No appreciation

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Vlade

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This is what happened after we all finished eating on Thanksgiving. My son in law shows me a older Kershaw that I gifted to him a while ago. It was as sharp as a soup spoon, I offered to sharpen it up for him. So I got out my work Sharp and went to work. I went through the assorted diamond Stones and finished it off with the fine ceramic.then strop, It became a razor when I finished it. There was one tiny area near the scales that while very sharp it had a ding , I don't know how he did it but I did straighten it out but not perfect. I was very satisfied with the results. When I finished with it I said here's your blade. So he shaved a spot on his arm with it. His response made me a little pissed. He started complaining about the little mark that was left where the ding was. Then the ungrateful arss says I didn't want it like that? I says what are you talking about? He didn't like the 20 degree edge that I busted my hump to restore the steel. I looked at him like he was nuts. He's not too smart with knives. My other son in law was watching he is a welder and he knows better,he checked it and smiled because he knew it was perfect. The question is,,, would you ever sharpen some one else's knife? I would have said yes but not after that. I didn't scratch it mar it or damage it, I was very satisfied. I don't know what the hell he expected due to results were fabulous. I will never sharpen anyone else's knife again. We were not drinking so I'm confused. Did this ever happen to you guys? NEVER AGAIN! I learned that you just can't fix stupid. You can satisfy some people some of the time but you can't satisfy all the people all the time. Am I wrong to be insulted? Opinions welcome.
Am I stupid for fixing his dull useless knife.?
 
Let it go. You did your part, you have no control over his reaction.
I have had similarly odd experiences sharpening for family members, and I think that some of those reactions are rooted in pride.
They may feel like they're being judged for having a knife that they didn't care for enough, or care about enough, and so be gentle in that way if you do get another opportunity.
I hope your Thanksgiving was great other than that.
 
You can only control what you say/do. You can't control how someone else reacts or what their comments will be. It's never the wrong time to do the right thing. However if it will stress you I would refrain from offering it in the future. You helped him but he doesn't realize it. Reminds me of sharpening neighbors knives. "it was good but didn't last "(they use a stone top or ceramic plate as a cutting board). So I just said that you need to send it to a professional. Lol.
 
you might remember his reaction and the next time around make it a bit of a learning opportunity by handing him the stones,I've had times looking back when I took things for granted and sometimes it took a bit of you want it done do it yourself to get me to appreciate what others had done for me.

I don't know how old he is but we all tend to mature a different rates.
I would not let it bother you too much though I'm sure he'll look back and see that he coulda just said thank you.
 
I've sharpened several knives for my neighbor and he was always very appreciative. Kitchen knives, pocket knives, fixed blades, etc.

You did a good thing...some folks just aren't deserving...but it doesn't change your good deed at all.

Don't give up on everyone because of one ungrateful lout.
 
I look upon sharpening other peoples knives the same way I look upon-

washing other peoples cars
mowing other peoples lawns
taking in other peoples trash cans
changing the oil in other peoples cars

etc, etc, etc

If a person is old, or physically impaired, I will happily do such things for them. But if they are perfectly capable of doing such things for themselves, then no, I won't do other peoples "chores" for them.

I will however take the time to teach a person how to sharpen, even lending them some sharpening equipment, but only if I believe they are truly interested in learning.

I like to encourage self-reliance, I don't like to promote dependence, or laziness. And contrary to what some people believe, I don't consider sharpening a knife to be a complicated task, or one requiring lots of expensive equipment. Nor do I consider learning to sharpen to be all that difficult. I learned how to sharpen as a child, with just a single sharpening stone, and I was certainly no child genius. It ain't rocket science.

I know that some people enjoy the mere act of sharpening, and take pride in making other peoples knives sharp, particularly if they're in really bad shape, but I think able-bodied people are better served if they learn to do things for themselves, rather than expecting well-meaning people to do things for them. To mis-quote an old phrase- Sharpen a person's knife for them and it will stay sharp for awhile. Teach a person to sharpen, and they will always have sharp knives.

I take more pride in knowing that I taught people how to sharpen their own knives, a skill they will have the rest of their lives, than I would sharpening their knives for them, and knowing those knives will soon be dull and useless again.

But that's me. I was raised by old-fashioned people who said "Learn to do things for yourself. Because there won't always be someone around to do it for you". And they were right.

As far as your SIL Vlade, no good deed goes unpunished.
 
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Vlade said:
Then the ungrateful arss says I didn't want it like that?
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Sounds like he doesn't know or couldn't articulate what he wants, or both. I assume sharpening is a skill and labor of love and at best someone would take a little time to teach me and not do it for free, I would think just attempting to do it yourself once would give a person that appreciation.
 
There was a time when I really had no comprehension of what 'sharp' really meant, in relation to cutlery. I'd assumed for most of my life, that 'sharp' is what we saw on new factory edges on brand new knives, most of which I now know are relatively mediocre at best, and that was about the limit of it. I also had no clue about what's involved in the mechanics & physics of sharpening, or how the makeup, chemistry and tempering of steel plays a huge role, or the relationship in hardness between steel and abrasives, and how the hardness of the abrasive must always be greater than the hardness of the steel, in order to abrade the steel in such a way as to make the edge thinner and more keen.

When I see, hear or read about how others perceive 'sharp' in their own knives, and how they seem completely, totally oblivious to all the factors involved, it no longer surprises me that some people literally have no appreciation for the knowledge, time, effort and learned skill necessary to make a knife sharp for them. And their reaction following that is therefore, "What's the big deal?" or "Why isn't it what I expected it to be?" (even though their own expectations are rooted in literally no knowledge about it).

I think a lot can be learned about one's expectations or appreciation of sharpness, by how they react if an offer is made to show them how to do it themselves. If they're not the least bit interested in trying, even if there are no other physical limitations preventing them from attempting it, then I generally won't be enthusiastic about doing such chores for them. Let them use their dulled, damaged edges and be obliviously happy in doing so, unless or until some light clicks on in their own head that maybe it could be better. When they decide they want to learn to do it better, and then ask for guidance or an explanation of what's involved, then I'll be happy to help them out.
 
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Vlade said:
This is what happened after we all finished eating on Thanksgiving. My son in law shows me a older Kershaw that I gifted to him a while ago. It was as sharp as a soup spoon, I offered to sharpen it up for him. So I got out my work Sharp and went to work. I went through the assorted diamond Stones and finished it off with the fine ceramic.then strop, It became a razor when I finished it. There was one tiny area near the scales that while very sharp it had a ding , I don't know how he did it but I did straighten it out but not perfect. I was very satisfied with the results. When I finished with it I said here's your blade. So he shaved a spot on his arm with it. His response made me a little pissed. He started complaining about the little mark that was left where the ding was. Then the ungrateful arss says I didn't want it like that? I says what are you talking about? He didn't like the 20 degree edge that I busted my hump to restore the steel. I looked at him like he was nuts. He's not too smart with knives. My other son in law was watching he is a welder and he knows better,he checked it and smiled because he knew it was perfect. The question is,,, would you ever sharpen some one else's knife? I would have said yes but not after that. I didn't scratch it mar it or damage it, I was very satisfied. I don't know what the hell he expected due to results were fabulous. I will never sharpen anyone else's knife again. We were not drinking so I'm confused. Did this ever happen to you guys? NEVER AGAIN! I learned that you just can't fix stupid. You can satisfy some people some of the time but you can't satisfy all the people all the time. Am I wrong to be insulted? Opinions welcome.
Am I stupid for fixing his dull useless knife.?
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No but you are totally overreacting. Just in the opposite direction.
 
Vlade said:
This is what happened after we all finished eating on Thanksgiving. My son in law shows me a older Kershaw that I gifted to him a while ago. It was as sharp as a soup spoon, I offered to sharpen it up for him. So I got out my work Sharp and went to work. I went through the assorted diamond Stones and finished it off with the fine ceramic.then strop, It became a razor when I finished it. There was one tiny area near the scales that while very sharp it had a ding , I don't know how he did it but I did straighten it out but not perfect. I was very satisfied with the results. When I finished with it I said here's your blade. So he shaved a spot on his arm with it. His response made me a little pissed. He started complaining about the little mark that was left where the ding was. Then the ungrateful arss says I didn't want it like that? I says what are you talking about? He didn't like the 20 degree edge that I busted my hump to restore the steel. I looked at him like he was nuts. He's not too smart with knives. My other son in law was watching he is a welder and he knows better,he checked it and smiled because he knew it was perfect. The question is,,, would you ever sharpen some one else's knife? I would have said yes but not after that. I didn't scratch it mar it or damage it, I was very satisfied. I don't know what the hell he expected due to results were fabulous. I will never sharpen anyone else's knife again. We were not drinking so I'm confused. Did this ever happen to you guys? NEVER AGAIN! I learned that you just can't fix stupid. You can satisfy some people some of the time but you can't satisfy all the people all the time. Am I wrong to be insulted? Opinions welcome.
Am I stupid for fixing his dull useless knife.?
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You did strong work and eventually he'll appreciate it as he uses it. He may not treat it any better, but he'll remember how it was as opposed to how it is now. As for his reaction, that was simply rude and unworthy of attention. Let it pass as beneath you. You made the world a better place by sharpening the knife.

As for me, I will and frequently do sharpen any knife my friends ask me to.

Zieg
 
I feel sorry for your daughter who is married to this bloke.

I sometimes sharpen knives for friends and friends of the family who ask. I always warn them that it will now cut skin easily. Almost all of them are happy.

There was one woman, an acquaintance of my wife rather than a friend, who wanted me to sharpen a small slipjoint. It was junk and a mess but had nice custom scales, so I fixed it up. When I gave it back to her, I discovered that she had never used it, did not intend to use it, but planned to try to sell it for a ridiculous price. She also tried to steal my wife's phone.
 
That's a bummer! I once sharpened a folder for a coworker after I discovered how dull it was. Took it home and spent an hour on the Wicked Edge and make that tanto shaving sharp for him. He was pretty impressed and seemed to appreciate it.

However, I found out later that the next day he cut himself very badly with it and had to get stitches. He told me, "Well, I was used to pushing it through things and this time it went right through, then into my other hand". Poor guy.

Felt bad about it, and I no longer offer to sharpen for peeps. There's just no upside IMO.
 
I double dog dare some individual complain about a knife I spent over an hour on. Using a machine that's worth 20 times that of the POS knife. After I really put in the work to make them happy for FREE.

Tell the guy to stick so far. He'll have to feed a comb up through his ass to style his hair.
 
Vlade said:
Am I wrong to be insulted? Opinions welcome.
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When I first started playing with knives seriously, I was more open to sharpening other people's knives. I still am, but it has to be the right person and the right knife. The person has to respect the knife and respect my talent. And I don't work on junky knives.

Only one time was I really insulted. It was after doing a knife for my sister in law. It was a nice knife, and I really went overboard on it. A week after I returned it, I was over there helping to cook something, and the knife as as dull as your son-in-law's soup spoon. I asked what happened, and she told me that one of her kids used it to cut hot dogs in a a frying pan. I said, "Oh," and made a note to myself to not waste my time with her knives any more. I never brought it up again, but a few weeks later she said something about how her husband cut something in a frying pan. And months later, she said something about how it was her mom. I can almost understand how some unauthorized person might get ahold of someone's knife and wreck the edge, but I don't understand why anyone would make up stories about it.
 
Knowing we were having house guests this week I decided to intentionally NOT sharpen my kitchen knives because I didn't want any blood spilled.
My wife and daughter have a habit of cutting themselves right after a sharpening (and they should know better), our guests might have made me spend Thanksgiving at the ER, since all of my kitchen knives are Japanese and have no bolsters, and the point at the heel is quick to bite if you handle it incorrectly.
 
RustyIron said:
When I first started playing with knives seriously, I was more open to sharpening other people's knives. I still am, but it has to be the right person and the right knife. The person has to respect the knife and respect my talent. And I don't work on junky knives.

Only one time was I really insulted. It was after doing a knife for my sister in law. It was a nice knife, and I really went overboard on it. A week after I returned it, I was over there helping to cook something, and the knife as as dull as your son-in-law's soup spoon. I asked what happened, and she told me that one of her kids used it to cut hot dogs in a a frying pan. I said, "Oh," and made a note to myself to not waste my time with her knives any more. I never brought it up again, but a few weeks later she said something about how her husband cut something in a frying pan. And months later, she said something about how it was her mom. I can almost understand how some unauthorized person might get ahold of someone's knife and wreck the edge, but I don't understand why anyone would make up stories about it.
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A frying pan makes an excellent cutting board. Yeah I wouldn't sharpen it again either. Waste of time
 
karnaknives said:
Knowing we were having house guests this week I decided to intentionally NOT sharpen my kitchen knives because I didn't want any blood spilled.
My wife and daughter have a habit of cutting themselves right after a sharpening (and they should know better), our guests might have made me spend Thanksgiving at the ER, since all of my kitchen knives are Japanese and have no bolsters, and the point at the heel is quick to bite if you handle it incorrectly.
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My wife hates really sharp knives. Oddly enough she sharpens her kitchen knives with a file.(island thing I guess) I have offered to sharpen her knives a million times but she refuses, but you know they don't come out half bad. But it don't make me no never mind as long as dinner's on the table I'm a happy man
 
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