Sharpening Service

[Andrew124c41]

I am semi-retired. I don't know how other people feel but there is a certain mindlessness, a Zen like state I get while sharpening knives. Additionally, there is satisfaction in getting a knife sharp enough to shave with. I have become pretty good at it over the years. So, I was thinking of buying a high end system and opening up a sharpening service. I don't really need the money but could not justify the expenditure unless I put it to use. I was wondering about opening a set ice and charging a nominal fee, really just to justify the aquisition of a high end system.

Does anyone know if people on the Forum have need of such services and if so, do they use them and how much is a fair price to charge for sharpening?

 

[napaknives]

Hi, Andrew, I recently started a sharpening service, as I am semi-retired. I sharpen at a farmers market and through my home. Sharpening for the general public, I don't have more that a couple of minutes to do a knife. That, and the fact that I don't have patience for hand-work, limits me to belt sander sharpening. I charge under 1.00 per inch, but you would have to get around $15 per knife to make it worthwhile. I understand that the "Wicked Edge" system is good and it's fairly fast, but the general public wants their knives done right away. (And cheap!)

You would have to develop a clientele for this service and you would probably recoup your investment eventually. I have talked to sharpeners who have a market for these services. But, what you are looking at is a specialized market. And yes, it is very satisfying to sharpen for people.

 

[Aquaholicc]

I have to kindly disagree 100% with N napaknives I feel as if someone is in seek of a "professional sharpening service" than the customer is looking for something more than just a "quick" scratchy bevel? The customer is more inclined to pay more for you..the provider to give them a quality bevel for a set rate..
Say you just started and charge 30 bucks to sharpen a customers knife evenly to 30 inclusive at 1000grit. Well that may take you 60 mins? But as anything you only get better/faster to more repetitious an action becomes. So now the next customer ask for the same bevel but with "experience under your belt" you know that you can deliver the same quality bevel in only 40 mins.

Long story short I would not deal with "general public" as they don't deserve my time. Rather find/pick and choose the customers who appreciate a nice even (polished in most cases) bevel.

 

[DavidHoback]

Do it as a hobby. Look for local patrons to you. I can tell you that LEO professionals are a pretty good group for paying a couple bucks to have their knives sharpened. Forget forums! Number one, THIS is where all the top sharpening GURUS come to! I started in sharpening. Even had a police officer as a good friend who helped with getting me business. Never made much more than enough to buy a new stone here and there....and beer money! Now I do it all! But I focus on making custom knives. And Im STILL just a hobby knife maker! Also, you will never be able to match the sharpening services(for instance "Razors Edge"), already advertising here. And I bet most of their work is reprofiling & modifying, not just sharpening. Unfortunately the lucrative field of sharpening is well, not so lucrative! Sorry to burst your bubble. Go ahead and do it anyway. Do it for fun though. Don't go into it, and invest money under "dreams of grandeur".

 

[Andrew124c41]

Thanks everyone for your advice. To be clear, I said I am a semi-retired physician and really don't need any more money...I just wanted to justify the equipment and perhaps recoup the investment over time by sharpening knives other than my own, not for the public but for collectors who really appreciate having a good job done. I am not interested in any big time profit.