gambit1983
New Member
got an offer to be a knife sharpener. pretty sure i would be the guy going to restaurants and swapping out the knives. any idea how much these jobs pay? i come from a culinary background. i live in massachusetts.
got an offer to be a knife sharpener
- Thread starter gambit1983
- Start date
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
There was a time when I sharpened for all the restaurants in the the local area. I would make my "run" picking up knives on Saturday mornings, and would have them all back before the "dinner rush" on Saturday evenings. Normally it was 100-200 knives to sharpen. At the time my "going rate" was $4 per blade up to 10", with serrated blades on a case by case basis. If you're doing it in your shop....YOU set the price. These days my rate for sharpening is $5 per blade (straight edges)...... $10 for serrated.
It was ok....until it came time to get paid. Most of the restaurants had to send the bill into "corporate", and in turn it would be 30+ days to ISSUE the check....and another week for it to get to my mailbox. But... Most wanted their knives sharpened every two weeks. The only on time payers were the locally owned ones, and more times then not there were 3-4 outstanding invoices from the corporate outfits, some as much as 90 days old. I was constantly having to remind managers that I wasn't getting paid on time, and eventually I started telling them that unless their account was paid up to date, I wouldn't sharpen their knives. One particular client/restaurant chain got past due 180 days, and into me for nearly $1k. Several certified letters later, I wrote that off, and refused any sharpening business unless the restaurant was locally owned.
Something else to think about is the liability...... DO NOT sharpen a knife for any public restaurant unless/until the manager signs a waiver of liability! Otherwise, if a worker cuts themselves while using a knife you sharpened, they cannot only go after the restaurant, but they can come after you as well. It's a shame we have to cover ourselves like that, but if you don't.....then its on you.
I still do some sharpening for restaurants, but it's ONLY for the clients who are local, and pay on time...... otherwise it's just not worth my time and effort. I guess the good thing that came out of it was that I visited EVERY restaurant kitchen in town.....and after seeing some of them, I now know which restaurants my family and I will never eat at.
It was ok....until it came time to get paid. Most of the restaurants had to send the bill into "corporate", and in turn it would be 30+ days to ISSUE the check....and another week for it to get to my mailbox. But... Most wanted their knives sharpened every two weeks. The only on time payers were the locally owned ones, and more times then not there were 3-4 outstanding invoices from the corporate outfits, some as much as 90 days old. I was constantly having to remind managers that I wasn't getting paid on time, and eventually I started telling them that unless their account was paid up to date, I wouldn't sharpen their knives. One particular client/restaurant chain got past due 180 days, and into me for nearly $1k. Several certified letters later, I wrote that off, and refused any sharpening business unless the restaurant was locally owned.
Something else to think about is the liability...... DO NOT sharpen a knife for any public restaurant unless/until the manager signs a waiver of liability! Otherwise, if a worker cuts themselves while using a knife you sharpened, they cannot only go after the restaurant, but they can come after you as well. It's a shame we have to cover ourselves like that, but if you don't.....then its on you.
I still do some sharpening for restaurants, but it's ONLY for the clients who are local, and pay on time...... otherwise it's just not worth my time and effort. I guess the good thing that came out of it was that I visited EVERY restaurant kitchen in town.....and after seeing some of them, I now know which restaurants my family and I will never eat at.
Last edited:
Rick Weaver
Well-Known Member
Thought I would chime in a bit here. Ed's advice is spot on except as to liability.
An employee who cuts himself or otherwise hurts himself with a knife you sharpened cannot sue his employer as workers comp is his only remedy against his employer. And getting a waiver from the employer would not shield you from a lawsuit by an employee given the fact that a person cannot generally waive the rights of another person.
While I haven't sharpened knives for the general public, I did spend forty years practicing law and have seen the darnedest lawsuits. People are always trying to blame others for their own negligence and seek a monetary reward when none is due. Good luck and buy good insurance when dealing with the public.
An employee who cuts himself or otherwise hurts himself with a knife you sharpened cannot sue his employer as workers comp is his only remedy against his employer. And getting a waiver from the employer would not shield you from a lawsuit by an employee given the fact that a person cannot generally waive the rights of another person.
While I haven't sharpened knives for the general public, I did spend forty years practicing law and have seen the darnedest lawsuits. People are always trying to blame others for their own negligence and seek a monetary reward when none is due. Good luck and buy good insurance when dealing with the public.
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
Thanks for clearing that up Rick! Back when I did the liability waiver, I did so based on a consultation with my Lawyer. He was actually the one who wrote up the waiver, and had me send a copy for signature into each restaurant's headquarters. The way it was written, I was a "sub-contractor" and it stated that I could not be held liable for any "accidents or incidents" related to my function as a sub-contractor. Based on what you said, it might have been more a "scare tactic" then anything, but luckily I never had to find out.