Reasonable fee schedule for cutting tool sharpening service?

G

gomipile

Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
1,343
I'm thinking of setting up a small side business sharpening knives, tools, scissors, etc.

Can anyone give me a reasonable idea for fees for sharpening, reprofiling, honing chips out, and other blade maintenance tasks?

This would of course vary by local economy, so as many data points as you can offer would be appreciated.
 
i would say that price would depend on how long it took for you to perform those tasks. other things to consider are size, type of knife, level of finish and blade condition.

what sharpening tools do you have?
 
Oh, an assortment of diamond hones, strops, abrasive paper, and whatnot. If I figure I can make some profit with this I'll buy or build a guided sharpening system before I start charging money.
 
IMNSHO, only a collector, enthusiast and possibly a professional like a Chef would be willing to pay enough to justify any form of manual sharpening. Power sharpening can be done fast enough to make money doing.

Since most people are afraid of sharp, they certainly won't pay much for it.

HTH,
Dave
 
Most online and brick and mortar shops charge between 1 and 2 bucks a knife. If the blade is larger then 1 dollar per inch.

Look into a 1" x 30" belt sander with 80 to 1000 grit belts for doing a lot of knives. If you prefer to do it by hand then a Wicked Edge is a great system as well.
 
gomipile said:
Oh, an assortment of diamond hones, strops, abrasive paper, and whatnot. If I figure I can make some profit with this I'll buy or build a guided sharpening system before I start charging money.
Click to expand...

ask family and friends for their heavily used, extra dull kitchen knives. when you get a bunch of knives together, time yourself to see how long it takes to get those knives sharp. that should give you a decent idea of what you will be doing. that will also give you an idea if your equipment/technique is efficient enough to make money. you will probably end up charging around $2-$5 a piece for most knives.

another thing to consider is what your standard level of finish will be. most people can't appreciated or notice a super high grit finish (plus it will waste alot of your time). a 400-600 grit finish will be good enough for 90%+ of the people you will be sharpening for.
 
jforbush said:
Most online and brick and mortar shops charge between 1 and 2 bucks a knife. If the blade is larger then 1 dollar per inch.

Look into a 1" x 30" belt sander with 80 to 1000 grit belts for doing a lot of knives. If you prefer to do it by hand then a Wicked Edge is a great system as well.
Click to expand...

Yep. I have a chinese 1x30 I use for a lot of roughing before reprofiling and work on handle scales. I've been thinking about getting a couple of leather hone belts for it as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top