do you guys sharpen before shipping?

Just curious if I've gone out of the norm lately...I used to never sell a knife that I hadn't at least tried to sharpen properly but I've grown lazy and never really thought about it lately...until I got called out on it:lol2:

Guilty as charged and funnily enough the gyuto that was referenced had become my go to bread knife and in hindsight I can only imagine what the edge was like on arrival. I cut mostly homemade sourdoughs with somewhat evil crusts.:scratchhead:

Anyway, new commitment from me (after shipping a bunch of knives recenty without:O) is that I'll make sure and either sharpen or at least ask the buyer if they would prefer this.

Upon reflection, I realize that it is so nice to get a used knife in the mail ready to cut. I remember buying a Tanaka from PT a year or so ago and he had put the nicest edge on that blade (using Jon's 1k/6k diamonds) so in the future I'm going to make sure I either sharpen or at least offer to sharpen before shipping.

What do you guys do?

always. I don't want somebody not being totally thrilled with their purchase by receiving a dull knife.

Hmm I sold a few knives recently and chose not to sharpen any of them, even one that was definitely due to be sharpened. My reasoning was that I figured the buyer would prefer to put his own edge on the knife.

I think bottom line is that as long as you are up front in the sales post about the current state of the knife, then it is fine either way.

Never unless asked. And more than a few have asked me so I do it for them no problem. I just know if I get a knife from bst if it's not sharp I'd rather feel it on the stone and sharpen it myself.

I say I can't sharpen, so folks don't ask.

chiffonodd said:

Hmm I sold a few knives recently and chose not to sharpen any of them, even one that was definitely due to be sharpened. My reasoning was that I figured the buyer would prefer to put his own edge on the knife.

I think bottom line is that as long as you are up front in the sales post about the current state of the knife, then it is fine either way.

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+1
Unless asked I wouldn't. They come reasonably sharp. Everybody puts his own edge on it, I guess.

Not unless asked. Most of the folks around here know how to sharpen, and I'd wager that at least half of them do it far better than me.

Not unless asked, maybe a quick touch up if I have actually used knife close to the sale. Haven't bought a ton on BST, but cant remember ever getting one coming out the box screaming either.

Except if I sell a knife that still has the OOB edge, I always:
- make at least touch-up
- clean the blade and the handle
- wipe the blade with etOH 70%
- put some camellia oil and the blade (to prevent rust while shipping)
- put the knife in its original box (if it came with one)

Not unless asked because I usually spend my time refinishing before sale and I don't wanna scuff it it. Or cut through any protective packaging.

zetieum said:

Except if I sell a knife that still has the OOB edge, I always:
- make at least touch-up
- clean the blade and the handle
- wipe the blade with etOH 70%
- put some camellia oil and the blade (to prevent rust while shipping)
- put the knife in its original box (if it came with one)

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lus1:
I'm yet to sell a knife but I think they're great principles zetieum. I'll follow them when I inevitably sell in order to fund incoming knives but would still be tempted to ask the buyer first.

Wouldn't dare touch a brand new OOTB edge with anything other than a light strop on plain leather.

I won't complain about the knife I just bought from you. I enjoy sharpening more than the knives at this piont. Also, the knife I purchased from you was listed as having not been sharpened . I prefer to at least see the original geometry when possible before I screw it up.

Marek07 said:

lus1:
I'm yet to sell a knife but I think they're great principles zetieum. I'll follow them when I inevitably sell in order to fund incoming knives but would still be tempted to ask the buyer first.

Wouldn't dare touch a brand new OOTB edge with anything other than a light strop on plain leather.

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I ask the buyer when I only did touch up with finest stones with the knife but never established a new edge: sometime the new owner may want to have smth as close as the original. When it is a knife I already sharpen, then I don't even ask, I just do my routine . So far, when I get feed-back from people who buy my knives on BST, it is only to say that they are pleased with the knife.

I think the oiling is important: there can be some drastic changes in temperature while traveling which can results in water condensation, thus rust. I received once a knife from USA that had some dramatic rust stains. After contacting the previous owner he was sorry and clearly, there was no rust before packing.

I normally negotiate the details, depends on the knife and buyer..

Very good point Z. I mostly use/sell carbon knives and currently use board wax to coat. In hindsight, shipping stainless knives internationally may require similar treatment.

I don't have enough knives to sell any (yet) but, as a buyer, if the knife has not been sharpened since it left the forge/factory, I'd rather receive it with what's left of the factory edge, just because it's as close to new as possible. If it's already been sharpened, then sure, go ahead and touch it up if you're good at it. I'm not (yet ), so I might take it to the excellent knife shop up the road.

Have never sold -- though lots of reasons why I should -- but have purchased many knives from KKF sellers, and I think it's unreasonable to automatically assume that a private seller should sharpen a knife before shipping. In part because I am just learning to sharpen, I always ask about the sharpness, if it's not specifically stated, and if I'm told that it's not especially sharp then I politely request -- but do not insist -- that the seller try to sharpen it a bit (without having to spend significant time doing so).

It's always good to ask for the sake of being nice, but... They might not even want it sharpened, just so they can put their own edge on the knife.
I haven't sold any, but bought a few and they were sharp, but even if they had not been sharpened before shipping i would have never complained because they have to be sharpened later anyway.
I think most of us are like that.

Never sold a dull knife, I bought several knives from others members and I always put my edge on it before using it.
If I sell some knife that need to be sharp I always ask the buyer if he would like the knife sharp by me or not.
In one hand recive a sharp, ready to go blade it s always a pleasure!!

I guess most people here do maintain their knives properly. So, when they sell one, it will be fairly usable to say the least. What's the sense of a special, unnecessary sharpening when the first thing the acquirer will do is putting his own edge on it?

I can do anything… for a price

Selling, what's that? I thought the goal was to accumulate as many as possible? :biggrin:

I've given away a couple knives, but I was actually worried they were TOO sharp! The recipients are not knife nuts, and one of them is my dad who I know uses dull knives, and I worry that they don't respect the edge of a truly sharp knife.

I ask the buyer, same as with leaving or removing patina. Some want the knife to be as close to new as possible, others don't care one way or the other.

Only ever gotten one knife from B/S/T that gave me pause, was dull as a shovel and had a few spots of surface rust. Rust eraser and some time on the stones, became my workhorse for a while.

chiffonodd said:

Hmm I sold a few knives recently and chose not to sharpen any of them, even one that was definitely due to be sharpened. My reasoning was that I figured the buyer would prefer to put his own edge on the knife.

I think bottom line is that as long as you are up front in the sales post about the current state of the knife, then it is fine either way.

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Wondering if the one that was due to be sharpened was my recently received Gesshin haha.
To back this up from a buyers point of view, you were upfront about it needing a touch up on the post. And I would always perfer to put my own edge on

Nomsdotcom said:

Wondering if the one that was due to be sharpened was my recently received Gesshin haha.
To back this up from a buyers point of view, you were upfront about it needing a touch up on the post. And I would always perfer to put my own edge on

Click to expand...

Yes that's the one lol. Thing is, the fewer times a knife has been sharpened, the more desirable a knife seems to be on BST. There are a number of obvious reasons for this:

1) knife will be closest to its original profile;
2) knife will be closest to its original geometry;
3) fewer opportunities to mess up cosmetics;
4) perhaps less likely to to have produced other sharpening abnormalities, e.g., wire edge or whatever, or an edge that is too thin/unstable for the steel etc.

Accordingly, when selling the knife, I figure it's better to leave well enough alone - and if the knife is due to be sharpened, the buyer can do it however they prefer.

Of course if a seller is a particularly skilled sharpener, that may be a different situation. Speaking for myself ... while I enjoy sharpening and am satisfied with my results, I certainly wouldn't put myself is a very skilled category!

And I think that even if the seller is a skilled sharpener, I would still prefer to put my own edge on a used knife (brand new from a vendor is a different story). Just part of the fun of buying it, IMHO.