Anyone can have a moment of panic where you tried to slice a pizza with an old, dull pizza cutter, and it made the job infinitely harder than it needed to be, then this guide is for you. How to sharpen a pizza cutter using some common household tools will save you time and money.
You can sharpen a pizza cutter by placing it on an angle grinder, placing the flat side at a 20-degree angle, and slowly grinding away the metal until it is flush with the side of the flat edge.
You can get better results with your pizza cutter by taking a few minutes to sharpen it once a year. A sharp pizza cutter makes cutting easy and prevents squishing of hands or fingers underneath the blade.
To sharpen the blade, all you will need are sandpaper, a sanding block, and some elbow grease.
What is a Pizza cutter?
A pizza cutter is also known as a Rozzapreti in Italian. It is a tool used to cut a pizza, a calzone, a sandwich, or any other round food. You can place it on the pizza’s crust after removing it from an oven or a stovetop. This tool prevents hand burns from the heated pizza crust.
It consists of a solid handle with a wheel attached to its end, which usually has a trough or blade. A pizza cutter is a popular alternative to a knife and fork. It is operated by hand easily.
By design, pizza cutters resemble more extensive versions of the wheel of a railroad locomotive. The pizza wheel rotates on a central axle and has slicing blades running parallel to the wheel’s edge. Pizza wheels can be two-wheeled (dough cutter), four-wheeled (pizza scissors), or six-wheeled.
How To Sharpen A Pizza Cutter
Pizza cutters need to be sharp to slice the dough into perfectly even slices. The best way to ensure that your pizza cutter remains sharp is to maintain its edges. Well-sharpened blades allow the gooey cheese and stringy, delicious sauce to slide right off of your pizza in one bite. Here are the various methods to use:
Using a Wet Stone
Why use a wet stone? Water creates a slurry of aluminum oxide that removes steel at much higher rates than dry sand can. Water is also needed for lubrication to allow the water-stone slurry to flow freely.
Material Needed:
- Protective glove
- Polishing spray
- Wet stone
Step 1: Wet the blade with cold water before starting.
The first thing to do is wet the blade with cold water before grinding on the available wet stone, as this protects the edge from heat damage and makes sharpening easier.
Sharpening is completely painless when you wet the blade with water before starting to sharpen. It prevents heating of the edge, which softens the blade making it less resistant to penetration by the abrasive material. Using oil will cause heating, so water is the best to use.
Water is used with the stone to keep cool throughout sharpening, but water must keep it at the correct levels.
Step 2: Grind the cutter against the stone.
Sharpen one side of the blades, then sharpen the other side with the wet stone to grind away the carbides on the cutting wheel, leaving a consistent surface. The process is straightforward, but be careful! If you are holding the pizza cutter in your hands when you grind it down against the stone, there is a chance that it will slip out of your hand.
A thick wet stone is ideal for sharpening a pizza cutter as it will keep the cutter level as you cut, and it will create an edge that you can feel and see.
Step 3: Apply a polishing compound with a cotton cloth after sharpening
Apply a polishing compound with a cotton cloth to remove roughness, and finally, clean the knife thoroughly. Polishing compound is beneficial for removing chips and nicks from plane blades. It helps restore the bright finish of blades and irons. When applied with a polishing cloth, it removes rust and corrosion as well as old surface discoloration.
Step 4: Test what you have done
After applying the polishing compound on the blades, run it swiftly through a paper; if the paper starts tearing at the point where the blade touches it, congrats! Grab a rag and apply some oil to your newly sharpened blades or tools before sliding them back into their cases. The oil helps protect the metal from oxidizing.
Using Diamond Sharpening Stone
Diamond Sharpening Stone is used by top experts and can sharpen anything from a tomahawk to a chainsaw. Wherever you may be, this tool will keep your tools in good condition.
Step 1: Take apart the pizza cutter wheel and remove the blade
Remove the blade from the cutter wheel and then hone the knife into a sharper edge that cuts more easily through tough pizza dough.
Step 2: Grind the pizza cutter with Diamond Sharpening Stone
Move the blade counterclockwise on the diamond stone to achieve a sharper edge after grinding
Step 3: Use a polishing compound to remove any scratches on the surface of the blade
After sharpening the blade with the stone to clean the edge before fixing it back with the cutter, use a polish compound on it to remove any scratches on the blade surface due to the grinding.
Lubricate the blade steel regularly to prevent any future rust.
How to sharpen a mezzaluna
Use a diamond sharpening steel (or Waterstone) to sharpen your mezzaluna. Be sure to keep the angle consistent with the blade’s edge on each side of the mezzaluna. Once you have created sharp edges on both sides of your mezzaluna, you can use it to chop your ingredients.
Always inspect the edge of the mezzaluna blade for signs of chipping or cracking that may weaken it and cause a roughness that will hamper cutting efficiency. It is a specialty knife with a rounded blade that looks like the half of a scimitar. It is perfect for chopping, mincing, and carving soft fruits and vegetables. Having the right tools that are sharp makes all the difference when using a mezzaluna. To use one, you must sharpen it.
Taking care of your mezzaluna is easy. After each use, simply place the mezzaluna blade down (hollow side up) on a clean, dry surface and gently tap the base of the handle with the back of a spoon. This will cause any trapped garlic or herbs that are in the gap to fall out. If you find that this gap is getting plugged up over time, you can also clean it by placing warm water and a little bit of soap down inside and mixing it around with your fingers.
How to sharpen Pampered Chef pizza cutter
The several ways of sharpening your Pampered Chef pizza cutter include: using steel or ceramic rod designed for sharpening or simply using some metal file on the side of the blade where it is dull. Alternatively, you can use your Pampered Chef knife sharpener to sharpen your pizza cutter.
You can sharpen your pampered chef pizza cutter with scissors or a round file. To do so:
- Clean the surface of the knife with soap and water.
- Grip the pizza cutter at its top and bottom points to avoid injury.
- Use scissors to trim off any strips out of place, taking care not to damage the surrounding area.
Another safe option is using a small round file. File in one direction only, regularly checking that your knife is still straight.
Rotary cutter vs. Pizza cutter
Rotary cutter
A Rotary cutter is a super-thin sharp blade mounted on a handle. The edge rolls up and down. Usually, the things cut with rotary cutters are lightweight fabrics like paper, thin denim, or other thin fabric like craft foam or felt.
A Rotary Cutter is large and easy to use. It gives an accurate cutting result without damaging any fabric. A Rotary Cutter is for cutting lightweight materials, such as T-shirts, blouses, tablecloths, thin woolen garments.
Pizza cutter
A pizza Cutter is a revolutionary kitchen tool that allows you to cut pizza precisely, consistently, and effortlessly. But it’s more than just a pizza cutter. It is an essential tool for any kitchen as it allows you to cut your pizza easily without tearing or stretching the sauce or toppings.
People use it to slice their homemade or store-bought pizza into bite-size pieces that they can eat in one or two convenient bites. The Italians first invented it in the 1700s. Still, its natural rise to popularity happened in the 1970s during the take-out craze when restaurants like Pizza Hut and Domino’s began offering take-out pizzas.
Frequently Asked Question
Can you sharpen a pizza cutter with a knife sharpener?
Yes, you can sharpen a pizza cutter with a knife sharpener. It is crucial to select the right angle for your sharpener and to maintain your pizza cutter regularly. Most metal pizza cutters are made out of stainless steel and can be sharpened with a knife sharpener.
Can you sharpen a pizza cutter?
You can sharpen a pizza cutter on a standard bench grinder. If you’re going to be grinding the blade thinner, at least put an angle on it so you can grind away from yourself and the wheel. That way, if it does break during grinding, your wheel will hopefully fall out of the arbor instead of sending pieces in your direction or breaking the wheel.
How do you sharpen a shape cutter?
A shape cutter is sharpened with a stone to get the cutting edges. Use only water (no oil or other lubricant), and rinse immediately after use. To get a longer life span out of your shape cutter, be sure to keep it clean and well-lubricated.
How do you sharpen a rotary pizza cutter?
To sharpen your rotary pizza cutter, unscrew the bolt holding the blade mechanism in place. Once you unscrew it, slide off the blade mechanism. To get back to factory sharpness, use a whetstone to sharpen both sides of the blade, then replace all of the blade pieces.
How do professionals cut pizza?
Using a pizza cutter as professionals are simple. Start by laying the pizza on a flat, stable surface. Then anchor the pizza cutter on top of the pizza crust at one corner. Take a firm grip with one hand and push down on the handle of the pizza cutter to slice through the first piece of pizza. Hold out your hands to catch the first slice as it falls from the cutter.
Conclusion
A powerful, sharp pizza cutter makes quick work of slicing through your favorite pies and is a must-have in every kitchen. The most important part about this tool is that while it cuts effortlessly through the crust, you can sharpen it with this easy trick on how to sharpen a pizza cutter with stress or any form of difficulty.
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