How to Sharpen Food Processor Blades
From making smoothies to making powders, food processors are used for many things. Kitchen blades are used almost all the time and are thus prone to get worn down and turn dull. Thankfully, you can always sharpen them to work as intended. So, for this tutorial, we will learn how to sharpen food processor blades.
How do food processor blades dull?
There are many things that can dull these blades, which is why this guide is dedicated to sharpening food processor blades. But this begs the question, how and why do food processor blades dull specifically?
Hard food
Using food processor blades on tough foods is one contributing factor in dulling food processor blades. Who knew using sharp yet somewhat thin metal blades on ingredients that are too hard to cut could dull, even damage, the blade? If you didn’t catch the message, the food processor is meant to be used on vegetables, fruits, or softer ingredients.
Lack of care and cleaning
Another reason why the blades can go dull is due to them being left unclean and not treated properly between use. A lot of gunk could contribute to the blade wearing down or rust at worst. So, clean and look after your food processor blades and the food processor while we’re at it.
Age and regular use
Age and regular use are the more natural and mundane of these factors. All food processor blades wear down and grow dull over time. We can replace these blades with sharper, newer sets of blades. But this is a guide on how to sharpen food processor blades, and we don’t need to replace what we can hone and fix.
How to sharpen food processor blades | 3 easy methods
Before we learn how to sharpen food processor blades, we will go over some things we’ll need. Then, we’ll go over the best methods for sharpening the food processor blades, of which there are three.
What do you need?
Here are some things you need before we dive in and learn how to sharpen food processor blades.
Cut-resistant gloves
You’ll handle a lot of sharp edges, not all of them dull. With the help of these gloves, you can better sharpen the blade edges with precision without worrying about getting cut. Do not skip over this unless you know your way around sharp edges.
Whetstone
One of the best ways to sharpen and polish blades is by using whetstones Despite looking primitive, with just a splash of water, this block can help you hone the edges of any metal. This tool is best used on non-serrated blades.
Knife Sharpener
Whetstones may be the best sharpening tools, but they require much arm work. This is where the knife sharpener comes in, which works like whetstone without the extra hand work. You simply need to do place the blade on top of the edge and start sharpening the blade. They come in various types, and ceramic water sharpeners are the cheapest.
Sandpaper
Though often used to sand the edges out of walls and furniture, you can also use them on metal. Though they come in various grit sizes, we’re looking for ones with large and strong grits. Those are the types that are best for sharpening blades.
Dowel
Dowels are wooden pegs or pins used for fastening two pieces of wood. These dowels start rounded before they are cut to fit the wedges. For this tutorial, we will need a dowel small enough to fit the serrated edge of the blades.
How to sharpen your food processor blades with a Whetstone
Here, we will learn how to sharpen food processor blades with a whetstone. We’ll need a whetstone and a splash of water for this method. This is best used on non-serrated blades, as the whetstone can remove the edges of a blade. As always, wear safety gloves before beginning, especially cut-resistant ones.
Step 1 – Remove the blade from the food processor
Unscrew and remove the blade from the food processor.
Step 2 – Clean the blades
Clean the blade of any dirt or food particles, which will make cleaning the edge much easier.
Step 3 – Prepare the Whetstone
Next, prepare the whetstone and splash some water to remove any dirt. The water also helps strengthen the grit, to sharpen the blade better.
Step 4 – Begin sharpening the blade
Keep the blade’s sharp point away from your body and run the blade along the whetstone. Ensure that the blade’s shape is appropriately maintained. Afterward, test the sharpness of the blade, and reassemble it when you’re happy with the results.
How to sharpen your food processor blades with a Knife Sharpener
Though the whetstone is one of the best methods, it still requires precision and work to get it done right. But with a knife sharpener, you only need to worry about angling and leave the rest to the machine. So, for this next part, we will learn how to sharpen food processor blades with a knife sharpener.
Step 1 – Remove the blade from the food processor
Unscrew and remove the blade from the food processor.
Step 2 –Prepare the knife sharpener
Place the sharpener on your bench and hold it firmly with one hand. Optionally, suppose you’re using a ceramic water sharpener. In that case, you can fill the sharpener with water, then for 3 minutes, let it soak. You can remove the plastic cover for extra range.
Step 3 – Run the blade through the knife sharpener
With cut-resistant gloves, keep the blade straight and gently run it through the sharpener at least 4 – 7 times. There is no need to apply any excess pressure.
Step 4 – Wash the blade
After you’re done sharpening, wash the blade to remove any residue. Finally, test the blade’s sharpness, and if you’re happy, put it back in the food processor.
How to sharpen your food processor blades with a Sandpaper
If you’ve been attentive, you might have noticed that the last two methods worked better for non-serrated blades. If you want to sharpen serrated blades, you will need sandpaper and a small piece of dowel.
Step 1 – Remove the blade from the food processor
Unscrew and remove the blade from the food processor.
Step 2 – Search for a dowel that fits the serrated edge
Look for a dowel that fits grooves on your serrated blade and doesn’t roll or slide over. The dowel must fit on the serration to not slide or roll over.
Step 3 – Cover the dowel with sandpaper and start sharpening
Cover that dowel with sandpaper and run it across the serrated edge. Make sure that the dowel doesn’t slip off. Once you finish one edge, do the same for the other edges.
Step 4 – Wash the blade afterward
After sharpening the serrated edges, wash the blade of any residue. Finally, test the blade’s sharpness, and if you’re happy, put it back in the food processor.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Now that we know about the many ways how to sharpen food processor blades, it’s time to look at some frequently asked questions. For this section, we’re going to.
Do you need to sharpen your food processor blades?
Unless you like the idea of shredding, grating, and slicing your ingredients at a snail’s pace, yes, you do. If the blades are left dull, this will make the food processing a much slower and time-consuming process. Making it so that the food processor takes long pretty much defeats its entire purpose, to slice, mince, and shred your ingredients faster.
Can you sharpen your blender blades with ice cubes?
As unorthodox as using ice cubes to sharpen the food processor might be, it surprisingly works somewhat. If you shred a bowl of ice cubes with the blades you want to sharpen, the blades get sharper. We add “somewhat” because the method only applies to the kind that can shred the ice cubes. Those types of blades require other means if you want to sharpen them.
Honing your blades for the kitchen
When their blades get dull, many people make the mistake of replacing them with new ones, which is costly. With this tutorial, we hope you’ve learned how to sharpen food processor blades instead of throwing them away. We also hope you’ve learned a thing or two about the many ways of sharpening blades. You can check out other blogs :
