Cost of sharpening

J

Jason Puckett

Joined
Feb 14, 2019
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204
I know it's going to vary based on where you are, but what is a rough cost for sharpening an average pocket knife? Not to a mirror edge, just a good sharpening job from a non-damaged point?

There's a guy that does it locally and I want to check his prices vs what is "normal" so I know I'm not getting ripped off.
 
$20 at most for a hardware store silicon carbide stone. Can get a cheap AlOx stone at dollar store that works. Couple of bucks for sandpaper. Free for bottom of coffee cup.
 
Well in this part of the forum, I think you'll get a lot of people who sharpen their own knives.
I'm assuming you want to have an EDC blade sharpened by a service. Looking up a local shop, $7 for blades up to 6" and $9 for larger (presumably kitchen) knives. More for repairs.
Now a Norton combo India stone, 8", can be had for about $20. The cost of three sharpenings. If you want a finer finish, a strop block and some 1 micron diamond spray can be less than $50 - another 7 sharpenings.
You can get a set of two dual-sided 6" DMT hones in a case that also serves as a holder for $90. That will take care of anything. Thirteen sharpenings.
 
Jason Puckett said:
I know it's going to vary based on where you are, but what is a rough cost for sharpening an average pocket knife? Not to a mirror edge, just a good sharpening job from a non-damaged point?

There's a guy that does it locally and I want to check his prices vs what is "normal" so I know I'm not getting ripped off.
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It should be about $5 for a regular blade. That price goes up based on the instructions, it will be more if a specific edge angle is spec'd. Some shops charge by the inch, but on average for a basic sharpening it should be less than $10.

If the knife has serrations expect an additional charge of from 2-5$.

If it is a high end knife - tactical with DLC or some other colored coating etc, some folks won't even touch them.

Locally, I charge $5 if the instructions are to make it sharp and is an average knife up to about 8". If aesthetics are important - say a higher end knife with or without a blade coating it goes up to $15. Unless the blade is being reground or is extremely damaged somehow I'd say this is the top end.
 
I already have some water stones the wife bought me for Christmas a few years ago, the problem is I rarely have the time to soak them, set up a spot to do it, etc. Then, there's the fact that I suck with them so it takes me forever to get anything like a decent edge.

I've thought about getting something like a kme or wicked edge but I'm not sure I can justify the cost. I don't use my knives for much more than opening envelopes or breaking down a box every now and then so I shouldn't have to sharpen one but maybe every other month. I can get a lot of professional sharpenings done for even the cost of a sharpmaker apparently.
 
Mr.Wizard said:
HeavyHanded HeavyHanded I would love to know the method you are using that makes sharpening serrations for only a few dollars extra practical.
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Personally I charge an extra $7 and do not guarantee the cosmetics. For a full bread knife is $12. Not many people want to pay to have a bread knife sharpened, and most folks that want serrations sharpened have done such a number on them it is a real PITA to reset em. I wish DMT would make an XC tapered rod.

I seldom make my rate doing them, unless I'm all set up to go, but I don't lose $ either. If I only go by working time I'm fine, and I never liked the idea of charging setup for something I should have ready to go in the first place.

Most sharpeners simply grind the backside, buff the interior and call it a day. This works but you lose some aggressiveness of the serrations a little more every time you do it. You also cannot reset the scallops that way if they are damaged.

More from the formerly top secret MAGUKC project (Multi Angle Guide Universal Knife Clamp - pronounced "magic" with an added guttural hairball cough "K" sound at the end). :)

 
Likely cost of living in the area can be a factor and his method. If he is using stones or power equipment is also a consideration. How long
has he been doing sharpening should be considered. If he's been doing it for 10 years he has run into a lot of different blades and his experience will show. At shows I charge 1.25 per inch. More for serrations, odd blade shapes, ect.. Plus,
I have to cover the cost of my table, set up and hauling, gas, meals and motel. One should think about all these factors vs dropping them at his door. My preference is I had rather sharpen a large kitchen knife than 3 blades on a small slip joint folder. As they are just more time consuming, getting the bevels right and the small narrow blades don't allow much room to hold. So, $1.50 per inch is within reason for those. DM
 
Something to think about with multi angle guides is they cannot do some of the blade shapes I see. Tanto, chisel grinds, serrations, hatchets, axes and chainsaw blades come to mind. So, the experience a guy has who can do these is vastly different from someone who clamps it in and starts scraping. DM
 
Definately varies alot from one to another sharpener ... can be caused by skill or method used and volume they do ... whether it's a side job or their business ...

but $5.00 to $8.00 is about what I've seen for a pocket knife small to medium sized ... some using clamped systems give more accurate edges but takes time to setup each knife and stones etc cost more so might be $20.00 ...

not sure what you are wanting sharpened but Jason B. on the forums free hands using whet stones and does a very nice job and is very reasonably priced. And usually has fast turn arounds he is great to answer questions and work with.

Josh @ REK Sharpening is as good as you'll find ... he uses the Wicked edge and sometimes slow grinds with a water cooled belt to reprofile or do a full regrind ... cost a bit more but he is great to work with too.

there are others here if you check out the services subfirum that do nice work and it should cost an arm and a leg for most knives if you just want a blade sharpening ...

Heavy Handed quoted about $5.00 and is we respected on here so should give you an idea of options.

But nothing beats learning to sharpen yourself ... takes a bit of time and practice but it isn't as difficult as it seems once you build muscle memory and learn to hit the apex and get that burr raised ... give you self pride in being able to do it yourself if you have time.

I like to do my own but life has been crazu hectic fir a couple years so I have sent some to Josh @ REK for reprofiling because I haven't had the time ...

and I have sent a few to Jason B. to put a nice convex on when I was half moved in and boxes still not unpacked ... I could recommend both.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys, like I said I just wanted to get a rough idea of cost so when I go see this local dude I know if he's charging way too much or not. I had been hem hawing around the idea of buying a sharpening system but I have to admit no more than I need to sharpen, it just doesn't make financial sense. Of course, that doesn't take my poor impulse control into account, so I may still end up with one.
 
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Jason Puckett said:
I already have some water stones the wife bought me for Christmas a few years ago, the problem is I rarely have the time to soak them, set up a spot to do it, etc. Then, there's the fact that I suck with them so it takes me forever to get anything like a decent edge.

I've thought about getting something like a kme or wicked edge but I'm not sure I can justify the cost. I don't use my knives for much more than opening envelopes or breaking down a box every now and then so I shouldn't have to sharpen one but maybe every other month. I can get a lot of professional sharpenings done for even the cost of a sharpmaker apparently.
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I like the Shapton Waterstones because they can be spritzed rather than soaked. The home made jig lets me point the edge at the floor and sharpen away.
 
T tiguy7 That's really interesting, I think I ran across a post of yours in another thread back when I was researching sharpening systems too. So that basically works like a sharpmaker, right? Just hold the knife straight and move it down the stones? If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost to build that, not counting the stones?
 
Jason Puckett said:
Then, there's the fact that I suck with them so it takes me forever to get anything like a decent edge
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Dependant on how far you live from the shop, with a bit of practise you should be able to get a decent edge on your current stones in less time than it takes you to go to and from the shop twice to pick up and drop off your knife
 
Craig James said:
Dependant on how far you live from the shop, with a bit of practise you should be able to get a decent edge on your current stones in less time than it takes you to go to and from the shop twice to pick up and drop off your knife
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Well, last time I soaked the stones and tried to sharpen a knife it took me about an hour and a half. I can walk to this guy's house in about 10 minutes and I'm old and out of shape. :D Benefits of small town living.
 
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Jason Puckett said:
T tiguy7 That's really interesting, I think I ran across a post of yours in another thread back when I was researching sharpening systems too. So that basically works like a sharpmaker, right? Just hold the knife straight and move it down the stones? If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost to build that, not counting the stones?
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My new design revolves around a single stone holder/shelf with a block on the back. The block is clamped in an angle vise. You sharpen on one side and then rotate the rig 180 degrees and sharpen the opposite bevel. Change stones and repeat. The biggest cost is the angle vise. An angle cube lets you set the angle of the dangle to 1/2 of 1 degree. The Aluminum bar stock is 2 1/2” X 1/2”. The lip is 1/2” X 1/2” X 2 1/2”.
If you cover the vise with a plastic bag, you can spray water on your stones.
 
In theory wouldn't that same setup work with any kind of stones like KME stones, etc? If I get into freehand sharpening again, it will be with dry stones I think. This would be a good compromise. How well does it work for heavy duty re-profiling? Not that I will likely ever do that, but that seems to be the one downside to the sharpmaker according to those who know.
 
Here's the current sharpening price list of one of the bigger sharpening services in the San Francisco Bay Area, they have a retail store and several mobile trucks too.

They sharpen on a belt, then stone wheel then cotton buff wheel with green compound; I don't know their set-up for serrated knives, sorry...


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Jason Puckett said:
I can get a lot of professional sharpenings done for even the cost of a sharpmaker apparently.
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You have to include your time dropping off and picking up or mailing it in.
Your time arguing with the person behind the counter because they did a worse job than you could have done yourself.
etc.
Jason Puckett said:
I rarely have the time to soak them
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PS : you don't have to stand over the stones and watch them soak. You can put them in the water and . . . go do . . . well . . . just any number of things while they quietly fiz away.
Well there's one thing, you could drop them in the water and go take a fiz and they would be ready when you are.
 
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