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  1. #1
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    Default How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    I sharpened two of my knives over the weekend... I regularly sharpen them but never made the effort to do it properly.

    So last week I bought the lansky 5 stone kit.

    It took me 3 hours to put a semi new edge on of +-20/21 degrees on my Burger LEXk with a N690 blade.

    When I was done, I stripped it on an old belt and some Braso. I have never sharpened a knife so sharp before and was quite surprised.

    It is razor sharp with a polished edge from the stropping.

    Without the stropping I can shave, but it is easier after stropping.




    So this got me thinking, why not sharpen knives for extra pocket money. To do it properly with a new edge, takes quite some time. And well I have time.

    How much would you guys pay to have your hunting knives and high quality pocket knives sharpened?

    I don't know if I will do kitchen knives yet because not sure if I will use the lansky or use wet stones. First need to sharpen my own kitchen knives and see how it comes out...


    This is obviously aimed at those too lazy to sharpen or who can't get it done properly.


    Am I being silly or is there some spare cash to be made by offering sharpening services?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    I wouldn't put my kitchen knife to a lansky edge. I find the edge to be a little tough to do. I have a wet stone that I sharpen it on, but before you try that, use an old knife first - my kitchen knife scored a little scratch before I got it working properly. It does make it insanely sharp though, and using a wet stone is quite fun. Although mine's an oil stone - I didn't have mineral oil, so I used some olive oil, which works pretty well in my experience.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    There is always someone wanting a knife to be sharpened that would pay for it....but generally not a lot.

    Many years ago i used to take my pocket knife to the Easter Knife show and get it sharpened for free......i miss those days, knife show was always awesome.

    It also becomes a bit of a catch 22.....if you offer a cheap service you will end up with too many to sharpen by hand on the Lansky

  4. #4
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    Default Re: How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    And does one charge per knife or per hour?

    Quick touch up will not take too long, Put a new edge on takes time..

  5. #5
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    Pretoria, South Africa
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    Default Re: How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    It depends entirely at who does the sharpening, and what is used. I use a Tormek T-7 to sharpen my knives properly. See, the machine costs a few thousand bucks (I just saw Cutting Edge is the official supplier in SA, by the way) and as such I'll charge quite a bit to properly sharpen a knife. That being said the sharpening is on a completely different level than what I was used to using my Lansky. Polishing is significantly smoother and blades are significantly sharper (both polished and unpolished). Sharpening is also very, very fast, and I can put a new edge on a stainless steel blade (mild harness, nothing special) and sharpen the blade to shaving sharpness in about 10 minutes, start to finish. Depending on blade length, type of steel, angle and whether or not a new edge is required/requested, I'll pay, let's say, R100 for the sharpening.

    Using a Lansky I'll pay less. Lansky is not as controlled as the Tormek I'm used to, and blade scratching is very easy. Furthermore I've seen people ruin blades beyond recognition using a Lansky, because they do not understand the technique required behind it.

    It's good to know you strop on a leather strip, but you shouldn't use Brasso. Rather look into a proper polishing compound. Some of these Brasso/Silvo stuff contains strange chemicals that's not too good for your blades. I heard that Silvo has less of these chemicals, but never bothered to confirm. I use a honing compound (a paste, not an oil) that polishes stainless steel on a leather wheel to a mirror finish (literally).

    I think the market for sharpening is definitely there, specially if you can do it quickly. Just make sure that people know how you're sharpening and that you're clued up on technique of different metals, blade shapes and sizes. A few years ago I experienced a client of ours klapping the living daylights out of a dude on a hunting farm after the dude dragged his Damascus blade over the local "sharpening stone", scratching the blade and handle like you wouldn't believe. He made the knife himself in a class years before and it was a safe queen all this time. He just wanted to wet the blade with some blood to say that it did work once, but instead got it ruined.

  6. #6

    Default Re: How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    Try a japanese wetstone - it's even better than a oil stone. And yes there might be people who will pay for sharpening but transport is expensive. Also, many people simply do not care enough to have a knife sharpened decently. Still, if you can get it up and running, go for it.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    I know a guy with a sideline business going round the restaurants in the evenings to sharpen the chefs' knives

  8. #8
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    Default Re: How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    What Toxxyc said. If you want to do it for money then get the best practically available tools. The Tormek is fantastic. I put a razor sharp edge on a wood chisel in about 5 minutes. Knives are very quick and depending on your hand can also be free-handed on the Tormek. Jet also makes a model and would be similar.

    The Tormek works on a slow rotating grinding wheel that is kept wet through turning through an water reservoir. The other side has a stropping wheel and the whole thing is powered by a motor so you just focus on angles and progress.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    I hate sharpening knifes but hate blunt knifes more. I would gladly use a service like that but some things to consider. If i were to take half hour drive to drop of a knife and then another halfhour to pick it up i would rather do it myself. So a cost efective and efficient way wold be needed to get the knife and to get them back to the owners. I would not mind what you use to sharpen it as long as it is sharp when i get it back.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: How much would you pay to have your knife sharpened?

    I just had a gloogle on that tormek and emailed the link to my wife. Thats what i want for my birthday...

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