Sharpening small, serrated edges on cutlery

B

Brew-Jitsu

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I apologize if this is already on the forum somewhere, but how does one sharpen the small serrations that are very close together? My mother in law has an old kitchen knife with sentimental value, and the small teeth are quite dull. Any help that can be offered is greatly appreciated, otherwise I will convince her that she just has to upgrade...
 
Depends on how small... I use the Lansky sharpeners for serrations, it's got a nice little v shaped rod for that. But there are some that are just way to small even for that rod.

Yeah, what the next guy said!
 
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A set of diamond files can sharpen very small serrations. Otherwise, a triangle or round 5/32 file. Go light on the pressure as they cut quick. DM
 
Do a google search for "slip stones". They're available in all sorts of sizes and crazy shapes, and they're intended exactly for sharpening/polishing hard-to-reach spots.

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I use the Lansky mini-crock stick - take one of the little ceramic rods out of the plastic holder and use it like a file
 
alex, if you are not able to sharpen it for her, i'll do it for her for free if you pay return shipping and insurance.
 
james terrio said:
Do a google search for "slip stones". They're available in all sorts of sizes and crazy shapes, and they're intended exactly for sharpening/polishing hard-to-reach spots.]
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Hey James that's an impressive group of slipstones you got pictured there. Where did you find those at. I've never seen that many different configurations of slip stone before.

With all the cheap 3rd World imports out there I would be curious to know where you found those because they actually look like good quality items at first glance. I bet you found them at one of the WoodWorker's websites maybe???
 
richard j said:
alex, if you are not able to sharpen it for her, i'll do it for her for free if you pay return shipping and insurance.
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richard j - that is very kind. I will see if I can find a solution, but I will definitely utilize your help if I cannot manage.
 
SunsetFisherman said:
pics of the blade would be really helpful :thumbup:
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Yeah, I will try to get a picture. I just cant imagine anything small enough to fit the teeth. I think the work would be very tedious given the quality level of the knife (it appears to be a fairly economical model). But yeah, I will see about getting a picture.
 
ok, if that's the steack knife type of microserrations i'd leave the knife alone. or maybe if one side of the edge is flat just touch it on a buffer or slotted paper wheel may help.
 
JD Spydo said:
Hey James that's an impressive group of slipstones you got pictured there.
Click to expand...

Those are just stock pics from a quick Google image search. Check out woodworker's and industrial supply houses like MSC, Grainger, Fastenal etc.
 
A credit card and a piece of wet/dry sandpaper might fit into small serrations. Just fold the sandpaper over the edge of the credit card, and use the edge like a very narrow file. OR, depending on the exact width of your serrations, any other similar rigid & flat object might be used with the paper, like the radiused spine of another knife blade, or a popsicle stick, etc. Choose the appropriate thickness to fit your serrations.
 
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2012-11-02_13-47-52_10-1.jpg

Alright, so this isn't the knife, but the serration design is similar to the one in question... It seems that the teeth are just too damn small to be worth the effort.
 
If the serrations are ground on only one side of the blade (back side flat), it may by easier to sharpen from the back, with the blade flush to the sharpening media (I would be using sandpaper for this). Use edge-trailing (stropping) stroke. Keep the back side flush to the abrasive, so the tips of the serrations don't get rounded off.
 
I know this might be a bit late, but here goes. If you have a dremel (or some such toy) the 1 inch buffing wheels and some compounds can bring back an amazing edge. Just be carefuls. The small wheels can heat up steel a lot quicker then you would think.
 
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