How to Sharpen a Serrated Knife – Step-By-Step Guide

Sharpening a knife is a hard task for those unfamiliar with the sharpening process, even more so when it comes to how to sharpen a serrated knife.

Sharpening a serrated knife may scare any novice. However, knowing how to sharpen a serrated knife is really simple as long as you know and practice what you need to do.

Even professional chefs and butchers need to start from scratch at some point. With years of experience and constant practice, they can perfect the art of knife sharpening. And you can do the same too! All you need is to follow this step-by-step guide.

What is a Serrated Knife?

Before anything else, can you differentiate a serrated knife from other types of knives?

To determine whether a knife is serrated or not, all you have to do is check the blade. A serrated knife is distinguishable because it has serrated teeth on the blade. These serrated teeth bite onto hard exteriors, such as bread crust, and slice smoothly down. A steak knife is also considered a serrated knife because it has teeth.

As a matter of fact, a serrated knife seldom requires sharpening as opposed to other types of knives such as skinning knives and breaking knives. A high-quality serrated knife does need sharpening after a year or so. When the time comes to finally sharpen your serrated knives, make sure that you know how to do it properly and safely.

How Do You Know When a Serrated Knife Needs Sharpening?

A dull serrated knife will not function as smoothly as it used to. A sharp knife usually cuts bread effortlessly without leaving any traces of crumbs. So, when crumbs start to fall onto the counter and the bread you are cutting gets squished as you cut, it means the serrated knife needs to be sharpened.

Some people prefer to buy cheap serrated knives over high-quality ones. They have this thinking that whenever it starts to dull, they can chuck it out and buy new ones.

Less hassle, less worry. But then again, it’ll cost you more in the long run as you replace knife after knife after knife. It is certainly a good choice to invest in a high-quality serrated knife designed with a  durable and sharp blade to ensure its longevity.

How to Sharpen a Serrated Knife Using a Sharpening Rod

A sharpening rod is more like a piece of long steel that hones the knife. It is a small and narrow rod that tapers. Using a sharpening rod to file a serrated knife is quite useful. Because of its varying thickness along the shaft, it can accommodate the different widths of your knife’s serrations as well.

Step-By-Step Guide

Start by locating the side with a beveled edge. You can determine the knife’s bevel side if you look for the blade’s part, where it angles down slightly before the serrated edge. You can only apply the sharpening rod on this side.

Then, check which part of the rod fits the serrations of your knife. Place the rod at one of the serrations at an angle. Typically, the angle is between 13° and 17°. However, if the knife has a straight edge, the bevel may range from 20° to 25°.

Drag the sharpening rod across each of the serrations. Though it doesn’t matter which direction you drag, experts recommend dragging it away from the blade for safety reasons.

Drag the ceramic sharpening rod four to five times over each serration. This requires a lot of patience, depending on how many serrations your knife has.

Once you’re done doing all the serrations, flip the knife to the other side. Using a sharpening stone or a sheet of fine-grit sandpaper, rub the knife’s back to file off the burr.

The burr is a raised edge of metal on the other side of the knife. It is a result of the rubbing of the rod back and forth on the serrations. You have to smooth these raised edges to ensure that it has been sharpened well.

Do not forget to clean your serrated knife blade afterward. This is a finishing touch to remove any metal debris caused by the serrated knife sharpening.

How to Sharpen a Serrated Knife Using Tools

Aside from a ceramic sharpening rod, there are other sharpening tools that you can use for a serrated knife. One such tool is a commercial knife sharpener specifically designed for serrated knife sharpening.

A triangle-shaped serrated knife sharpener makes it relatively easy to sharpen a bread knife or steak knife.  It is very easy to use as you only need to follow the brand manufacturer’s instruction guide.

However, this usually comes with other sharpening options intended for other types of knives. So, make sure that you use the appropriate section intended for sharpening serrated knives.

You can also create your own personal sharpening tool with the use of emery cloths and dowels. Choose an appropriate dowel that fits on the first serrated section without wobbling.

Cover the dowel with an emery cloth. The length of the cloth should be long enough that you can safely hold it in place with your finger when sharpening your serrated knife.

Drag the dowel back and forth several times, and then switch dowels to match the different sizes of serrations as you go along. This is an easy DIY manual knife sharpener you can use at home in a pinch and when you don’t have access to an electric knife sharpener or ceramic rod.

How to Maintain the Sharpness of a Serrated Knife

Since sharpening a serrated knife requires patience and expertise, you want to maintain and keep its sharpness for a long time. Is there a special way that you can lengthen the period of time that your knife stays sharp?

It all boils down to the proper care and maintenance of your knife. Proper storage helps your serrated knife maintain its sharp blade for a long time. Storing your knife properly increases the lifespan of the blade’s sharp edge and the durability of the knife in general.

Keeping your knives properly stored in something like a knife block or a magnetic knife strip prevents unnecessary scratches that may cause a dull knife blade in due time.

If you don’t have such storing tools and you only have a drawer, make sure that you protect the knife blade with a knife guard. A knife guard secures the blade. It protects the blade from getting damaged as it bumps into other things inside the drawer.

Takeaway

A serrated knife does not require constant sharpening. People often throw out cheap serrated knives once they do not serve their purpose anymore.

However, investing in an expensive and high-quality serrated knife is worthwhile. It’ll take years before you have to sharpen it. But once you know how to sharpen a serrated knife, you’ll find it relatively easy and rewarding to do it on your own.