Would you pay to have a knife sharpened?

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kane22

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Feb 25, 2013
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I know most on this sub forum wouldn't, but you'll get what I'm asking. I'm to the point I feel like I can do a pretty darn good job of getting a knife sharp. I'm a perfectionist and OCD, so it works well for this application. I seem to be one of the strange people that enjoys sharpening too. So I've been kicking around the idea of trying to do it on the side. Not sure how to go about it, or even if it's a feasible idea.
Do you think people would send their knives out for sharpening? It's not like I have a huge YouTube channel or anything. I thought maybe I could use instagram.
It would be guided system sharpening. I also have a decent belt sander. I got it for axes, but have also used it to fix some knives with big chips.
Not exactly sure what to charge either. I'm not looking to get rich, but I don't want to loose money either. Stones and good belts aren't cheap. Then you would have return shipping costs to think about also.
Thoughts, advice... Feel free to tell me it's a dumb idea. I keep thinking the shipping costs would be the deal killer.
 
I enjoy sharpening, but I don't enjoy sharpening the sort of knives that people who sharpen professionally report being asked to sharpen. Lots of gummy cheap stainless steel, badly abused knives, stuff like that. Efficiency will dictate that almost all of your work be done on a belt or grinding wheel.
 
Skill, the cost of equipment, the kind of blade steel, length and design of the blade, what edge finish is desired...

On average it takes me 30-45minutes on an easy steel. Up to two hours on a more difficult steel.

The only way I could offer sharpening services is by a flat rate of $50 per hour. So it's a minimum of $50 and goes up from there. Be it a cheap knife or some $5000 custom knife.

At $50, the knife isn't getting ran over some motorised grinder that takes 10-15minutes to slam out an edge, at $10 a pop. It's the real deal, Professional edge, that takes time.

Are people paying $50 per knife for an edge? I have no idea. I don't offer the service.
 
I've seen many people on this forum over the past 20+ years express an interest in sharpening knives as a side-business idea, but I have never seen a single one come back and tell us what a successful endeavor it turned out to be. Not one.

People who own high-end knives who would pay to have them sharpened will seek out a pro with an established reputation. They aren't going to send their precious, expensive knives to "some guy" with unknown sharpening skills, and unknown integrity and reliability.

People who own cheap knives either aren't going to pay someone to do it, or they wouldn't pay more than a few dollars.

You could end up with a pile of cheap knives with completely blunted, chipped edges, with questionable or no heat treat, getting paid a few bucks a knife, and spending more time and spending more out-of-pocket money (sharpening belts, electricity, etc) for little to no profit. Or it could end up costing you money.
 
I recently traded sharpening for some pecan wood to use on my grill and a dishwasher to replace my old one.

Everyone loves a sharp knife. You seem to get more from trading the service then to charge for it.

Also got an offer to use an self propelled lawn mower. But I don't need it.

All from sharpening junk knives.
 
I would. I'm terrible at sharpening and I'm financially comfortable (finally), so I have no problem outsourcing sharpening to a fellow BFer. It gives back to the community and helps me. So why not?
 
Professionally sharpening for people? I would not have patients to do that. But I have sharpened knives for family/friends. I only ever ask for payment if it’s more than a knife or two, so my input on professional sharpening work probably isn’t as valuable.

You can get lucky with some of the cheap kitchen knives. Lady who’s in a church group with my mom brought over a box with ~15 no name kitchen knives once. Thankfully she didn’t use a glass cutting board, that probably contributed to them all being pretty easy to get shaving sharp. But if we’re talking about the average random person looking to get knives sharpened… I wouldn’t trust their knives

If you’re pretty confident with a motorized/cooled sharpener then you would probably have a much easier time.
 
Thanks guys. I'm just trying to think of a way to turn something I like, and good at into something more. Maybe once the zombie apocalypse is upon us my skills will be more in demand:oops:
 
I think you will find that it is mostly kitchen knives that people take to a professional knife sharpener.

There are people with channels on Youtube who have knife sharpening businesses. In particular, I recall a guy who could sharpen a kitchen knife in 4 minutes with a Wicked Edge (Maybe that was knives that he had sharpened previously). He said that what made his business successful was that he would pick up and return the knives personally.

Another fellow extolled the Work Sharp Ken Onion, which I used to use for kitchen knives. It's good when you have a batch of 5 or 10 knives to sharpen

If yet another friend of a relative wants me to sharpen a knife for free, I will use the Chef's Choice, which usually takes 2 to 5 minutes depending on how bad the blade is. That's what I use on our kitchen knives now.

I would not pay someone else to sharpen knives for me.
 
I do it for free!

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I've seen to where a gentleman is sharpening knives out of a trailer. Years ago in the parking lot of Tractor Supply. He had his sharpening machine inside, a generator to run it. With the trailer still hooked to the truck. A large banner sign offering his service.

I believe he was sharpening pocket knives for less then $10. While you wait type deal.

No clue how that worked out for him.
 
Silly question since you are thinking of going Pro...... Why not Just make them?
 
kane22 said:
You mean make knives?
Click to expand...
Yeah.....

For instance, I like making the knives I enjoy using, and making.....but id Dread sharpening other people's knives. Heck, I wouldn't even know How to?
 
The only people I’ve seen with sharpening services are siting in booths at farmers markets, usually behind menacing, ancient-looking electric grinding wheels. It’s the stuff nightmares are made of.

They charge small fees and probably ruin the knives in 60 seconds. My knives seem to work their way deeper into my pockets.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
Yeah.....

For instance, I like making the knives I enjoy using, and making.....but id Dread sharpening other people's knives. Heck, I wouldn't even know How to?
Click to expand...
I have thought about that too. It looks like I would quickly get a lot of money wrapped up in it. Then there is the old "you don't know what you don't know". Sharpening is the black hole I've gone down, and I've got a good handle on it.
I've almost ordered steel a couple of times. Sketched out what I want, then reality settles in. The cost of sending a knife out for heat treat is crazy expensive from what I've seen if you're not doing it in bulk. I've looked at ovens, good 2x72's, and all the things I'm not even thinking about. A fixed blade knife seems simple, but making one that people want to buy seems hard to do. My hats off to you!
 
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