08-14-2017, 12:27 PM
As some of you know, the Sturgis Rally, or more directly, the Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground, is a significant part of my year. We sharpen tons of knives. It's one of the things we do to generate interest, not make money. We only charge a couple bucks. I can't believe how many friends we've made, or how many people only need to sharpen their knives once/year.
Anyway, I decided to do nothing but super toothy edges this year, and I think we did great. I've taught two of my crew to sharpen, so I can socialize more. This year I brought a few Kallys, a new low speed Viel, and what has proven to be the secret sauce- 3/8" diameter, 10" long, DMT 625 grit Dia-Sharp rods.
I let my friends make up their own minds on how they want to sharpen. Obviously, the difficult part is deburring. I give them all the training and tools they could ever need, and let them develop their own system.
By the end of the second night, we all realized the diamond rods totally remove the burr in about two strokes per side, while leaving almost all of the tooth of a 120 grit belt. The customers were happier than ever, and it takes me about 30 seconds to sharpen and deburr almost any blade.
Interestingly, we figured something else out. When I sharpen a knife in 30 seconds, people don't tip. They are amazed with their knives, but they figure $2-$3 is plenty for something that looks so easy and takes so little time.
In previous years, I used to refine the the burr away. It takes way Way longer, and produces a much smoother edge, capable of tree topping with virtually any knife. Guys were amazed. It was normal to have a pile of knives to sharpen. At times there could be as much as a 30 minute wait to get their knives back to them. I'd rarely get less than $5. $10 wasn't uncommon. Some guys tipped $20 or more.
Now we are giving them a much more effective edge in a fraction of the time it used to take, but we barely made half as much money off sharpening this year.
Sure, I could just raise the price, and I doubt anyone would balk at $5. After all, that was previously the norm when it took 2 or 3 minutes or whatever, but 75% of my time was just completely refining the burr away.
With diamond or ceramic sticks, it's very cool to watch a big ol' hairy burr just fall off the edge like tinsel in a few seconds. This is far from new to me. I started making the rod holders many years ago, and they've always worked incredibly well. I didn't ever use them at events, because I knew guys would think that was "cheating". It does seem too quick and easy.
Anyway, I decided to do nothing but super toothy edges this year, and I think we did great. I've taught two of my crew to sharpen, so I can socialize more. This year I brought a few Kallys, a new low speed Viel, and what has proven to be the secret sauce- 3/8" diameter, 10" long, DMT 625 grit Dia-Sharp rods.
I let my friends make up their own minds on how they want to sharpen. Obviously, the difficult part is deburring. I give them all the training and tools they could ever need, and let them develop their own system.
By the end of the second night, we all realized the diamond rods totally remove the burr in about two strokes per side, while leaving almost all of the tooth of a 120 grit belt. The customers were happier than ever, and it takes me about 30 seconds to sharpen and deburr almost any blade.
Interestingly, we figured something else out. When I sharpen a knife in 30 seconds, people don't tip. They are amazed with their knives, but they figure $2-$3 is plenty for something that looks so easy and takes so little time.
In previous years, I used to refine the the burr away. It takes way Way longer, and produces a much smoother edge, capable of tree topping with virtually any knife. Guys were amazed. It was normal to have a pile of knives to sharpen. At times there could be as much as a 30 minute wait to get their knives back to them. I'd rarely get less than $5. $10 wasn't uncommon. Some guys tipped $20 or more.
Now we are giving them a much more effective edge in a fraction of the time it used to take, but we barely made half as much money off sharpening this year.
Sure, I could just raise the price, and I doubt anyone would balk at $5. After all, that was previously the norm when it took 2 or 3 minutes or whatever, but 75% of my time was just completely refining the burr away.
With diamond or ceramic sticks, it's very cool to watch a big ol' hairy burr just fall off the edge like tinsel in a few seconds. This is far from new to me. I started making the rod holders many years ago, and they've always worked incredibly well. I didn't ever use them at events, because I knew guys would think that was "cheating". It does seem too quick and easy.