Results: Sharpening at my first Gun & Knife Show

Your rig looks pretty cool. I've been practicing freehanding for about a year now but with a lot more still to learn. The prices are really low too!
 
Thanks for your opinions about using belts vs your rotating stone system. I carry a Viel to restaurants and institutions and average 15-30 knives each time. I usually start with a 120 or 220 reshaping a setting the bevel, running each knife before changing belts. I find it is very easy to see the reflection of the burr and parts of the knife that hasnt been sharpened yet. Then I go to a 320 and finnish with a 9 micron.
I will look forward to your stories and pics when go to your next Gun/knife show.
 
I recently (a month or two ago) purchased the angle guide for the Viel. It helps keep the angle steady, though you still really have to freehand it. If you try to keep the blade on the guide, the belt kinda grabs the blade and pulls it up, which is okay but you end up with an uneven convex edge rather than a clean bevel. You have to just use the guide as a guide for your eye, and keep the blade off of it while trying to match the angle. It definitely helps with the Viel.

120/220 to 320 to 1800 (9 micron). That'll work. I do recommend getting a surgisharp leather belt, and using some honing compound on it for a final stage. I've been using Tormek paste (8000 grit), but have recently started making my own paste, which works a bit better. Currently I only have 8000 grit on hand, but I have some more abrasive coming in the mail this week, and I'll be making 1000 grit and 4500 grit honing pastes to add to my setup. Let me know if you get the surgisharp belt, I might be able to send you some 4500 grit paste, which would be a great follow up to the 9 micron belt.

Incidentally, the reason I'm making these pastes for myself is to improve my paper wheel sharpeners. I haven't been satisfied with the way my setup handles recurves (the stones are too wide to really get into the small recurve such as on a Kershaw Blur) so I've rounded the profile of my paper wheels to handle recurves, and I'll be coating them with 220, 1000, 4000, and 8000 grit pastes to handle recurve blades.
 
The guide is crucial for sharpening knives on the Viel. However, I run my belt into the edge of the blade. You get a lot more control that way. I rarely use the leather belt. I feel the 9 micron is the best finish for kitchen knives.
I would like to learn more about honing compounds. Im not sure what I use, just some green paste. I am considering two new options for serrated knives. A 1/4" paper wheel or two diamond wheels, 1/8" & 1/4".
 
For serrated knives, I use a tapered diamond rod (the Smith DRET i think is the one i have) and I put it in a black and decker rechargeable drill. Then just match the size of the serration with the portion of the taper that fits it, and use the drill on medium-low speed to refresh the edge.

http://www.smithsproducts.com/product/dret-diamond-retractable-sharpener/

It says "retractable" but it is actually removable. Just take it out and stick it in the drill. Works easy. It will sharpen a serration up to a 1/4" wide down to 1/16" wide. Great for those serrations that have big and little teeth mixed together. You just can't really get a wheel of any kind in there. Before figuring this out, I would use sandpaper folded over something that was approximately the width of the serration (a little dowel or something). The DRET in the drill works fast, easy, and well. Drill and deburr.

As for honing compounds, there are many many different kinds, all of different quality and grit size. Green compound can vary greatly in grit size from .5 micron to several microns. It's hard to know what you've got. In fact, lots of the compounds have no published grading. That's why I've started making my own. I can know exactly what grit I've got. (I do like Herb's Yellowstone for hand stropping my straight razor.) Hard compounds are different than pastes though. Pastes are easier to apply, but you can get a little more sling-off from them if you put too much on, which can be messy (or dangerous if you get it in your eye). BUT since pastes are easier to apply, you can really load up a belt/wheel/strop and it will cut faster than the hard compound.
 
I also have the diamond rods. one tapered and one that is rounded with a flat spot on one side. I never thought to put the tapered one in a drill. Clever! For me, having a wheel to sharpen serrated knives is the best thing I have found. Some days I sharpen 30-50. They are usually one of two common sizes found in food service.
Recently, I bought a KMG grinder. I suspect learning this machine to make knives it will be a good opportunity to experiment with compounds and pastes. I didnt realize there was a difference! Thanks
 
Bazzle, how I assume you're doing knives for restaurants? Is that right? How did you get their business. I haven't been able to crack that one. So far I've been limited to salons with their shears, gun and knife shows, and door to door stuff. I'd love to do kitchen knives for restaurants, but so far I've had no success getting that business. Some of the restaurants already have sharpening machines... and really, I'd think any cook worth his salt would know how to sharpen his own knives... but I know that others have good business sharpening for restaurants. Just can't crack it.

I'm jealous of your KMG! Which one did you get?
 
Yes, the restaurants are difficult. Chefs are some of the most stubborn and arrogant people you will meet. Sharpening service is fairly lucrative in my area. 50 % of the restaurants I offer service to say, "we sharpen our own stuff". I generally end up in many of the restaurants that once declined service. A few things I have done to convince hard core stone believers is to do a freebee for the chef and other cooks to critique. Another trick is using a sharpie to make a mark to show your not taking off excess metal.
Hotels, Colleges, Universities, Hospitals, etc., are key. They generally have more knives than restaurants. Some of the bigger Universities have 500-700 knives.
I have spent a lot of time working in food service and feel very comfortable finding the dumpster and loading dock behind a building and walking into the kitchen. Just dont expect to get any attention between 11:00-2:00 and again anytime after 5:00.
You would be very jealous to learn what I paid for the KMG 1, and what it came with.
 
Yep. Other than other equipment, deli slicers, mandolins, etc. Institutions often have a much larger amount of knives. If your not insured, you will most likely need to be in order to be considered. What area is your business?
 
General business insurance. Usually a $1mill. minimum. I had a hard time finding insurance. No one had a template for a mobile sharpening service. I am considered a blacksmith. I pay $75 a month. Most all of institutional places are managed by a cooperation. Often, once you get a foot in the door in one place you will find the management group is in other places too. Also, maybe find out what other sharpening services in your area are charging and what equipment they use. May be helpful. I have modified my Viel to fit a vacume and usually sharpen right in the kitchen. You may be able to pick up and deliver. If other sharpeners offer a complete knife swap it is hard to compete against. It is also an expensive investment to buy all of the inventory to get started.
 
Did my second gun&knife show yesterday and today. $295 worth of sharpening over the 4 hours from last night (only about $30 friday night... very slow, no one was there) and 9 to 6 today... what is that.. uh... 9 hours today and $265. It was only my second show, second time at the same place, and I had a lot of repeat customers and some word of mouth new customers (did a nice set of 5 Shun kitchen knives for a guy who came expecting me to be there). That was almost $30/hour for today's work (265 over 9 hours). That's not too bad. They also filmed me to put me on the tv commercial for next time. That's kinda neat.

A neat aside: last time I sharpened a couple of razor tools for a leather guy selling belts and stuff at the gun show. He told a leather guy in my own town about my work, and I sharpened a spliitter and a skiver for him, both at $25 a piece. He too was happy with the work, and has hundreds of tools ready for me to sharpen. He wants me to work on them bit by bit until they're all done. So that will be a nice little steady bit of extra work for me.

I'm still just charging $1 per inch, $2 for serrated (and $1 for gut hooks... did quite a few of those today) and i think I made out okay. I only had one piece that really messed me up... a bowie knife that I did and it took at least half an hour... it was really really dull and kind of thick, so I had to grind for a long time to get an edge on the thing. I had big line backed up by the time I finished that sucker. I needed to pass on it or take it home or charge double. He got a heck of a deal for $9 to make that pakistani piece of junk shave. I sharpen almost non-stop. I am tempted to raise my fee, but I think $2/in. is too much for where I live, and I don't want to deal with quarters. So I guess I'll stick with $1/in. for a while longer.

PS I don't think anyone stole any money from me this time! I had it set up so it was near impossible for anyone else to get to where my money drawer was. Live and learn.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top