Mobile knife sharpeners

[KennethT]

The other day, my wife saw a van parked in our neighborhood... when she inquired, they gave her their card - it was "Mike & Son sharpening service"... it seems like they sharpen knives, scissors, or whatever needs sharpening...

I gather you can call them, they come to your apartment, and then they sharpen your knives in their van while you wait. In the van it seems like they have all kinds of motorized sharpening equipment and tools...

Has anyone heard of/used these guys? What were your thoughts?? I'm a little scared of letting someone unknown sharpen my babies... and while my hand sharpening is ok (I'm still debating getting an EdgePro) - I don't get to sharpen as often as I'd like...

Thanks!

[paulraphael]

These people tend to be grinders, not sharpeners. They will put a butcher-shop quality edge on a knife (serviceable, but not high perfomance) and in the process remove a lot of metal, greatly shortening the life of your knfe. And if the knife has a full bolster, they won't be able to reach the heel, so you'll soon have a blade with a concave cutout that won't ever meet the cutting board.

If you're lazy and have beater knives that you're willing to replace in a couple of years, this isn't a bad solution. If you have nice knives then it's just destructive.

The only skilled sharpening service in New York is the knife master at Korin. But it's better to just learn how to sharpen.