Knife Sharpening - opinions

[deerly departed]

I am thinking of going pro as a knife sharpener.

Whether it be a cheapo Mora or a bespoke made knife, a quality edge is key.

I attach a pic of a knife I salved when the owner damaged it badly on an electric. Its a damascus and is now a mirror polish as it is used as an EDC rather than a field knife.

The tip was ruined and what was a flat belly has now concave line as this was badly damaged to.

I am trying to judge interest.

I use various grades of diamonds, from 50 grit if there is heavy damage up to say 3000 for a fine edge.

I can also then move on to lapping film typically down to 1 micron and leather strop down to .25 micron.

I record the position and any subsequnt work is literally a touch up preventing excessive wear and prolonging life.

I can set an angle to whatever you want.... just let me know.

The initial grind is usually the worst as the angles commonly differ (say 17° one side and 24° on the other). Plus any damage like chipped, dented, rolled, flaked edges can take a lot of work to rejuvinate..

If there is enough interest, I will sign up for trade membership.

Costs will reflect the work needed to get it to a base standard and how fine an edge you want.

Please let me know what you think.

 

[caley]

I could do with getting one or two sharpened have you got a price in mind

 

[VSS]

There is already a member of this site who offers a knife sharpening service. Makes a damned good job of it too.

 

[finnbear270]

Can't have too many service providers on here, be it Annealing, Sharpening, Leatherwork, or Stalking providers. Longstrider completely re built one of my knives, unfortunately introduced to the dishwasher by SWMBO, It came back BANZAI sharp .... but as I said, better more than less offering services.

 

[biffo]

I am thinking of going pro as a knife sharpener.

Whether it be a cheapo Mora or a bespoke made knife, a quality edge is key.

I attach a pic of a knife I salved when the owner damaged it badly on an electric. Its a damascus and is now a mirror polish as it is used as an EDC rather than a field knife.

The tip was ruined and what was a flat belly has now concave line as this was badly damaged to.

I am trying to judge interest.

I use various grades of diamonds, from 50 grit if there is heavy damage up to say 3000 for a fine edge.

I can also then move on to lapping film typically down to 1 micron and leather strop down to .25 micron.

I record the position and any subsequnt work is literally a touch up preventing excessive wear and prolonging life.

I can set an angle to whatever you want.... just let me know.

The initial grind is usually the worst as the angles commonly differ (say 17° one side and 24° on the other). Plus any damage like chipped, dented, rolled, flaked edges can take a lot of work to rejuvinate..

If there is enough interest, I will sign up for trade membership.

Costs will reflect the work needed to get it to a base standard and how fine an edge you want.

Please let me know what you think.

No pic attached !

 

[deerly departed]

Indeed.

 

[muddy42]

I am thinking of going pro as a knife sharpener.

Please let me know what you think.

No pic attached, by the way. Not for me I'm afraid. I'm too cheap and I forced myself to learn to sharpen all my knives. Not banzai sharp, but sharp enough to gralloch and not so sharp that I am precious about them touching bone etc.

 

[deerly departed]

Pics now successfully attached

 

[deerly departed]

No pic attached, by the way. Not for me I'm afraid. I'm too cheap and I forced myself to learn to sharpen all my knives. Not banzai sharp, but sharp enough to gralloch and not so sharp that I am precious about them touching bone etc.

Thats not a problem. Its a question to those that maybe

 

[deerly departed]

I could do with getting one or two sharpened have you got a price in mind

Thanks Caley. At the moment, I am just asking to seek the level of interest and if enough, I will do a dedicated trade thread. I am not looking to trade until I feel I have a market and I do not want to infringe the forums rules either.

To answer your question, its tricky as it depends on current knife condition (how good or damaged it might be) down to steel type and sometimes shape. Thereafter its touch up and cheaper.

I will get Katana sharp easily.... if you want that. I dont do it like Mr Longstrider does but we both have the same objective.

As another poster says, options are not a bad thing and a monopoly is never good (unless its yours).....

 

[willie_gunn]

I wish you the very best of luck should you pursue the opportunity, but I have always wondered whether knife sharpening alone would provide sufficient volume to constitute a full-time job, and where the deer stalking community would sit on the scale between being a lucrative market to a lost cause!

Regarding the latter, I get the feeling there are plenty who are happy getting by with their own efforts, or entrusting their knives back to the individuals who made them.

I did a couple of sharpening courses down in Somerset a few years ago. Whilst we covered knives, these were mostly of the general kitchen and chef variety. In fact the chap who owned the company recommended never offering sharpening as a service to the knife nerds, as they are so downright picky! It takes the likes of Longstrider to keep them happy, as members of the old British Blades forum would attest, and similarly now here on SD.

A lot more time was spent on sharpening scissors (think hairdressers and barbers), garden tools, woodworking and carpentry tools, horse and dog clippers, etc. which tend to form the majority of the sharpener's work.

The course has stood me in very good stead for what I need, but to pursue it seriously requires quite an investment in the necessary equipment to make it both cost and time efficient. Tools from the likes of Tormek, Twice-as-Sharp, etc. as well as (ideally) a van from which to run a mobile service - hairdressers and pet groomers have their favourite scissors, and don't want to be without them for any longer than is strictly necessary.

Hence why I decided to keep it just as a hobby, I am quite happy to sit out in the garage with the various sharpeners I have and while away a few hours on my own knives and tools, as well as those belonging to others in the village, but doing it full time would risk changing it from a therapeutic pastime to a chore.

 

[foxdropper]

Cheaper to buy another mora than sharpen it I’m guessing .

 

[deerly departed]

Thank you. I am aware of all the issues you have raised. I am not looking at this forum as a sole source as that would be asking for trouble.

However, as a hunter, I like to support those with whom I share my passion.

As per the original thread, I am just asking if people are interested or not.

A simple yes or no will suffice.

Many thanks

 

[deerly departed]

Cheaper to buy another mora than sharpen it I’m guessing .

Yes. Possibly. But thats a personal choice. People buy a Mora because its cheap and no tears if lost. It doesnt mean it isnt worth keeping and sharpening and some dont sharpen their knives or if they do, they knacker them. Its not my decision if they bin it or self sharpen or get a pro to do it.

 

[Tim.243]

Can't have too many service providers on here, be it Annealing, Sharpening, Leatherwork, or Stalking providers. Longstrider completely re built one of my knives, unfortunately introduced to the dishwasher by SWMBO, It came back BANZAI sharp .... but as I said, better more than less offering services.

Milling...........

 

[willie_gunn]

No.

 

[deerly departed]

No.

 

[deerstalker.308]

Nope from me too. Sorry. It’s not rocket science and a half decent diy kit like lansky etc would be (is) where my money goes. We aren’t surgeons I don’t require a scalpel. Hairs off the arm is plenty sharp enough for me.

 

[Overlay]

Nope from me too. Sorry. It’s not rocket science and a half decent diy kit like lansky etc would be (is) where my money goes. We aren’t surgeons I don’t require a scalpel. Hairs off the arm is plenty sharp enough for me.

I stick to flat grind blades as its the only one I can do and do a good job on, I might send a few odd grind ones up for a refresh though be worth it to see them sharper than what I can manage

 

[deerly departed]

Nope from me too. Sorry. It’s not rocket science and a half decent diy kit like lansky etc would be (is) where my money goes. We aren’t surgeons I don’t require a scalpel. Hairs off the arm is plenty sharp enough for me.

That's fine. No, a lot of things are not rocket science. Just a shame many a knife has been ruined by individuals and systems including the Lansky