sharpening fees

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Paul57

Joined
Apr 23, 2023
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Does anyone here charge to sharpen a knife to this degree, and if so how do you determine what to charge? Thank you in advance.

whttps://imgur.com/a/DJZ7JaUhttps://imgur.com/a/YjVDCc8

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Paul57 said:
Does anyone here charge to sharpen a knife to this degree, and if so how do you determine what to charge? Thank you in advance.

whttps://imgur.com/a/DJZ7JaUhttps://imgur.com/a/YjVDCc8

Well it seems as if my photos didn't load up here...hmmm?
Click to expand...
 
I sharpen knives regularly, it’s my side hustle working from home, sometimes I charge depending on what kind of shape the blades in, if it’s just a quick cleanup job on the Ken onion I let the fee slide, truth is I love doing it.
 
Similar situation for me, although I set up at a few local swap meets and other events. My clients don’t want high polish though, they just want to cut stuff.

I think if I was approached for a high polish edge, I’d show them different levels on my own knives, give them a brief demo of the sandpaper method, and suggest they do it themselves. 99 out of 100, I’d expect when they realized how much work it required, they’d decide they just wanted it sharp.

Whenever I’ve done it, I’ve found it very labor intensive, and I question if it’s commercially feasible.

Parker
 
A true mirror finish takes a lot more time than a simply sharp edge, because so many extra grits are needed to get rid of all scratch marks. If the edge angle is already perfectly uniform it will go quicker, but it's still maybe twice as much time as just getting it sharp.
 
Almost always someone sharpening at the guns shows. One guy uses a Ken Onion Worksharp and charges $5 for a single bladed folder up to 4 inches, then a dollar an inch past that, including fixed blades. Multi blade folders are done on an estimate basis, and actually pricing seems to depend on how busy he is at the time. He is also an authorized Worksharp distributor, so he sells the regular and Ken Onion machines as well as sharpening belts and polish at the show. He uses his sharpening service to demo the Worksharp product, and if you buy a Worksharp powered system he will give you the sharpening of one knife free. He said he got the idea by showing the folks how they could get a razor edge on their knives easily by using the system, and he didn't charge for sharpening. He realized he had quite a group of folks waiting for their personal demo that rarely turned into sales. Oddly, once he started charging for sharpening, his sales went up!

There is another group of guys that have a giant, homemade rig that they use to sharpen using belts. Don't know the grits, but they have one side of the rig set up with coarse, the other with fine, then a paper wheel if you want that mirror finish. Priced similarly as above, these guys sharpen "free hand", and really excel on larger knives. The large, banged up hunting knives or tactical type knives are done on a case by case basis, and they seem to be able to grind out and reset the bevels on just about anything. They are busiest before hunting season starts here and they seem to do most knives for $5 - $7, as noted, more if they need to really work on it.

Not sure how they make money, though. $250 for a table for two days, $50 for electricity, then food and drinks from the food stand, set up time, break down time, and three people needed to do it. Not counting their time over a weekend, they have to have $400 bucks minimum in it. Then gas, incidentals, belts, polish, etc. At $6 average a knife, that is 66 knives to break even (only 30+ a day, so they probably get that) but then the rest of the proceeds split three ways? Yikes!

The guy locally that has it down solid works out of an old mail delivery van. He has a homemade rig and a couple of homemade jigs, and he goes to restaurants, hair salons, butcher shops, and a couple of up scale markets and sharpens their knives in the van out in the parking lot of the establishment. He has a little Honda generator that is very quiet and reliable, and a ton of belts hanging on brackets in the back of the van. He works mostly on contract, so he comes by to sharpen at certain intervals to see his clients. He sharpens the scissors of the guy that cuts my hair and I recognized him when he came into the shop with sharpened scissors and an invoice. He does check or cash only, and he told me is busier than he wants to be. No idea what he charges but it can't be much as restaurants are notoriously cheap as are hair salons.
 
Approx $5.00 per knife if charge or repair work needed..
Most times for free because like others, I jut like doing it.
 
Hmmmm , mirror polished edge !
Sure does look nice , if there was a simple quick mechanized way of getting there ...
Liker one of those paper stropping wheels ..

Been maintaining two knives @ a mirror polished state for the hell of it ..
??? Once your there , It might be easy to maintain ..
I haven't done any actual testing ... Sure looks nice though !
 
Swp321 said:
I felt similar to you when I sharpened with stones, getting the belt sharpener and a leather belt, changed my whole perspective.
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I use Tormek and paper wheels that don't require much labor. Most of the time is for ensuring the proper angle. I'm just not dedicating myself to such a task for a few dollars. I'd just do it for free if that's what it come down to.
 
nevertakeadayoff said:
I thought at about this. There is no way my time is worth less than $20 per knife. I have no intention of going into business, just sayin.
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Thank you, I agree with you. Anyone can go to their local Ace Hardware and get their knives sharpened for 5 to 7 dollars, but that is not the same level of sharpness that I am able to deliver. Although I enjoy sharpening as it gives me something to do, the point is my time has to be worth something.
 
I charge $10/knife and 90% of the knives I charge for are of the kitchen variety. Ten bucks is about average in the U.S. according to a survey called "The Sharpeners' Report." I sharpen on a Tormek T-8 and hone on Ken Onion with leather belts. My final sharpening grit for most kitchen knives is 400. Blades are very sharp (sub-100 BESS score), but it's a toothy, working finish. Sometimes I'll go up to 1000 grit for nicer knives, or even 4000 for really nice Japanese knives.

If I was going to charge for a mirror edge -- especially on wear-resistant steel -- I'd have to ask $30-35 to make it worth my time.
 
Blade Lab said:
I charge $10/knife and 90% of the knives I charge for are of the kitchen variety. Ten bucks is about average in the U.S. according to a survey called "The Sharpeners' Report." I sharpen on a Tormek T-8 and hone on Ken Onion with leather belts. My final sharpening grit for most kitchen knives is 400. Blades are very sharp (sub-100 BESS score), but it's a toothy, working finish. Sometimes I'll go up to 1000 grit for nicer knives, or even 4000 for really nice Japanese knives.

If I was going to charge for a mirror edge -- especially on wear-resistant steel -- I'd have to ask $30-35 to make it worth my time.
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thank you, I appreciate your input, as those were along the lines of my thoughts.
 
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