Knife sharpening - old profession

Knife sharpener on the sidewalk. Photo: DANG LAN

Like many other professions, early in the morning, workers are also busy cleaning up their tools, mainly grinding stones of all kinds, hammers, anvils, files, etc. The most valuable thing is the electric motor with grinding stone attached, which helps to reduce the arduousness of the work and saves time. Stopping by Mr. Bay's shop in Long Xuyen ward, I asked to sharpen a nail clipper, a small tool, it didn't cost much to sharpen, but he was very attentive, happily accepted it, and made an appointment to pick it up later.

While sharpening and repairing his fabric scissors, he said: “I sharpened my scissors a few days ago. After sharpening, I tried cutting elastic fabric and it cut smoothly. Fabric scissors must have a gap. When cutting, the worker must use his fingers to adjust the two blades so that they are close together. But this customer refused, so to please him, I had to fix them to fit together.”

Currently, the knife sharpening business is facing difficulties, it is said to be “unprofitable”, on a good day, they earn 300,000 VND, on other days it is only over 100,000 VND. The most expensive sharpening are nail tools, small but still bring in more money. Nail technicians sharpen a few dozen tools at a time, and receive a few orders from nail technicians a day, which is considered a good income. But these days, the workers are also not doing well, switching to other jobs, making the knife sharpeners lose customers and income.

There are dozens of shops around this area, but customers are gradually decreasing. In recent days, the roads have been deserted, most of the staff have moved to the new center. “You see that, but it also affects scissor sharpeners like me. There are many people, high demand for food and drink, food businesses use knives, scissors to cut, peel, and slice a lot, so they bring them to us to sharpen, thanks to that they can make a living. In addition, there are some workers who travel by car, go to the same end of the alley, sharpen at home, very convenient for housewives. Besides handmade knives and scissors, there are also diverse and cheap industrial types. Sometimes the cost of sharpening is almost equal to that of a new knife, the design is beautiful so housewives really like it, use it until they find it and throw it away and buy a new one for convenience,” Mr. Bay sadly confided.

The job is not hard but requires the worker to have experience, patience, depending on each type, there are different sharpening techniques. Sharpening slicing and cutting knives requires sharpness, sharpening the blade to be thin to achieve the sharpness that meets the needs of customers. For knives used to cut hard objects such as bones and trees, the blade must not be too thin to maintain the hardness of the knife but must be sharp or the customer will use it and it will chip. Sharpening large knives like this is also 20,000 VND, smaller knives are from 10,000 - 15,000 VND.

With over 30 years in the profession, Mr. Bay recalls that in the past, this profession also brought a good income. In addition to local customers, there were also customers from other provinces such as Dong Thap, Kien Giang ... At that time, the roads were still difficult, so they took the ship. Early in the morning, the ship docked, they sent dozens of all kinds of tools, such as nail clippers, blunt knives, scissors... At that time, they only had time to eat breakfast and then buried their heads in sharpening, trying to finish by noon so they could catch the return train. The salary for sharpening a nail clipper was 1,500 VND, but in the past, it was enough for breakfast, a cup of coffee and still had money left over.

Meeting me, Mr. Ba Phuoc, a resident of Long Xuyen ward, said: "It rained this morning, I sat reading the news until after 10 o'clock and still had no customers. When it rained, the customers stayed home, but when it was too sunny, there were no customers because it was not really necessary, they could do it another day, so the sharpener sat idle." Suddenly, a customer came to sharpen a slicing knife. The blade was no longer straight, it was worn unevenly, proving that the knife had been sharpened at home. Turning on the motor, he rubbed the protruding parts, straightened it evenly, and reshaped the knife to its original shape. After that, he manually sharpened it on a fine-grit whetstone to make the blade shiny and sharper. "It looks simple, but the craftsman must have the technique and experience to sharpen the knife, slice meat or cut vegetables smoothly, the housewives are very satisfied," Mr. Ba Phuoc smiled brightly.

Ms. Tran Lan Huong, a resident of Long Xuyen ward, said: “As a housewife, the knife is the main tool. Every time I cut, if the knife is broken and cannot be cut, it is very annoying. My house is equipped with a sharpening stone, but I only need to glance at it a few times to sharpen it, but after a few cuts, it loses its sharpness. Every now and then, I have to take it to a sharpener. It costs less than 10,000 VND, but it helps housework go smoothly and quickly, and cuts food to look more attractive.”

Knife sharpening still has a beauty of everyday life. The rain gradually stops, the sound of vehicles and people passing by becomes more crowded. The workers sharpening dull knives and scissors still sit on the sidewalk waiting for customers.

DANG LAN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/mai-dao-keo-nghe-xua-nam-cu-a463258.html