Whether you like making your own pizza or getting it from your favorite pizzeria, pizza cutters are essential in having a clean-cut pizza. If used often, pizza cutters can get dull and ineffective in cutting pizza.
There are several ways how to sharpen a pizza cutter. You can use a whetstone, puck sharpener, honing rod, and even an abrasive nail file or fine sandpaper to sharpen your pizza cutter.
If you have a dull pizza cutter in your home and thinking of buying a new one, maybe hold on to that thought for a moment and try to sharpen your pizza cutter first. This article will talk about several ways to sharpen your pizza cutter so you won’t have to replace your old one, especially if it can still be sharpened well as new.
Types Of Pizza Cutter
A pizza cutter is a staple in many pizza lovers’ kitchens, especially for those who make pizza from scratch. You will also find pizza cutters in about every pizzeria you go to as it is essential in cutting pizza evenly even those with thick pizza toppings. There are a couple of pizza cutters you can find and here are 3 of them:
Pizza Cutter Wheel
As the name implies, pizza cutter wheels have a singular wheel that rotates to cut through a pizza. Pizza wheels can be used to slice thick-crust pizza or thin-crust pizza easily without too much pressure that cutting with a knife would have. You can definitely use a pizza wheel to cut other food aside from pizza such as flatbread crusts and even brownies.
Pizza Cutter Rocker
A pizza rocker is like a blade but curved and it is used to cut pizza using a back-and-forth rocking motion. Pizza rockers have sharp blades so it is early to cut pizza with this tool.
Pizza Scissors
This type of pizza cutter looks and acts like regular scissors but it is used to cut pizza. Pizza scissors are essentially sharp scissors but with a serrated spatula attached to them so you can easily serve pizza after cutting it. Some pizza scissors, however only have the scissors and do not have a serrated spatula attached.
How To Sharpen A Pizza Cutter
If you use your pizza cutter regularly, it will eventually become dull and ineffective in cutting pizza. There are several methods that you can do yourself to sharpen a pizza cutter blade:
Whetstone
If you have a knife, you also probably have a whetstone sitting somewhere in your kitchen. If not, whetstones are effective in sharpening knives and pizza cutters. They can be bought online or in most home kitchen appliance stores where knives are sold.
If you have a pizza wheel, it might be tricky to sharpen it with a whetstone unless the roller blade is removable. But, to sharpen a pizza cutter with a whetstone:
1. Soak the whetstone in water for at least 15 to 20 minutes before using.
2. After 15 to 20 minutes, place the whetstone on a flat surface. Place a towel on a cutting board or a towel to prevent it from slipping.
3. If you have a pizza wheel with a removable blade, remove the blade and grind the blade along the whetstone with a back-and-forth motion on an angle. If not, make sure the blade on the pizza wheel does not rotate as you sharpen it. Also, make sure that the wheel does not rotate while you grind it on the whetstone. Make sure to sharpen all around the wheel.
4. For pizza rockers, sharpen the blade as how you would sharpen a knife. Grind the edge of the blade along the whetstone making sure to sharpen both sides of the pizza rocker.
5. Sharpen the pizza cutter until you get your desired sharpness.
6. Clean the pizza cutter with a damp cloth to remove any dust particles then test the sharpness of the pizza cutter by cutting it through a pizza.
7. If it is not yet sharp enough for your liking, repeat steps 3 to 6 until the pizza cutter is sharp enough.
Note: If you have pizza scissors, it might be tricky to sharpen it with a whetstone, especially if it has a serrated spatula attached to it. You can take the scissors apart and sharpen them on a whetstone by following the steps above.
Puck Sharpener
A puck sharpener is a handheld sharpening tool much like a whetstone. If you have pizza scissors, using this might be an easier way to sharpen them. To sharpen a pizza cutter using a puck sharpener:
1. Soak the puck sharpener for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. After soaking, hold the puck sharpener firmly with one hand and sharpen your pizza cutter at an angle by grinding it on the puck sharpener using a back-and-forth motion.
3. Clean the pizza cutter with a damp cloth to remove any dust particles then test the sharpness of the pizza cutter by cutting it through a pizza.
4. If it is not yet sharp enough for your liking, repeat steps 2 to 3 until the pizza cutter is sharp enough.
Honing Rod
A honing rod might be best to use if you have a pizza rocker or scissors. There are two ways you can hold the honing rod to sharpen your pizza cutter. Either press the end of the honing rod on a flat surface at an angle or hold the honing rod at an angle away from you.
To sharpen pizza cutters using a honing rod:
1. Hold the honing rod and place the tip of the rod at an angle on a surface or hold it away from you.
2. If the honing rod is touching a flat surface, sharpen the pizza cutter with a back-and-forth motion.
3. If you are carrying the rod, hold the honing rod firmly and sharpen the blade at an angle with a swift sweeping motion away from you and repeat until you get your desired sharpness.
4. Clean the pizza cutter with a damp cloth to remove any dust particles then test the sharpness of the pizza cutter by cutting it through a pizza.
5. If it is not yet sharp enough for your liking, repeat steps 2 to 4 until the pizza cutter is sharp enough.
Abrasive Nail File Or Sandpaper
To use an abrasive nail file or sandpaper to sharpen a pizza cutter:
1. Hold the pizza cutter firmly with one hand.
2. With your other hand, take the nail file or sandpaper and use the abrasive surface to sharpen the pizza cutter with short upward strokes and not in a back-and-forth motion.
3. Sharpen the pizza cutter carefully until you get your desired sharpness.
4. Clean the pizza cutter with a damp cloth to remove any dust particles then test the sharpness of the pizza cutter by cutting it through a pizza.
5. If it is not yet sharp enough for your liking, repeat steps 3 to 4 until the pizza cutter is sharp enough.
Knife Sharpener
A knife sharpener is mostly used to sharpen knives but can also be used as a pizza cutter sharpener. There are different kinds of knife sharpeners and some of them are used for specific knives. If you also want to use it for your knives, make sure to get the right one.
To use a knife sharpener, run the pizza cutter through the knife sharpener from its base all the way to the tip with downward pressure. Repeat the process about 5 to 6 times. A pizza wheel may be a little tricky to sharpen with this tool as the wheel can rotate so it might take a few more repetitions to sharpen it.
Why Is My Pizza Cutter Dull?
Pizza cutters, like everything sharp, will get dull if used regularly. Proper care and maintenance of your pizza cutters will keep them sharp and ready for your pizza cravings.
Final Thoughts
If you find yourself having a hard time cutting pizza with your pizza cutter, it might be time to sharpen those blades. As we have talked about in this article, there are several ways you can sharpen a pizza cutter.
Using a whetstone, puck sharpener, honing rod, or an abrasive nail file or sandpaper can sharpen your pizza cutter effectively. We hope this article helped you in having a nice, sharp pizza cutter without having to replace it yet. If you have any questions, let us know via the contact form on our website.
