I really dislike some peoples request advice requested.

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southernknives

southernknives

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I am talking about people at work bringing in these literally $2-$5 dollar knives wanting me to sharpen them.
I had a guy Friday that didn't even ask me if I would sharpen some knives for him. He just said, " I have three knives for you to sharpen, and I want them all sharp as razors."

So he hands me the knives, and they are such garbage that two have ZERO HT. The one that seems to have an HT, is terrible.

Not even one of the three knives has a country of origin on it. No China, Pakistan, etc. One has a puma on it, one has the blade so far off center that the edge of the blade hits the liners and has to be pushed over just to close it.

The last one just says Winchester on it, and seems to have a HT, albeit a crappy one.

So my question is: what would you do? Waste your time off sharpening crap, or hand them back to him and let him know they have no HT and his best bet is to take it to a knife store to get them sharpened?
 
southernknives said:
I had a guy Friday that didn't even ask me if I would sharpen some knives for him. He just said, " I have three knives for you to sharpen, and I want them all sharp as razors."


So my question is: what would you do? Waste your time off sharpening crap, or hand them back to him and let him know they have no HT and his best bet is to take it to a knife store to get them sharpened?
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Some idiot trying for the rude a-hole award and not even asking me, but telling me, is going to get a very rude go get lost answer. You're not his slave or servant, why should you be treated like one?
 
I would sharpen them like any other knife and bill the customer for my services and move on. With bad knives, repeat sharpening will be required, and I would be willing to sharpen them again for a price. Doing business doesn't mean that I always like what I have to work with from a customer, as it is the bottom line of of earning an income that counts.
 
I worked at a knife shop that provided sharpening and I had all types come through. It's a service and I never complained. I sometimes would show them something better that may have them come to the shop less for sharpenings but they usually were happy with what they had. Funny thing is that the most rude person I had there, brought in a Strider SNG. Seriously, how do you have a knife like that and not know how to sharpen it?
 
I see knives like these all day long and turn them away, I also tell these customers the truth regarding their knives. The one thing to remember is to not be rude about how you tell them but to educate them on the reasons why the knife is not worth sharpening.
 
You should sharpen them down so far that there nothing but damn tooth picks. Should be easy to do with the low quality of steel you'd be working with.
 
There's a guy were I work who is constantly bringing me junk knives to Sharpen I finally had enough and gave him a decent knife. If he would have demanded I sharpen any blade for him he'd be out of luck.
 
Bufford said:
I would sharpen them like any other knife and bill the customer for my services and move on. With bad knives, repeat sharpening will be required, and I would be willing to sharpen them again for a price. Doing business doesn't mean that I always like what I have to work with from a customer, as it is the bottom line of of earning an income that counts.
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Agreed, if thats what he likes to carry and want sharpened let him be. The fact he requested versus asking was a bit obnoxious & personally i would have had him re phrase what he said, but like bufford said in the end its all about income.
 
Explain that his knives are junk and cannot be sharpened. Proceed to tell him to get the hell away from you, or better yet tell him that you didn't appreciate his demand for your sharpening services. Ask himm if he wants to try again. If he gives you a raft of crap, tell himm to pound sand.

I help everyone at work with a specific workload. When people just send work to me, or leave it on my desk, or just bring it to me and tell me to do it, I flat out tell them I will help them, but I'm not doing it for them. Tell this chucklehead to invest in a better knife and some manners.
 
Simple, Just charge them more than the knives are worth to sharpen them... ;)

They will get the hint....
 
I would give him a price to sharpen the knives that works to your favor period.
And explain the difficult process involved to bring them back to razor sharp.
Either he will take it or he won't.
That way he can't bad mouth you to others, or online.
 
Kyui Su Kim said:
I worked at a knife shop that provided sharpening and I had all types come through. It's a service and I never complained. I sometimes would show them something better that may have them come to the shop less for sharpenings but they usually were happy with what they had. Funny thing is that the most rude person I had there, brought in a Strider SNG. Seriously, how do you have a knife like that and not know how to sharpen it?
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That is pretty much that way I would feel in a commercial business. You can sharpen them pretty fast with a wheel. I would also try to educate them a bit, but some people absolutely can't imagine spending $100 for a knife.

On a personal level, I would only sharpen knives for friends and turn the others away.
 
Personally if they know that you're a knife guy and have sharpening skills, they should assume that you know about knives and steels. And if they are real people they would probably value your input about knives and steels. Cause obviously they don't. I think you should maybe do the first one for free. And unless they're a good friend. Charge them!
 
Some people have a sense of entitlement. They think everyone else exists to serve them. I would tell you what I say to these people, but this is not Whine and Cheese. :D
 
Bufford said:
I would sharpen them like any other knife and bill the customer for my services and move on. With bad knives, repeat sharpening will be required, and I would be willing to sharpen them again for a price. Doing business doesn't mean that I always like what I have to work with from a customer, as it is the bottom line of of earning an income that counts.
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Bingo!
 
Bufford's post seems to be a decent compromise. No rudeness necessary; the customer is always right. And you are making a living doing what you do best.
sonnydaze
 
Honesty is a good course of action in all things.
Honesty and knowing how to express how you are feeling at that moment. It seems to me, its a lot tougher going back to that fellow, and trying to back peddle and explain about his crap knives.
I had a similar experience a couple years ago, a guy brought me one of those chinese gas station knives...I smiled and told him you can't sharpen steel that doesn't have a heat treat. He didn't understand, so I explained it to him. I don't know if he was better off or not, that's his problem. I don't worry so much about folks I am dealing with if I am honest and helpful....the ball is in their court after all that.
Some folks hate the truth, but what is that to me or you?
 
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