Sharpening for money

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knifefreak765

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Mar 9, 2016
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I am somewhat new to knife sharpening and want to start doing it for money. I can put a hair popping, push cutting edge on a knife. I want to know what to know how much I should charge once I get my DMT Dia-sharp stones (The grits go from 225-8000). I was thinking about 10-15 dollars an hour, factors that would increase the price would be if it was damaged or if it was a super steel. I am also wondering if I should purchase the DMT Dia-Sharp 2X stone that would remove nicks and chips a lot quicker than other stones.
 
I think people sometimes charge by the inch, but you'd have to get a paid subscription to be able to offer that service here. If you're that good it'd probably be worth it in the end.
Good luck.
 
Just from a business point of view, you would figure how much your time is worth per hour, figure out how much your equipment costs is and how many hours they will last. Combine the two together and you get your standard cost (Labor Cost / Sharpening Hour + Equipment Cost / Sharpening Hour). I think sharpeners I've known charge by the inch for basic sharpening. In that case, you would figure out how long it will take you to get an inch of blade sharp; with that, you get your Hours / Inch of blade to sharpen.

You multiply the two (Standard Cost / Hour) x (Hours / Inch of blade to sharpen) = Standard Cost / Inch of blade to sharpen. You then compare that with the going rate of your competitors to see if you're competitive enough.

When you actually charge for a specific knife, you add dollars based on the additional time it will take you i.e., is this a prized possession that you need to take extra time not to mess up or just a utility knife the person wants sharpened, are there chips you have to remove which means more time to grind down, etc.
 
For a knife sharpening business, I was thinking about getting the DMT stones all the way from 2X coarse stone all the way to the 3 micron 8000 grit stone. The only problem is they cost about $450 altogether not including the stand for them. They last several years and would probably make me more money than they cost. I just don't know if it is worth it to pay that much money for a business that may or may not thrive. HELP!!
 
I doubt a standalone knife sharpening business would manage to survive. To even have a shot, you'd have to sharpen everything...lawn mower bases, chainsaw chains, etc. Just one man's .02.
 
Take care of them and diamond stones will last a lifetime, not just a few years. That said, if you want to make money sharpening knives, you might want to think about some powered equipment (belt sander, wet wheel,. etc.) to set bevels and then finish on stones
 
If you go full brick and mortar business, your stones will be the least expensive things you'll encounter.
 
Well, if you know how many knives you've already sharpened, you can base that number on how many it will take to pay for the stones. If you're planning on advertising, it may be worth the initial cost.
I think eventually, you'll pay for the stones even if your business is word of mouth.
If it takes longer than you expected, it may not be worth it to you. If it's a total bust, you can always recoup some of your investment by selling the stones.
 
Looks like the equipment side has been thoroughly addressed.

On the business side, I would consider a few things:

1) Keeping your business finances separate from your personal finances (don't know where you are from but I imagine there are ways to handle business taxes etc in your geographical area, or even if you want to go that route at all)
2) Are there other local businesses offering same/similar services, and in which manner? (eg. you're working on it at home versus someone else at home versus a service at a knife store) and can you compete with them?
3) Your business demographic. Is it just local drop off/pick up service? Will you be receiving knives in the mail and sending them back? Who is responsible for the cost of shipping if receiving blades beyond what is local?
4) This it not a criticism of how good/bad your work is, but are you ready to handle any liabilities/issues that may come up with this sort of business, ie. knife is discovered scratched on the face, scales have been scratched, regardless if its your fault or not? It would be problematic if someone sends your their $400 CKF for example, and somehow between your service and their receiving some cosmetic damage is found. Be ready for that sort of situation?
 
knifefreak765 said:
For a knife sharpening business, I was thinking about getting the DMT stones all the way from 2X coarse stone all the way to the 3 micron 8000 grit stone. The only problem is they cost about $450 altogether not including the stand for them. They last several years and would probably make me more money than they cost. I just don't know if it is worth it to pay that much money for a business that may or may not thrive. HELP!!
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I own all the DMT stones from 2X coarse to the Extra Extra Fine stone and every stone in between including the Medium Extra Fine plus the Shapton 8000 and 16000 glass stones. You don't need all of them and you're not going to make money starting out that way. Some other people here would be able to give you what you should start out with. If you follow Murray Carter, he says all you need is a rough stone, a smooth stone, and newspaper to put over a stone and use as a strop.
 
The question of what to charge.

This depends on your customers and your competition. Unfortunately, most people don't care about sharp knives. Which is why everyone has kitchens full of dull terrible blades. If you are going to try to sharpen a lot of blades, you'll probably be sharpening a lot of normal, everyday kitchen knives, that are just dull as dull can be.

Typical sharpeners, that bang out blades in 2 to 5 minutes charge about $1 per inch. Others use a scale to make it more simple like:

4" and under: $3
5" to 8 (or 10)": $5

For these mass sharpening prices, you need to be able to very rapidly sharpen. Power equipment is necessary. Unless you want to make essentially no money for hours of work.

If you were to cultivate customers that have knives they care about, that you give special attention to, you can certainly charge more. It's all about your customers expectations. ...and other sharpeners offering similar services. I'm not nearly as familiar with the high end sharpening market.

Again, you'll have to know your customer's expectations. Can you sharpen a Yangiba? How about a Deba? Are you comfortable sharpening a $500 folding blade? (I'm not).

Brian.
 
Let's say it takes a professional sharpener 5 - 10 minutes to sharpen a 10" chefs knife. The cost to 'regular' customers would probably be $1 an inch +/-. Repairs would be more. The price has to be low enough and the service good enough so that the chefs will be willing to forego sharpening their own knives. If you could drum up enough business, you could maintain your 'gypsy' wagon (mobile sharpening service) and make a profit. Talk to some potential clients and see how often they need to have their knives 'professionally' sharpened.
Another possibility is barber shears. If this interests you then an apprenticeship might be in order. In a few years you might be able to take over a business and buy the owner out in a few more. The advantage here is, if you can sharpen barbers shears then you can pretty much sharpen anything else that comes along.
In either case, you need to learn business skills.
 
knifefreak765 said:
But wouldn't people pay extra money to have a hair whittling, mirror polished edge?
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Most people have no idea what a sharp knife is and some of them even think glass cooling trays are cutting boards. By the time you see their knife or other cutting tool it is liable to be a butter knife or club in knife form.

Some will pay extra for a super duper edge but will also be extremely critical of your work.

Most will have no idea what you're talking about and just want the knife sharpened.
 
HeavyHanded said:
Most people have no idea what a sharp knife is and some of them even think glass cooling trays are cutting boards. By the time you see their knife or other cutting tool it is liable to be a butter knife or club in knife form.

Some will pay extra for a super duper edge but will also be extremely critical of your work.

Most will have no idea what you're talking about and just want the knife sharpened.
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To be fair some glass boards are sold as cutting boards, not that I'd use them, anymore. :-p
 
While your still a bit new to sharpening and you would like to make some coin doing it. I would suggest setting up at a farmers market, a special event, hardware store, etc., first. You can also have drop off locations in your town. This would give you experience and confidence dealing with different bevels and General knowledge of steel and knives before offering to kitchens.
Your hourly rate is way too low. I charge per knife. If they want to set up routine sharpening it's a dollar less per knife. Single and multi bevels are a bit more as is other equipment, mandolins, deli slicers, food processor blades, etc..
If something is hand sharpened I charge an hourly rate.
The problem I see with "per inch", is that a 6"-8" chefs knife will take longer to sharpen than an 18" slicer. Same goes for a small pocket knife that can be a real pain in the arse for $2.
Yesterday it took me nearly 4 hours to sharpen 26 knives. They were all neglected but well made western knives, single and multi bevel Japanese and several serrated. The day before (a place I sharpen regularly), I sharpened 80 knives in the same amount of time.
 
BilboBaggins said:
I doubt a standalone knife sharpening business would manage to survive. To even have a shot, you'd have to sharpen everything...lawn mower bases, chainsaw chains, etc. Just one man's .02.
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This. I wanted to start this same business a few years ago. Decided it wasn't lucrative.
I became friends with a guy who owned a sharpening business ( now retired). He told me the only way you can make decent money sharpening knives is to sharpen hundreds of them....restaurants, butcher houses, etc. and it's not feasible by hand either as it takes too long. He made way more money sharpening carbide-tipped saw blades and other woodworking tools like router bits and had the machinery to do it. He told me you have to be able to sharpen anything.

Not trying to discourage you , but being a knife guy also, I thought this would be the greatest thing ever as a job, but in reality there's only a small percentage of guys who are obsessive about knives like us in the real world , and most people who are knife afficiandos usually sharpen their knives themselves. The majority of people just want their kitchen knives,axes and lawnmower blades sharpened because they are sharpening-inept and don't want to spend a lot of money doing it.

This may change some region to region , but that was my findings when I investigated it and talked to people in the business who were established. Good luck with your decision anyways.
 
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