Chico Buller
Washing Up
Many times when I meet a new client I get some very serious questions about pricing. Let's be honest, taking kitchen knives to a tinker is a major investment.
(Tinker = > than a sharpener but < than a Japanese polisher.)
I received a PM from a very sincere member here who told me a little about his/her knives and asked flatly if it was worth the trouble and expense. I responded that it's not the knife, it's the edge.
Obviously, in most cases it's the restaurant itself who pays my fee, not the individual cooks, sous-chef and the chef himself. But not always. I have a chef client who drives up to Wisconsin from Tennesee for service.
In many cases, the service costs more than the individual knife. I have many personal knives, that see only my own uses (they are called EDC knives) and in most cases the knives cost less than the service. My own every-day-carry Razel is worth fifty bucks and has a sixty dollar edge.
Consider this. If a fugu chef has an old favorite 50 dollar sashimi, do you think he feels 120 to 150 dollars is a bad idea?
To be sure, I didn't come here to work. But even Alton Brown in his video states that sharpening needs to be left to professionals. (I disagree with his "once per year" philosophy because I want to see problems before they get too bad.)
As Buzz can verify, I have about 15 years in harness and many thousands of dollars in equipment from various disciplines. And we keep studying. New alloys come along every few months. The Spyderco page of steels must list sixty types on their web page.
I told the person who sent me the PM to just send me a knife and I'll sharpen it at no cost. This will remove the doubt that come here for money and it might demonstrate the role tinkers play.
If you have a professional tinker in your area (one who uses Japanese waterstones, not mechanized equipment) bring him a knife that used to be your favorite but now has fallen into disrepair. It will quickly become your favorite once again.
(Tinker = > than a sharpener but < than a Japanese polisher.)
I received a PM from a very sincere member here who told me a little about his/her knives and asked flatly if it was worth the trouble and expense. I responded that it's not the knife, it's the edge.
Obviously, in most cases it's the restaurant itself who pays my fee, not the individual cooks, sous-chef and the chef himself. But not always. I have a chef client who drives up to Wisconsin from Tennesee for service.
In many cases, the service costs more than the individual knife. I have many personal knives, that see only my own uses (they are called EDC knives) and in most cases the knives cost less than the service. My own every-day-carry Razel is worth fifty bucks and has a sixty dollar edge.
Consider this. If a fugu chef has an old favorite 50 dollar sashimi, do you think he feels 120 to 150 dollars is a bad idea?
To be sure, I didn't come here to work. But even Alton Brown in his video states that sharpening needs to be left to professionals. (I disagree with his "once per year" philosophy because I want to see problems before they get too bad.)
As Buzz can verify, I have about 15 years in harness and many thousands of dollars in equipment from various disciplines. And we keep studying. New alloys come along every few months. The Spyderco page of steels must list sixty types on their web page.
I told the person who sent me the PM to just send me a knife and I'll sharpen it at no cost. This will remove the doubt that come here for money and it might demonstrate the role tinkers play.
If you have a professional tinker in your area (one who uses Japanese waterstones, not mechanized equipment) bring him a knife that used to be your favorite but now has fallen into disrepair. It will quickly become your favorite once again.