Drop off and Pick up is located inside of Pattons Meat Market (Duluth, GA)

***Minimum 2 day turnaround on sharpening***

$10 / each ($5/ each for multiple blades)

Folding Pocket Knives

Hand Sharpening - This is a case by case quoted price. Hand sharpening is an art form and requires a great deal of attention in order to be done properly. Please see the RESTORATION page for further pricing.

Understanding Hand Sharpening

Hand sharpening can be a very long, tedious, and difficult art form that I actually find to be quite therapeutic.  It can also be a very quick way to put a long lasting edge on your favorite knife depending on the current condition of your tool.  Moving through coarse to very fine grit progressions to ensure that your knife's edge is as pristine as it deserves when arriving back into your hands.  Here at The Knife Clinic I use high grade professional Japanese whetstones including: Shapton Glass, Chosera, Suehiro CERAX, Kitayama, and more.  This ensures minimal steel removal with fast cutting abrasives leading to Atlanta's finest cutting edge.  

When beginning with very coarse stones I typically am looking at the geometry of the edge.  Is there any chips, or rolls in the edge that need to be adjusted.  Is the knife's edge so thick that it needs to be thinned down to create the perfect apex.  After diagnosis I decided where the knife needs to start with-in the progression.  Typically beginning with a 120# grit stone I will do any readjusting to the knife that is necessary.  While shaping the edge of the knife I am creating uniform scratch patterns that help me to see where steel is being removed and burrs are being created.  (Burr: Raised edge, or small piece of material that remains attached to the workspace after being modified, or adjusted.)

Once I'm pleased with the overall geometry of the edge I move on to 500#, 1000#, 3000#, 5000#, 8000#, 16,000# grit and sometimes higher depending on the knife.  Not all knives make it past 1000# grit.  The higher up I move in the progression the more refined the edge of the knife is.  Depending on what and how the knife is used will determine how high I move up in the progression.  Most knives will not leave the shop any higher than 1000# grit.  This is because at this point the knife is leaving the shop incredibly sharp ensuring impeccable cutting ability as well as being safe to use.  (A sharp knife is by far much safer to use then a dull knife.  A sharp knife allows you to be in full control whereas a dull knife may be wonky and unstable in your hand while attempting to be used.). 

***Typically the only knives that will advance past 1000# grit are high carbon Japanese knives which all have specific tasks for each specific knife.  These knives may sometimes go up to 30,000# grit, but that is very rare in my shop.***

I understand that this is a very brief explanation of the process.  If you have any further questions please feel free to send me an email: theknifeclinic@gmail.com