Knife Sharpening: Ticket Total by Blade Type

Excel Formulas › Knife Sharpening

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Serrated edges take longer than a straight blade, so they cost more to sharpen. Count the plain blades at your base rate, the serrated ones at the base plus a surcharge, and the ticket totals itself.

Quick formula: Plain at the base, serrated at the base plus a surcharge:

=B2*D2+C2*(D2+E2)

Six plain and two serrated at $4 base with a $2 serrated surcharge is $24 plus $12 — a $36 ticket.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

SUM PRODUCT

The example

Three tickets, each with a plain count, a serrated count, the base rate, and the serrated surcharge.

	A	B	C	D	E	F
1	Customer	Plain	Serr	Rate	Surch	Total
2	Home cook	6	2	4	2	36
3	Restaurant	20	5	4	2	110
4	Butcher	10	8	4	2	88

The formula

Two blade types, each its own product, added together:

=B2*D2+C2*(D2+E2) // plain x rate, plus serrated x (rate + surcharge)

How it works

Read the two halves:

B2*D2 charges each plain blade at the base rate.
C2*(D2+E2) charges each serrated blade at the base rate plus the serrated surcharge.
The parentheses matter — they add the surcharge to the rate before multiplying by the serrated count.
Keep the rate and surcharge in their own cells so a price change flows through every ticket at once.

Add columns for other premium edges — cleavers, scissors, or damaged tips — each with its own count and rate, all summed the same way.

Try it: interactive demo

Interactive

Enter the plain and serrated counts, the base rate, and the serrated surcharge.

Plain blades

Serrated blades

Base rate ($)

Serrated surcharge ($)

Variations

Add a minimum ticket

Never charge less than a shop minimum with MAX.

=MAX(B2*D2+C2*(D2+E2),15)

Flat serrated price

If serrated is a flat price rather than a surcharge, price it directly.

=B2*D2+C2*6

Pitfalls & errors

Watch the parentheses. Writing =B2*D2+C2*D2+E2 adds the surcharge once for the whole ticket instead of once per serrated blade.

Chips, bent tips, and reprofiling are extra labor, not a normal sharpen. Bill those as a separate line so your per-blade rate stays honest.

Practice workbook

📊

Download the free Knife Sharpening: Ticket Total by Blade Type practice workbook

Edit the yellow count, rate, and surcharge cells; the ticket total recalculates.

Frequently asked questions

Why do serrated blades cost more?

A straight edge is one pass on a stone or wheel. Serrations have to be sharpened tooth by tooth with a tapered rod, which takes several times longer — the surcharge covers that extra time.

Can I add scissors or cleavers?

Yes — add a column for each with its own count and rate, then extend the formula. The structure of count-times-rate summed across types scales to any number of blade categories.

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Function references: SUM PRODUCT