Santa Monica Knife Sharpening

Since I was a little boy I have had a fascination with edges. If it slices, dices, cuts, guts, shaves, etc, it fascinates me, and I want to sharpen it. For me sharpening isn’t a chore, it’s a passion, it makes me concentrate and forget everything else. The feeling and the rhythmic sound of the blade against the sharpening stone give me bliss. The satisfaction of putting a new edge on the blade, makes me feel that I have treated everyone involved in making the knife, from the beginning with respect.

The knife sharpening 

I have sharpened knives and tools for as long as I can remember, as a teenager, I worked with a Swedish “Skärslipare” during the summers. I learned a lot, but mostly about sharpening Scandi-grind knives, and I started to recognize extremely sharp, truly hair-popping sharp straight razors.

The rocky road of learning knife sharpening in every way

After this, I spent time sharpening woodworking tools. While I worked full-time sharpening butcher knives at a commercial meat processing plant. I often sharpened several hundred knives a day, but the passion was gone. I love knives, and I knew all the machines that were used were ruining the knives. 

I took a well-deserved break from sharpening

I stayed away from sharpening and finished college with a degree in fine arts. Got to realize how hard it was to make a living as an artist, and I started an art gallery instead. Running an art gallery gave me a lot of extra time. I started a little hand-sharpening business in the back. Everything was good and I loved it.

The hobby sharpening years

Like all good things, it didn’t last forever. Hard economic times led to the closure of the gallery. I ended up in the consulting business, which meant a lot of travel and no time for my beloved edges. However, it gave me time to hunt for the optimal edge. Matching stones and different steels to cutting duties, grit, type, and so on. Deburring became a big mystery. All of the wizardry we do as professional knife sharpeners has to do with burr formation. 

Knife sharpening on a new continent

In 2001 I moved from Sweden to Santa Monica. I got introduced to Japanese knives, which made a great impression on me. Never before had I seen knives that well made, and the blades were talking to me. I got possessed, and an old passion was reborn. I called my brother in Sweden, to have him send me all the sharpening stones that I had there.

The passion for Japanese knives and whetstones

I researched and read everything I could, and lay my hands about Japanese knives. I couldn’t wait for my sharpening supplies to arrive from Sweden. I bought a few Japanese water stones and started to sharpen the knives I had at home. Once again I had the feeling of bliss. Hearing and feeling the rhythmic shh, shh sound of the blades, dating with the stone.

The amazing sharpness of Japanese knives

The result was incredible, the edge of a kitchen knife, got tacky sharp right away. The steep angle was challenging, and I did get some small scratches between the bevels, I realized that getting the perfect texture on all surfaces would take me a while. 

Japanese knives still humble me, getting them razor-sharp and even polished is hard. With a mirror polished and straight even lines and a perfect polish is art. Getting it all right at once takes time and patience, I have been hand-sharpening knives daily for 20-plus years. Still, I doubt I will ever master it fully. 

Magnus Pettersson hand sharpener

1423 Euclid Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404

Feel free to visit my Instagram @santamonicasharp

Call or txt 310-486-6068 or email.