Once upon a time, there were far more archetypal service providers to be found in communities around the globe.
“The knife sharpener and the ragman, for example, were found almost everywhere in earlier times,” said Harper Keehn, 31, of Providence Rhode Island. Keehn travels to a number of locations throughout the Northeast every weekend sharpening knives.
Traveling service providers used to use a bell or whistle to alert townspeople of their arrival. Keehn will visit the Greenfield Farmers Market next on Aug. 28 and Sept. 4 to offer his knife sharpening service.
Keehn said he originally became interested in knives a boy.
“I grew up playing with knives and I had a grandpa who taught me how to use and take care of them,” he said. From there, Keehn worked on a ranch for two years in Colorado that did its own butchering. “We got $50 and all the ground beef we could eat for each cow butchered,” he said. Back then, Keehn said he used an older version of the type of machine he uses now for knife sharpening called a Tormek sharpening system with CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride, which is a “super abrasive”) grinding wheels.
Eventually, one-hundred hour weeks took their toll and Keehn moved on to work with a friend who ran a farmers market in Cold Spring, New York. Now, Keehn works for himself sharpening knives on the weekend and working on his art during the week.
“There is so much demand this grew to be my only source of income,” said Keehn, adding that there is the “ancillary benefit of being able to often visit with family and friends.”
Keehn describes his sharpening service as “a pure service. There is no inventory and it’s incredibly satisfying.”
“It really depends on the type of cooking you do and how much. For example, most professional kitchens swap out their knives every two weeks,” said Keehn.
For the average person at home, he suggests having their knives sharpened one to two times per year, which is also how he bases his travel schedule. Keehn has been sharpening knives as a business for a decade and often works with the same customers for many years.
“I like to use the analogy of changing the oil in your car. You wouldn’t get a new car every time you need the oil changed would you?” Keehn said, noting a significant amount of money can be saved by getting a good set of knives and providing proper care.
For example, when storing knives, he said to “never let them clatter around in a drawer.”
It is better to have knives in a sleeve, block, or some other type of separator to avoid damaging the bevel (the edge) of the knife, he continued. That alone will extend the life of the knife.
“Having a properly sharpened knife is like the experience of putting on glasses for the first time. You don’t have to saw away, you just go straight through (what you are slicing),” he said. Keehn colorfully added an analogy of the difference between using a sharp knife versus a dull knife: “It’s like using snowshoes versus wearing stilettos.”
Walking around in snowshoes spreads out the pounds per square inch, whereas thousands of pounds per square inch are exerted as stilettos meet the ground.
“It’s the same thing with the edge of a knife. A couple of pounds per square inch (on a sharpened blade) creates so much more power,” said Keehn.
Keehn suggests most cooks have three to four basic knives to work with: a chef’s knife, a paring knife, a serrated slicer and possibly a cleaver or boning knife.
He recommends “steeling” the knife before each use.
“It’s just a light brushing against your steeling tool which may be metal or ceramic,” he said.
Steeling helps to preserve the edge of the blade longer and sometimes files off small burrs that may develop on the blade.
Keehn said you want a steeling tool that is relatively smooth without deep serrations as they may damage the blade.
“You can even use the back of another long knife to steel your blade. Steeling essentially takes the curled over edge and straightens it back up.” Keehn said. While there is a limit to how long steeling will work for knives, Keene said it would “extend the life of the blade two to three times longer.”
He also suggests not putting knives in the dishwasher.
“It’s better to just handwash and dry. You don’t have to go crazy cleaning the knife. It’s actually better if it stays a little greasy, especially if it’s carbon steel,” he said.
If you have a sharpening stone at home, (which is typically a gritty, rectangular stone), Keehn said it takes a lot of practice to learn the skill. “It’s just a hand version of what I do,” he said. Keehn said there are many kinds of stones that have large and small price tags, but the technique remains the same. You place a small amount of water (some use oil) on the stone to help lift the metal and keep the surface of the stone cleaner, and pass the blade across the stone at a slight and consistent angle using the same number of strokes on each side of the bevel. “Some people literally spend thousands of dollars on sharpening equipment. But learning to sharpen knives is fun to experiment with,” Keehn said. He added that the small pull-through ceramic sharpeners are “better for steeling. You never want to use too much pressure with those things.”
Keehn charges $1.25 per inch of blade, so a customer would expect to pay roughly $6 to $8 per knife. He can also fix most broken tips and chipped edges starting at $5.
“A sharp knife is a safe knife. You can predict where it goes and it’s less likely to slip,” said Keehn. He also can sharpen serrated knives with a special machine, as each scallop “has to be pushed back up like pushing back cuticles,” he said.
If you bring knives to the farmer’s market, he suggests rubber banding them and wrapping them in a large dishtowel to prevent mishaps.
He can sharpen all kitchen knives, including cleavers and ceramic knives. He also sharpens scissors and straight-edged garden tools such as loppers or shears. He does not sharpen “toothed” tools such as hedge trimmers or saws.
Keehn said he is always amazed at the level of gratitude he receives from customers: “I don’t feel like I deserve it, but it sure feels great. It’s one big reason I keep doing this.”
For more information, go to sharperharper.com
Cris Carl is an avid local gardener, licensed therapist and certified herbalist. She is an experienced journalist who has written for the Greenfield Recorder for many years. You can reach her at cstormfox57@gmail.com.