How to Sharpen a Potato Peeler
An important tool in your kitchen is a sharp potato peeler. It will help you easily cut through any vegetable or fruit skin. However, these peelers can become dull over time due to usage. On this page is a step-by-step process on how to sharpen a potato peeler to cut through even the toughest fruit skin.
To Sharpen a Potato Peeler, place the peeler on a flat surface with the blade facing up and hold the whetstone at a 20-degree angle with the sharp side of the stone facing up. Then, put light pressure on the top of the peeler and slide the stone across the blade from one end to another.
Repeat this process three times, flip over and repeat on the other side. Finally, run your finger along the blade after sharpening it to check for any bumps or nicks in the blade.
What Are Potato Peelers Called?
A potato peeler is a small, handheld kitchen utensil used for peeling away potato skins. Peelers are usually made of metal or plastic and have a serrated blade to allow for easier peeling.
Various peelers are designed for specific sizes of potatoes, with larger versions sometimes able to be used on fruits and vegetables.
Also, they are called potato slicers and vegetable peeling machines. As the name implies, a vegetable peeling machine is an electronic device designed to help you peel vegetables easily.
As the name implies, a vegetable peeling machine is an electronic device designed to help you peel vegetables easily.
How to Sharpen a Potato Peeler
Potato peelers can be a great tool in the kitchen, and if you are planning to do any baking, they can make quick work of peeling potatoes or other vegetables. However, like all other kitchen utensils, they have their limitations, and one of these limitations is that they will eventually become dull.
There are several ways you can sharpen a potato peeler; some methods are easier than others, but all involve sharpening the blade’s edge with a fine grit stone. This process requires care and patience so that you don’t cut yourself.
Here is a step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Turn your potato peeler upside down and give it a few sharp taps on the palm of your hand (or with a hammer if you don’t have strong hands).
Tap the blade against your hand to move back and forth along the edge. It will start to sharpen the blade right away.
Step 2: Give it a few swipes on a piece of sandpaper. The motion is similar: hold the sandpaper in one hand, with the rough side facing up, and gently move the potato peeler back and forth across it several times.
Step 3: If your peeler isn’t as sharp as you’d like after this process, repeat these steps until it feels like it cuts through potatoes like butter.
How Many Types of Peelers Are There
There are different kinds of peelers, but the ones that get the job done best are the ones that match your needs. Don’t just pick up any old peeler and expect it to be perfect for you.
All peelers have different features and allow you to do different things. Of course, you’ll want to pick one that matches your cooking style. Here’s a quick breakdown of the types of peelers:
1. By Material
Metal:
- Stainless Steel Peeler
- Titanium Peeler
- High Carbon Steel Peeler
- Flexible Stainless Steel Peeler
- Plastic:
- Rubber Handle Plastic Peeler
- Bamboo Handle Plastic Peeler
- Stainless Steel/Plastic Combination
2. By Physical Features
1. Angled Blade: Best for soft foods like carrots and cucumbers and helps with peeling potatoes. It can also be used for cutting food into slices.
2. Skull-Shaped Blade: A nice middle ground between an angled blade and a straight blade can be used for soft or hard vegetables or fruit with a gentle hand. Also great for coring out apples or pears. Straight Blade: Best for hard vegetables like carrots and potatoes.
3. Swivel-type peeler
You need a swivel-type peeler for the fruits and vegetables that aren’t round, like carrots, potatoes, and cucumbers. The swivel peeler allows you to make long, even strokes. The swivel peeler is great for soft fruits and vegetables. It is also not expensive and easy to find.
It has limited uses because it can only be used on soft foods and can’t handle much pressure. They’re also not great for peeling hard foods because it’s difficult to get the peeler underneath the skin of the fruit or vegetable.
4. Rotating blade Peeler
Peelers with a rotating blade allow you to make long, even strokes without worrying about peeling unevenly or inconsistently. They are great for soft fruits and vegetables peeled with little force or pressure. These peelers can be used on hard fruits and vegetables but may not be the best choice because they require a lot of force and can be difficult to use on hard items.
Rotating-blade peelers have more uses than swivel peelers because they can be used on soft fruits.
5. Classic peeler
It has a straight blade that peels off long strips of skin. It was created in 1957 by a stockbroker named Frank Wright as a kitchen gadget to help his wife prepare her recipe.
6. Crinkle peeler
The crinkle peeler uses a ridged edge to remove softer skin and fruit rinds. It was invented by a woman who was always frustrated by having to use multiple peelers on one tomato. She sawed off part of a potato peeler, and voila, the crinkle peeler was born.
7. Julienne peeler
This peeler allows you to make long strands used for garnishing salads or decorating dishes.
How to Sharpen a Potato Peeler with a Spyderco
You can use any Spyderco knife sharpener. To start, you want to put your potato peeler in the slot designed for it. Then, hold it at a 90-degree angle to the sharpening stone.
Next, run the knife through the stone 5 times on each side of the blade.
Here is a step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Place your potato peeler on a flat, sturdy surface. You’ll want to ensure it doesn’t move around during the sharpening process.
Step 2: Sharpen your Spyderco against the grooved surface of your potato peeler. It will create a fine, serrated wire edge that will cut through even the toughest skins.
Step 3: Flip your potato peeler over and sharpen the entire blade against the grooved surface of your Spyderco to give it a finer edge.
Step 4: Repeat until you have reached your desired level of sharpness.
How to Sharpen a Rada Potato Peeler
A rada potato peeler is one of the most important kitchen tools. Set the blade flat on a cutting board to sharpen it, with the handle facing you. Make sure you are using a sharpening stone (not sandpaper) to sharpen it.
Then, use short strokes to start sharpening the blade. If your stone does not have multiple grits, start with the rough grit and move to the fine grit.
After each stroke, remove metal shavings from both sides of the blade. When sharpening it, rinse under water and pat dry with a towel.
How Do You Sharpen a Serrated Peeler?
Serrated blades are supposed to be self-sharpening, but that’s not always the case. If you’ve found that your blade is getting dull, you can sharpen with a hone if the serrations are big enough. Otherwise, a metal file will work.
Many people have successfully sharpened their blades by rubbing them on a ceramic plate. You should do it gently and only for an instant at first to get an idea of what kind of pressure is required.
The other method is to use a large nail file or similar tool to file down the teeth on one side of each serration to be even in height. It can take some time, but it’s better than buying a new peeler.
However, sandpaper on the glass doesn’t work well; this tends to round off edges rather than sharpen them.
How Do I Keep My Peeler Sharp?
A sharp peeler is an efficient peeler. One way to keep your peeler sharp is to use it correctly. How can I use it correctly?
Follow these instructions:
1. Use it regularly
You’ve got a lot of fruits and veggies to prep in your kitchen, so make sure you get all the help you can get when getting them ready to go. The more you cut, the sharper the peeler gets.
2. Store it away from other utensils and tools
If the blades are rubbing against each other or other hard objects, they will dull and get damaged faster than if they were kept safely tucked away in their own space.
3. Take good care of it
Don’t let it sit in water or a wet area for long periods, as this can damage the handle and weaken the structural integrity of the peeler. So rinse it with warm water after use, dry it off quickly, and get it back on your countertop where it belongs.
4. Remove any rust from the blade
You can scrub it with steel wool, or a brass brush dipped in white vinegar (a natural anti-rusting agent). If that doesn’t work, try soaking the blade in vinegar for 15 minutes and then scrubbing again.
5. Try not to cut through hard objects/materials with it; it’ll just wear out the blade faster.
Conclusion
I hope that you learned something new about how to sharpen a potato peeler and will now be able to keep your potato peeler in optimal shape.
The simplest way to sharpen a potato peeler is with any metal file. Use your file to restore its glistening edge when your peeler becomes dull. It’s a quick process with very little setup and effort and ensures that you get many more years of use out of those dull potato peelers.
