most of the time, the SharpMaker, with 15 minutes or less of effort, makes it shaving sharp tip to hilt. Every now and then, it's so bad that I have to go back to the diamond stones; it would take way too long on the SharpMaker when it's been really abused.

So as long as your knives aren't super dull and aren't very obtuse, the SharpMaker is a great system. So good, that you could probably maintain a typical kitchen knife with it for 2, 3, maybe more years before the blade would need to be reprofiled.

Brian.

 

[jackknife]

If you have a coffee mug in your kitchen with the unglazed ring on the bottom, the ceramic will put a nice toothy edge on either a strait or serrated edge. I've used coffee mugs for years with great results.

 

[rnbtexas]

If you have a coffee mug in your kitchen with the unglazed ring on the bottom, the ceramic will put a nice toothy edge on either a strait or serrated edge. I've used coffee mugs for years with great results.

Agreed I've used this too. Works well.

 

[docflash]

i've got some cheap serrated plastic handle steak knives. i DO have a tapered rod, but for a cheap knife, i don't have the time.
what i do is take a diamond sharpening rod and do the side of the blade OPPOSITE of the serrations while keeping the blade as close to parallel to the rod as i can.
seems to work pretty well, but i haven't tried it on GOOD knives (because none of 'em are serrated!).

 

[eveled]

You can sharpen serations by laying the opposite side flat on a stone and taking strokes, or even just rubbing it

 

[3D Anvil]

In my opinion, there IS no really good way to sharpen serrated knives. Yeah, you can improve them some by sharpening the flat, or sharpening the serrations themselves if you happen to have a perfectly sized rod (i.e., fits the serration precisely), but it's never going to be great. My advice: buy cheap serrated knives and throw them away when they're dull.

 

[catspa]

I tell all my serrated sharpening clients, “My sharpening methods will wear the serrations off this blade in about 15-20 sharpenings. If you’d like, I’ll remove them right now to save the waiting.”

Had an old Farberware serrated slicer in my kitchen once that was a real dog, wouldn’t even spread peanut butter well. Before I threw it in the scrap bin, I thought “maybe the serrations are what’s holding this knife back.” So I ground them off, tuned up the remaining geometry, and found it zipped through a tomato or roast beef like nobody’s business. Now it’s my favorite stainless slicer.

My general opinion of serrations is, aside from a couple special tasks like cutting rope, they tear some materials better half dull than a half dull plain edge cuts.

Parker

 

[Danke42]

 

[garry3]

Sandpaper is what I use for bread knifes. Rolled or folded to fit the serrations. There is no fast way that I'm aware of.

 

[garry3]

I tell all my serrated sharpening clients, “My sharpening methods will wear the serrations off this blade in about 15-20 sharpenings. If you’d like, I’ll remove them right now to save the waiting.”

Had an old Farberware serrated slicer in my kitchen once that was a real dog, wouldn’t even spread peanut butter well. Before I threw it in the scrap bin, I thought “maybe the serrations are what’s holding this knife back.” So I ground them off, tuned up the remaining geometry, and found it zipped through a tomato or roast beef like nobody’s business. Now it’s my favorite stainless slicer.

My general opinion of serrations is, aside from a couple special tasks like cutting rope, they tear some materials better half dull than a half dull plain edge cuts.

Parker

Have a look at a Tojiro ITK bread knife. They don't tear up cutting boards either.

 

[ferider]

I don't sharpen serrated knives with that (and neither the Hinderer in the pic). But quick and effective for kitchen knives. You could sharpen a bread knife with it from the flat side.

Has speed control, fits in kitchen sink with no risk (low voltage, transformer stays outside the sink. 150 bucks.

 

[catspa]

Have a look at a Tojiro ITK bread knife. They don't tear up cutting boards either.

Interesting scallop pattern. What I usually see on serrated knives, especially steak knives, is a row of bright points. That tells me that the apexes (apexii?) of the teeth are taking the brunt of the wear.

Parker

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

If the edge isn't too dulled already and just needs touch-up maintenance, then a Sharpmaker used the in conventional manner on the corners of the stones, or any other V-crock device with round rods, will work fine for serrations. Just have to be careful with the held angle and keep the touch very, very light. Should be a very light 'zipper-like' buzzing & skimming sound to it, when done with a very light & controlled touch. If done too heavily or with the angle held too wide, it'll make a mess of the points of the serrations and will roll or heavily burr the edge in the scallops. If done lightly and carefully, the method works well on edges that aren't allowed to go too far beyond moderately dull.

It gets much more tedious though, if the scallops of the serrations are very dull or if they've never been sharpened at all. Using a round or oval diamond rod, or a coarse ceramic rod in the scallops, one-by-one, will work to reset the edge within each scallop without grinding the points off the serrations. Then de-burr from the flat backside.

 

[catspa]

I use the portion of a tapered diamond rod that’s just larger than the concave scallop, so it abrades on the edges more than the center. That’s where the dullness is, and although it takes a little time, it does get them sharp. And increasingly shallower, until they’re gone.

Parker