Running a busy kitchen or food operation means balancing cost, speed, and safety often while under pressure. What business don’t realise is something as small as knives can quietly impact all three components.

Dull, neglected blades slow prep, increase waste, and raise replacement costs. With the cost of replacing knifes reaching to anywhere over £200, the costs can accumulate quietly, shift by shift. The good news? There’s a straightforward fix. Professional knife supply and sharpening services from Nella help you get more from your equipment without sacrificing performance.

Sharp Knives Save Time and Labour Costs

Blunt blades are often overlooked but can be a safety risk. When chefs have to apply more force to cut, they’re more likely to make mistakes, get minor cuts or seriously injured. Keeping knives sharp helps keep your team safer and increases their precision during busy shifts.

When knives lose their edge, so does your team’s efficiency. It takes longer to cut through ingredients, leading to tasks that should only take seconds to stretch into minutes. Multiply that across the kitchen, and you end up with:

• Slower service

• Fatigued staff
• Increased labour costs to keep the same output

On the other side, professionally sharpened knives make cutting a breeze, leading to quicker prep and fewer delays. This small change can boost productivity without needing more staff.

From what we’ve seen in commercial kitchens, blunt knives can waste a lot of time during prep, especially with bulk vegetable cutting. Even small delays can turn into hours lost within a week. Supply and sharpening services can help you get that time back so everyone can work more efficiently.

Using our scheduled knife replacement service, where your dull Nella set is swapped for a freshly sharpened set, helps you reclaim lost time and keeps your team operating without strain.

Dull Knives Lead to More Food Waste

There’s also the hygiene aspect to consider. Tearing instead of slicing can spread juices across surfaces, especially when working with raw meat or fish. Frayed edges can trap food particles, making knives harder to clean and increasing the risk of bacteria buildup. Keeping your knives sharp helps with safer, cleaner food prep.

Precision matters. When blades are blunt, you’re not cutting but tearing. That causes damage to ingredients, from bruised herbs to ragged meat cuts. The result?

• More trimmings tossed out
• Uneven portions that need correcting
• Damaged produce that’s no longer usable

All of this means more food waste and higher stock costs.

Sharpened knives in contrast make clean cuts that keep your ingredients intact, leading to less waste. better yield and consistent presentation.

From our experience working with foodservice clients, switching from dull blades to whetstone-sharpened knives often leads to noticeable reductions in waste, especially with delicate produce like fruit, herbs, and leafy greens.

With regular set replacements, you benefit from sharper tools and more predictable prep, with fewer mistakes and less waste.

Replacement Spend Adds Up Fast

It’s easy to treat knives as if they’re disposable when they start to dull. But this leads to constant spending. A good chef’s knife can cost anywhere from £60 to £150 or more. When you think about how many knives are needed, those replacement costs can really add up.

Here’s the reality: most of those knives don’t need to be replaced; they just need professional sharpening.

With Nella Cutlery Services, you receive a fresh set of sharpened knives delivered on a routine basis, while your previous Nella knives are taken away to be professionally restored. This extends the life of every blade, helping your business:

• Spend less on replacement stock
• Save time that would’ve been spent sharpening knives in-house
• Stay ahead of seasonal demand without scrambling for new kit

Many of the kitchens we work with report significant savings after switching from regular knife replacement to a supply-and-sharpen system. For multi-site operators, it's an easy way to bring consistency and control to equipment costs without disrupting day-to-day prep.

Our services are a practical alternative to constant reordering and overstocking, helping you avoid unplanned spending.

Sharpening Supports Sustainability

It’s not just about the money though that matters. Constant knife replacement also increases:

• Packaging waste
• Steel consumption
• Transport and emissions from restocking

A knife supply and sharpening cycle helps lower waste, cut down your kitchen’s environmental impact, and keep your tools in use longer. This means less trash, a smaller carbon footprint, and a more responsible way to run your business.

For many hospitality groups, sustainability is absolute expectation. Our service supports these efforts by reducing knife waste without compromising performance.

Why Choose Nella for Knife Sharpening Services?

Our method of whetstone sharpening is careful and precise. It only removes what’s needed to restore the edge, allowing your knives to last longer. Each knife is sharpened by hand, keeping balance and performance intact. That’s why professional kitchens trust us for consistent results.

At Nella Cutlery Services, we sharpen over 150,000 knives every week across our five factories in the UK and Europe. Our method? Whetstone sharpening by hand widely regarded as one of the most effective techniques for preserving blade life and performance.

Here’s what makes us different:

• Consistent sharpness, no corners cut
• Convenient pickup and delivery that works around your kitchen
• Fast turnaround and nationwide service
• Years of experience with commercial kitchens, caterers, and food manufacturers

With Nella’s regular knife supply and sharpening schedule, your kitchen stays sharp, efficient, and ready no matter how busy things get.

We supply, collect, and replace your Nella knives seamlessly, as part of a professional-grade knife service tailored to busy kitchens.

How Often Should I Send Kitchen Knives for Sharpening?

So, how often should you send your Nella knives for sharpening? Most kitchens find that sharpening every 1-2 weeks works well, but sharpening more often can keep your knives performing their best. Nella can tailor your knife replacement schedule to match your kitchen’s demand so you’re never caught off guard.

Our team can advise on the right knife sharpening services frequency based on the type of knives, menu prep, and overall kitchen demand.

Ask yourself:

• How much time are you losing with dull knives?
• Are you tossing out knives that could be sharpened?
• Could you cut down on food waste with better cuts?

If the answer is yes, it’s time for you.

Book your knife supply and sharpening service with Nella Cutlery Services today.

Cut waste and reduce costs today. Contact us now to build your custom sharpening schedule.