All About Pocket Knives

My wife and I come to the Chicago area four time each year to sharpen in a small chain of grocery stores. Been doing it for six years and we enjoy it quite a bit. We rent a house and bring the dogs so there is down time and time to relax. This trip was a bit different. I packed the vehicle late on a dark, damp and cold evening. I hurried as I was cold and hungry.

We get to the first store and as I am unloading my equipment I realize I the wheels for my foot powered sharpening device did not make the trip! Tough to sharpen without the abrasive wheels. I always carry back ups but the back up pedestal is intended to be mounted on the primary platform base which is still back home! I always bring other devices with me for sharpening but those require electricity and while I am not opposed to using them, I do not use them in an open store. Herself looks at me and says “what would your Father do? How did he teach you to sharpen?” So, I grabbed my case of bench stones and prepared for business. Honestly, the thought of 40-60 customers a day and 200-400 items a day was a bit unnerving. But, I am happy to say that Pop’s training paid off. The first three days saw us sharpen for a few more than 100 customers with no one turned away. Yes, we stayed longer at one store than we scheduled but everyone, customers and store management, was happy we were there.

We have four more days and then we head home. We, my wife is the one who does all the intake, paper work, sleeving, returns, etc. All I do is sharpen. Together, we are easily three times as efficient as when I work solo. My arms and shoulders are getting a work out! But, we, mostly I, have learned a bunch from this trip.

Thank you Pop! For teaching me how to sharpen when I was a kid. For teaching me not to panic in a situation but to get settled and find a solution. For teaching me not to quit. And for insisting I sit up straight. 10 hours sitting on a stool would be a killer if I were to slouch!

Kevin

Thank you for recounting such a challenging experience. Well done.

Way to push through, Kevin.
Great story. Thanks for sharing!

Well done Kevin!!
John

Herself and I survived!! Seven days of solid sharpening, nearly 400 customers. What a week! I have a newfound respect for my bench stones, enough so I am considering retiring my foot powered wheels.

Thank you for the thoughts and support.

Kevin

StrawHat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:45 am Herself and I survived!! Seven days of solid sharpening, nearly 400 customers. What a week! I have a newfound respect for my bench stones, enough so I am considering retiring my foot powered wheels.

Thank you for the thoughts and support.

Kevin

So in reference to the original post in this thread about sharpening pocket knives for $1 per inch of blade length, how close does that come to what you charge? Remember the original poster said it would all be done with stones and no powered equipment.

I still charge $1 per inch for straight edges and $1.50 per inch for serrated edges. Have not changed my prices in 12 years.

And I misspoke, we only had 350 customers, my apologies.

Each edge I return is tested on receipt paper for sharpness.

Kevin

Sharpening is just something for me to do.
It's not a stay alive income or anything.
I'm disabled, fully now. Pretty much home bound. My back has been broken 4 times.
I'm actually quite thankful I am still able to get vertical, even if it only for a few minutes at a time.
Being able to do something for people gives me some sort of purpose to keep going.
I'm not rich by any means. In fact, I'm quite poor, but I have little needs.
I'm not into it for the money, only to cover the cost of stones and things.
Which it has more than done. I have 2 extra water stones for the one's that ware down fastest.
I have purchased a Shapton 12,000 grit ceramic stone, which, so far I've only used on my straight razor.
I don't advertise, and glad I didn't since the COVID thing has happened.
I have been doing experimenting with some customizing as well. Mostly file work on the spine of fixed blades.
The things that come out of China is so poor, I file the sides flat and polish to a mirror shine.
On a couple of cheap Frost's Bowies (Rest in Peace Jim) they were so bad I ended up flattening the hollow grind.
It was the only way to get rid of the waves and deep grind marks. If I keep that up, I'll need to invest in some darn good files!
Engraving is something I'm going to try on the next cheap used fixed blade I find on Ebay.
Need to put all that Dremel stuff to work since I've got it.
And I always make custom leather sheaths to replace the cheap fabric one's they put with knives today.
Keeps my skills up to par in my leather crafting.
Almost none of the knives I've done so for has needed to start with the 220 grit.
Almost all I started with 1200 grit diamond stone then to the 4000 and 8000 and a few quick stropping swipes.
8" chefs in about 15 minutes is average. It's time saving when you have more knives to do at once.
Then your not wasting so much time switching between stones.
If have 8 to 10 knives to do, I'll work a grit and take a break and give my back a rest.
Then move on to the next finer grit. Once the initial angle is set and the edge centered it goes pretty quickly.
I haven't had anything to sharpen for a couple weeks besides my own knives.
So if anyone wants, I'd be happy to help you out.

Dang...lol...a dollar an inch???
I sharpen knives for free...just to get a giggle when somebody shaves hair of his arms for the first time in his life...lol...you should see them big eyes when I slice phone book paper with their pocket knives...and of course the occasional phone call I get: ...hey, I just cut myself pretty good with that knife you sharpened for me....hahaa...