Total blade noob here.

[Tom Nikitas]

• I was given an L word kit by a gentleman who upgraded to a higher end WE.  My juices are flowing….maybe a WE in the future, I Love Precision being a retired toolmaker.

Honing oil, (don’t laugh) I know it floats the particles, keeps the pores free. (I used chalk on files to same end).  What’s wrong with a light, generic oil?

If I’d consider doing a small route of restaurant clients, what would be your best guess of $ charge and blade/length?

Contingent upon taxe return, may be in the mkt for a WE unit.  Whatcha got?

Basic questions, yes. I gotta start somewhere.

Best regards, Tom

• NRA Life ’76

 

 

[Organic]

Welcome to the Wicked Edge forum!

I presume that the “L word kit” is a Lansky setup? I think any lightweight oil will work as long as it doesn’t have a tendency to go rancid (like many cooking oils do) and is food safe.

I don’t have a sharpening business, so I’m not really qualified to answer your question about pricing. Sharpening knives on a Lansky is a very slow process based on my experience with it. You would likely become frustrated with how slowly it works if you were trying to get through a stack of knives from a customer. There are several sharpeners who use Wicked Edge systems for a sharpening business. Hopefully one of them will see your thread and give you an answer on your pricing question.

Check out the thread with the 2018 Wicked Edge buyer’s guide if you’re trying to determine which model is the correct one to fit your needs.

[tcmeyer]

One of the big reasons I decided to go with the WEPS was the fact that it uses diamond sharpening media.  No lubricant required.

Cost is pretty much driven by how long it takes to sharpen and with any of the non-powered sharpeners is largely dependent on the amount and severity of edge damage.  Kitchen knives actually take less time than the average EDC knives, because their edges are quite thin, as measured from shoulder to shoulder.  Even there the amount of time is extremely variable – again, dependent on damage.  A relatively small ding in the edge might translate into a lot of steel needing to be removed.

A few of the guys who sharpen as a business have indicated that they do most of their jobs with one or more of the belt sanders.  They sell the Wicked Edge jobs as a premium service.  A belt-sander job might take only a minute or two, while the Wicked Edge might take 40 minutes or more.  They might charge $15 for the former and $40 (or more) for the latter.  What you charge is dependent on what you think your time is worth.  If you’re only trying to pay for your equipment, you might charge quite a bit less.

Of course, the customer decides what he’s willing to pay for.  Professional chefs may realize that the WE will do less to shorten that life of their $300 knives and therefor recognize the value.  We’ve seen horror stories here of people getting their knife back from a sharpener with several millimeters of edge gone.  That simply won’t happen with the Wicked Edge.  It would take hours and hours to accomplish that.

A lot of customers will simply want the WE job because they appreciate the perfection of a polished edge.  I think that most of the WE users will admit that they will take a brand new knife straight to the Wicked Edge without so much as a sharpness check by slicing a page from a phone book.  It’s a pride thing, and they do it for friends, too.

Welcome to our happy forum.  Regardless of your decision, you’ll find a lot of good info here.

[Dwight Glass]

Hi Tom Nikitas welcome. I sharpen Knives for two local restaurants. I think I charge a little less than what most of the local restaurants are paying which last I checked was about $15 for 3 knives sharpened every 2 weeks and $17.50 for 4 knives. Some not all restaurants can be hard on knives. One of the restaurants I sharpen for requires as part of the deal that I furnish the knives that I sharpen. So I have my name put on my knives by a local jewelry shop $5 per knife. I have two gen-3’s one pre 2017,  a pro-pack II and A Tormek bench grinder. In about 2 Months I should have A belt grinder 2″ x 72″.

For oil I use food grade Mineral oil from Walmart, “Mineral oil” I do not think it will go rancid.

I am a retired factory worker in a farming community and I do not yet rely on my knife sharpening business for my financial support.

I think Organic and tcmeyer got it right.

good luck and welcome Tom Nikitas

Dwight

2 users thanked author for this post.

Organic, Marc H

[Tom Nikitas]

Many thanks for the welcome Gents.  It is always good to listen to experience.

I’m also basically ignorant on the use of a belt sander.  I purchased one from Harbor Freight (don’t cry) a few years back as well as 3-4 specialty belts from a knife sharpening site.  Only having done maybe 40-50  knives, I’m very lacking on that skill set.  I did clamp an old 2″ leather belt to my set up but just not happy with my ability to reproduce a consistent angle/edge.

As a tool maker, I’ve ground, lapped, sharpened more than a couple of cutting tools or test fixtures.  Are holders used on the platen?

Keep all info and suggestions coming as time allows – call me a sponge for good information.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Dwight Glass

[Author]

Posts