It is important to sharpen your knives regularly. A dull knife will slip out of position and could travel to unexpected places when putting full force to bear on it to encourage enough leverage to still cut through meat or vegetables. A sharp knife has no such encumbrances because it only minimal pressure is required for the cutting action which allows for precise control of the knife and this avoids unexpected travel beyond the cutting board.
Here are some tips for sharpening a knife using an electric knife sharpener.
Find an electric sharpener product on my tools gallery website that includes up to three separate grinding wheels (never one alone). This allows for better control of the coarseness applied and the sharpness achieved after the knife sharpening has been completed.
Use the coarsest stone first when sharpening a knife. This cuts away the dull edges the best. Then gradually move to the finest stone which can create the sharp edge that you’ll looking for. Starting with the finest stone on a dull blade will get limited utility from the fine stone and make it less useful sooner.
When using the sharpener, position the blade as far into the sharpener’s opening as possible. This makes the best contact with the grinding stone. The knife should have the knife’s heel right up against the front of the sharpener so that the knife’s blade can be slowly pulled through the sharpener’s mechanism until the tip comes out at the front.
Keep the knife at a 15 or 20-degree angle when moving it through the machine. The better knife sharpeners are setup to adopt a fixed angle to encourage sharpening at a better angle to help with sharpening efficiency.
Sharpening doesn’t happen on a single pass through the internal area. It typically requires a two-pass process and then repeating it in the other direction too. This way, the blade is sharp on both sides of the steel.
Sharpen with a single pass on the coarse stone and then a second pass using the finer stone. This helps remove the dull edges and then suitably prepared, the knife is sharpened better with the grit stone.
The knife sharpeners have magnets inside that attempt to catch all the metal shavings as they are carved off the blade. However, they may have metal dust or particles still on the knife. Clean it with water and hand dry it to prevent it rusting out. Use a clean towel to thoroughly dry the knife to keep it in the best condition.
Get used to the sharpener. Sometimes a machine is more efficient at shaving off metal than is preferred. Monitor the progress to see how much of the blade is lost over time. Lighten the processing of the blade being slid through or use a lighter grinding stone to see how the results vary. Depending on the steel, its rating and thickness, a thicker grinding stone may be too much for it.
Buy a quality knife sharpener. Don’t choose a lower-quality one that will damage your knives permanently. Spend a little more on a better model with excellent customer reviews.