Starting small business

[jwwoodall86]

Hello everyone! So I'm starting a small business of sharpening knives and tools for people in my town...and I'm really not sure what to charge people? I offer to sharpen work tools,edc/work knives ,kitchen knives ,axes/hatchets, hair dressing scissors etc... Does anyone have some advice on what I should charge? Thank you...

 

[Grandmaster]

For it depends on a couple of variables:
what method are you using to sharpen, it can be just a little work or a bunch of work depending on how the knife is, what steel it is, if your equipment will wear out, how much is your time worth? -How about 3 bucks to sharpen a knife with just fine and a strop, and depending on time and work go from there and build your table of prices

 

[Grandmaster]

Here is a thread about someone starting the same business, it will help you a lot
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1350645-Work-sharp-for-flea-market-sharpening

 

[rustyspike]

Well I am not in the knife business. But generally speaking.

labor going rate per hour. I would estimate at least $100.00 per hour min.
Add materials at 100% profit.
Charge return shipping.

You should take mail order clients.

 

[22-rimfire]

I would just feel my way along with the pricing. But what rustyspike said is a reasonable approach. Just set a hourly price for yourself and make some assumptions on time and materials. The problem is that if you ever tell people you are going to charge them $100 an hour, it is a turn off. I have a small business and that is essentially the number I use for pricing small jobs. My general approach is to have a minimum price. I go to people's homes and I tell them up front that I will not visit a home for less than $100 and that is local as in within 30 minutes drive time. The price goes up as the distance increases.

The other thing to do is decide how payment will be accepted. Clearly people like to use their debit cards, so consider that approach. But it costs a couple % to use that billing approach. The good part is you get your money pretty much immediately. I accept cash and checks. Less than 5% of my clients have ever wanted to use a credit or debit card. But it is a matter of how much the job costs more than anything and younger people like to use their debit cards and sometimes don't even have checks or they are in some drawer that they can't find.

 

[Quiet]

$100 an hour? For sharpening?!

That is obscene.

 

[22-rimfire]

Like I said, telling people you charge $100 and hour is a turn off.

 

[Quiet]

Like I said, telling people you charge $100 and hour is a turn off.

More than a turnoff, he'll actively lose potential customers. Plenty of people will hear that, and think "Huh, I paid $50 for this knife, and it came sharp...and this guy wants a hundo to resharpen it? Let me look on the internet and see how much a good sharpening system that takes all the angles and guesswork out of sharpening co...oh! I can get a Sharpmaker for $50 and sharpen all my knives whenever I want! Done!"

OP, you're better off cranking that waaaaayyyy down to something like $10-$15 for a basic sharpening job.

 

[ebidis]

Like I said, telling people you charge $100 and hour is a turn off.

$100 per hour for sharpening is a bit excessive. In my Experience if you have to completely re-profile an edge it is at least two hours of work, and that's for steels that aren't difficult to work with. Who would be willing to pay $200+ for a sharpening job? Especially if it's a $50 knife?

 

[22-rimfire]

What is boils down to, is that it will be a VERY small business as most people sharpen their own knives. It is a tough world we live in and most people simply don't value your time. But if you work at McDonalds, you get paid $10 and hour or something like that. That is of course before taxes. You might need some sort of liability insurance and that will probably run you in the neighborhood of $1000 a year. I carry much more insurance and my insurance costs run about 4x-5x that per year. Like I said, it is a tough world we live in.

Set a price and make some assumptions on your time and materials used. Then set a fixed price for the job. Then step back and ask yourself if you would pay that? Adjust until you are comfortable with the number. Then ask yourself is this worth doing at all as a stand alone business? If you are going to deliver knives to people's homes, the price goes up. Most people would consider $100 an hour to be excessive. But that was purely an example. You can use any number you choose and then work from there.

This is one of the reasons we live in a throw away society. It is simply not worth spending much money on a $50 knife when you can just buy another one that is factory sharp (or should be). Handy men charge in the neighborhood of $50 an hour in my area. I consider that worth it as the only reason I would ask a handy man to do something at my house is because I don't know how or am uncomfortable doing the job such as electrical or plumbing work.

 

[Jason B.]

$100 per hour for sharpening is a bit excessive. In my Experience if you have to completely re-profile an edge it is at least two hours of work, and that's for steels that aren't difficult to work with. Who would be willing to pay $200+ for a sharpening job? Especially if it's a $50 knife?

As a professional sharpener I can say it doesn't take that long to sharpen a knife. I average 10-15 minutes per knife, sometimes less or more depending on the complexity of the blade but if it takes me longer than a hour on a single knife then it's likely very damaged and in need of lots of work. Or... I don't have much going on and I take my time.

Grinding in new edges on really dull knives is just part of the job.

 

[uofaengr]

A lot of variables come into play, primarily what you think your time is worth. You also need to be proficient at what you're doing and be willing to put up with all kinds of people, even if you're not a people person. I used to sharpen a good bit on the side, but have since quit for the time being. I still have a select few repeat customers/friends who I'll take the time for, but I found out my time was increasingly becoming worth much more than what I was earning. Hats off to the guys that do this full time because I just couldn't do it all day.

I think there's somewhat of a price ceiling that can be offered for a service like this, and with the time and attention to detail I spend, it became more of a chore than a hobby or side job. Especially when someone gives you 10 or 15 $100+ knives wanting them all reprofiled with mirror edges and you had something else planned that weekend. IMO if someone is paying you for a service, you do everything you can to get it done correctly and as quickly as possible. Just my 2 cents, YMMV. Good luck with your business. [emoji106]

 

[ebidis]

As a professional sharpener I can say it doesn't take that long to sharpen a knife. I average 10-15 minutes per knife, sometimes less or more depending on the complexity of the blade but if it takes me longer than a hour on a single knife then it's likely very damaged and in need of lots of work. Or... I don't have much going on and I take my time.


Grinding in new edges on really dull knives is just part of the job.

I guess it can depend on your equipment too. I'm far from professional, and I only have stones. I just know that when I put a completely new edge angle on a knife, from starting with a course stone, all the way to mirror polish, it takes me a couple of hours.

 

[19-3ben]

scratch that. my advice was more amateur/hobby than professional. feel free to delete post.

 

[19-3ben]

What is boils down to, is that it will be a VERY small business as most people sharpen their own knives.

I'm not sure most people really do. I think most people use the knife until it becomes so dull they crush the tomatoes rather than slicing them, and then simply toss the knife, go to a big box store, and buy a replacement. Heck, my own mother bought a Cutco set back when i was in college 10 years ago (yeah i know, i was one of those guys... it is my shame). She got a sharpener with it. Last time I went to her house the sharpener is STILL in the plastic sleeve, untouched. I realize it's not a statistically relevant sample size, but I think it's an all too typical example.

There other side of the coin are those who care enough about having sharp knives that they actually to sharpen their own. I think that group is a small minority.
Either way, the point stands that most people don't get their knives sharpened.

I think the only exception is if you do a setup like a member here named Razor's Edge, or something like that. He gets into the more technical stuff like microbevels, etc... But that's a speciality service that would only appeal to geeks like us.

For what it's worth, my local locksmith does knife sharpening. Back before I knew what i was doing he sharpened my USMC Kabar for $5.

 

[Brusiedmeat]

Well I am not in the knife business. But generally speaking.

labor going rate per hour. I would estimate at least $100.00 per hour min.
Add materials at 100% profit.
Charge return shipping.

You should take mail order clients.

bhahahahaha.. NO!

 

[Vinifera]

Have you calculated the costs involved in your business? If not, that is the first place to start. You need to generate sufficient income to cover your expenses and provide a profit which you deem reasonable. Costs aren't necessarily limited to equipment but, depending on many other issues, might include business licenses, rent, income taxes, insurance, etc. Many small businesses fail because the business owner fails to anticipate the expense involved. Once you determine the cost of doing business you can then make an educated guess as to whether the income you need to produce a profit will be something your prospective customers can afford and which will produce a sufficient customer base in order to produce enough revenue to make the business successful. If all you are interested in is an hourly rate based on time expended then figure out what your time is worth and charge accordingly. You may or may not have sufficient customers to produce the rate of return you want and you may have additional expenses which you didn't anticipate such as claims by customers for defective work or "damaging" their knife with no insurance coverage, a business license expense when a neighbor complains to city hall, etc.

 

[22-rimfire]

I would guess this will be a home based business. So other than some equipment, insurance is the dominant cost (if you have liability insurance). Business licenses aren't expensive. With insurance the question that I have is "what does it cover?" and what are the odds of needing such. So, you probably could get by without insurance and I doubt many would ask if you have insurance when you're charging them $20-$25 to sharpen a knife. This is just me thinking out loud on the subject and the kinds of prices that are practical. Whether folks believe it or not, I would suspect that this price to sharpen a typical knife would equate to about a $100 per hour fee built into the pricing.

 

[chopsaki]

Small business I would venture and guess that it would be a side job, no? For me sharpening would fall into that category. You would have to do A LOT of knives to make any real money to actually pay bills.

Just from my small experience for sharpening for co workers and friends is that they just want a relatively sharp knife. So get yourself a belt system with a few grits and knock out a bunch of people's dull kitchen knives for ~5$ a knife. Everyone has kitchen knives and most of them are dull. That's where I would assume our money would be. Low dollar, high volume with a wider client base. From there people will ask you about specialty tasks like mirror edges and detail work.

Then again what the hell do I know? I don't do this for a living, just my own limited sharpening experience.

 

[115Italian]

The price you charge depends on the level of service you provide. You should have a minimum fee and go form there. A basic sharpening could be say $10. A full reprofiling, more. Time is money. You're not a charity. It will be a buisness, the point is to make money but not rip off your customers. Offer knife cleaning service too. Say and extra $5 to dismantle and clean and lube, reassemble if you're sharpening the knife. Maybe a repair service. These are all examples and suggestions, you need to find a happy medium.