FAQ

I've decided to create a FAQ based on some questions that I have had from clients and also questions that I would ask if I were to contemplate handing over my knives to a stranger who says he can sharpen them, here goes: (This is a living document, it will continue to expand as I get new questions and find answers)

• Question: What is the cost of sharpening a knife and how did you decide on that price to charge people?
• Answer: Prices range from $6.00 - $20.00 per knife and it depends on the length of the blade which ultimately determines the time I spend sharpening it. Price is also based on what the desired outcome is. A 3" paring knife is with an Essential Edge is going to be $6.00, it is just not worth my time to do it for any less. The products I use wear out, they are abrasives and are expensive, for that $6.00  the knife gets an edge that will be surprisingly sharp and treated to the highest quality of stones on the market. (The time I spend on that little knife and the money I get from it is less than minimum wage). At the other extreme, he $20.00 Executive Edge, is a knife that has the "royal" treatment in terms of products and applied edges/relief face/stropping etc.  Prices are somewhat negotiable as well and my customers know that. No one has an issue with my pricing, in fact, the majority of customers are surprised it is not more. I offer several types of discounts as well.

• Question: What makes your knives so sharp, anyone can say they can make a knife sharper than it was when first purchased, i.e. the factory level of sharpness?
• Answer: A combination of being obsessed with delivering a level of sharpness that is intense in terms of the knifes ability to effortlessly slice food.  The use of products that are unique and created specifically to abrade metal uniformly when applied at the correct angle. The desire/passion to skillfully take a knife from the state of being so dull that your child could play with it to a level of sharpness that will make you bring it out to show your friends at every available opportunity. A device that forces me to maintain a precise angle of your/my choice and maintain contact at exactly the right position on the cutting edge of the knife with every stroke of man made Japanese Water Stones that are of the highest quality available, in the world. These are some of the reasons that justifies my telling people that my knives are sharp.

• Question: My husband told me he can sharpen a knife just as good as you or anyone else and it just    takes a little skill and time. There is no need to pay anyone to do what I can do just as well, what do you say to this?
• Have you ever had to take your husband aside in disgust after a dinner party because he embarrassed you by boring people with topics like Micro Edge, Relief Angle, WEPS, Loupe, Kalamazoo, Naniwa Chosera, Shapton, Ken Schwartz, Mad Rookie and Jende Industries and scratch patterns?;
• Have you ever seen your husband admire a slice on his hand that is producing a good flood of blood because he was impressed with how cleanly his newly sharpened knife cut his skin instead of putting a bandaid on it;
• Have you ever seen your husband take your cleaver into the bathroom and close the door behind him?;
• Has he been obsessed with knives and stones for 25 years to the point where your eyes glaze over when he mentions sharpening and you pray that "this will all go away"?
• Have you ever held up one of his freshly sharpenend knives to a thin sheet of telephone book paper and be amazed at how effortlessly the blade slices through it?;
• Have your friends picked up your knives and ask you how they got so sharp and they can tell that they are like razors just by looking at them?
• If you have answered "yes" to any of these quesitons, your husband is telling the truth, he's a keeper.

• Question: How do I get my knives to you and how do I get them back?
• This is the easy part, I will make it very easy/convenient for you, if one of the drop off/pick up locations does not work for you, I may be able to pick up the knife and drop it off. I will hand them back wrapped in protective material and ready to start slicing and dicing.

•  Question: Do knives really have to be this sharp, it's not like we are going to be doing eye surgery with them?
• No they don't, but isn't it cool knowing that you could do eye surgery if you had to?

• Question: What if I am not satsified with the results, if I take them home and they just don't feel any sharper?
• Then we will figure that one out together because it has never happened. I sharpen each knife myself and test every single one for sharpness prior to returning it. However, without question  I would re-sharpen the knife until you were completely satisfied, your money would be returned and there would be no additional charge to you. If for some unusual reason, a damaged blade for example or one that for some reason is just not taking an edge the way I would like it too. I would let you know that, but I would still leave no stone unturned in attempting to solve the riddle.

• Question: What is the best knife to own?
• Answer: A sharp knife.
• You do not need expensive name brand knives to get the job done. If however you are inclined to purchase some nice new knives locally, Paderno and Cucina Moderna sell very nice products such as Grohmann, Henckels, MAC, Global, Wusthof and Shun.  I think a razor sharp knife that has no name attached to it and cost $12.00 is better than a top of the line Shun knife that has become dull.