Price list

[Frustrated inc]

I’m sure this has already been asked but I can’t seem to find the exact answer I need. I’m setting up at a gun show soon and I’m wondering what I should charge per inch/knife. I’m trying to make a price list. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Marc H]

I would suggest you not price the sharpening job solely on length.  A knife’s length alone is not a true representation of the effort necessary to sharpen the knife edges to a level or standards you’ll be satisfied with.  A small folder with it’s difficulties to clamp and work around thumb pegs and hinge mechanisms can be more difficult and time consuming to sharpen then a straight fixed bladed kitchen knife at twice the length.

Also the first time sharpening a knife you’re unfamiliar with is often more difficult and times consuming.  Many of these edges require repairs and re-profiling adding to difficulty.

The level of sharpness, toothy or smooth and the level of polish, are two more factors to consider when pricing a sharpening job.   Pricing is not so black and white.  I wouldn’t base it only on length.

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

[Frustrated inc]

I was thinking $2 per inch with a min of $8, $4 per inch for mirror polish edge. Extra for chip repair or reprofiling. I see what you are saying but I need a price list on paper due to it being a walk up booth. I can’t put “every knife is a little different” on a price list.

[tcmeyer]

I’d say go with the $2 per inch to start with.  Then evaluate the results to decide whether or not to adjust the number and by how much.  Call it an introductory fee.  That suggests that the standard fee might be increased.

I’ve often thought about going to a gun show and demonstrating what I think are edges sharpened to a level they’ve never seen,  Might even drum up some work for WE.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Frustrated inc

[Organic]

Length is only one factor to consider. For example, if the blade has a tanto then you’re going to need a lot more time. You’ll want to sharpen the blade in two distinct sections in that case.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Frustrated inc, Marc H

[Frustrated inc]

I was already thinking I would charge extra for tanto blades. I just don’t want to get so crazy with pricing that I push customers away. Most people at the show have never heard of the wicked edge so they don’t know how good it is. Also I’m advertising sharpening while you shop or wait, so I have to be fairly quick but still effective.

[NotSharpEnuff]

I have sharpened at one gun show so far and probably won’t do it again.  To answer your specific question, I didn’t have a price list posted.  Like Marc said, there are other factors to consider along with the length when setting the price.

Almost all the knives I sharpened were folders with blades <= 4″.  I asked $8.00 for most but several were so bad I got $10.00.  Even at $8.00 it was too much for a lot of people.  After I sharpened a folder for one guy, he drove home and came back with his K-Bar he had used during WWII.  I had to take that home and sharpen it and got $20.00.

Before I went to the gun show I used a chess timer to track how long I spent on other knives for friends and people at work.  I could get a working edge with a BESS score around 280<->180 in roughly 35 minutes.  Working edge for me was a progression from 200-800 on WE.

My goal sharpening at the gun show was not to make a profit but to get my business out in the public square.  The price for the 8′ table over two days was $45.00.  It took about 5 knives to recoup that cost.

One thing that I did that paid dividends was to sharpen knives for the other sellers near my table for free.  They were grateful for the free sharpening and pretty amazed at the edge they got back.  I probably had 5 or 6 paying customers based on recommendatons from them

Ed K.

3 users thanked author for this post.

Frustrated inc, Marc H, Organic

[Frustrated inc]

Thanks for the advice

[Author]

Posts