On the stubble of sharpeners: Do your knives cut?

“The sharpener has arrived in his neighborhood!Bibibibiii! ".The old stamp of the sharpener with its sharp wheel placed on the bicycle, on the motorcycle or in a van no longer repeats as much as in the past and once."They remain, but less and less.Before there was one in each neighborhood, ”says Dosi Nogueira, sharpener who operates in the Plaza Lesseps and the Sant Antoni market in Barcelona.

Nogueira, who retired from the hospitality ran.“Shape knives and bars scissors, restaurants, charceríss and fishmongers.They, professionals, are the vast majority of my clients, since they go to me more regularly because they wear their knives more frequently than the private client, which does it once a year ”.

Less and less street rates are increasingly

Dosi NogueiraAfilador ambulante de rueda tradicional

Ana Real, Pescadera for 43 years, confirms the data: “Shape my knives every 15 days.Although I have a stone to keep them, from time to time the hand of a sharpener is needed.For example, sometimes we collide the knife against the flags of some fish that fish like this, such as hake, and we can mellar the edge ”.

Real, who dispatches in his Montcada I Reixac store, comments that he likes to use “knives the bigger, the better” and that he does not have to do more strength."On the other hand, when a knife is worn out I have to make more strength and it is more tired".She had trusted to know how to make a walking Galician sharpener who had served this town of Vallès Occidental, but for a few years she has hired Athenor's services, a company dedicated to the sharpening of professional equipment.

From this company Víctor Manuel Martínez, who is commercial services for 20 years.He currently has an Atenor franchise with which he serves Barcelona and the East and Western Vallès, mainly."We offer different types of agreement, among which is the rent or rental of knives: you rent some knives, after 15 days or one month we pick them up to sharpen them and give you other newly sharp ones".

Among its client portfolio are different supermarkets, as well as restaurants, bars and small fishing or charcuter store, as well as companies for which it offers industrial sharpening and surgical equipment.And individuals?“The individual does not usually know the existence of sharpening companies.They expect the lifelong man to pass, whistling.But the truth is that they are less and less because for legal reasons, both with health and with the Treasury, they have it more difficult ”.

The individual does not usually know the existence of sharp companies

Víctor Manuel MartínezComercial de la empresa de afilado Atenor

Asking for the disappearance of the trade, Martínez replies that, where appropriate, it offers more service than precisely for the above."Maybe because today there are many more health and fiscal controls for large companies, so they prefer to hire a service in which everything is in order".

Another business model, also traveling, is the one carried out by Alberto Lorenzo, 39 -year -old Rianxeiro.About three years ago he dedicates herself to sharpening and explains that she learned on her own, since she does not come from inheritance: “Reading, practicing, seeing tutorials.This job called me because I had always liked having the sharp house knives and I sharpened them myself.When I was out of work, I contacted several chefs and they told me that they had no one to sharpen or take care of their knives, so I saw the possibility of taking a market, that of quality knives that not everyone knows how to treat ”.

Currently, this Galician sharpener only works by hand, with different Japanese ceramic stones that, he explains, “they are the most respectful to sharpen the knife because they come with a very uniform grain: they offer more control of sharpening, of wear, not hotSteel, do not pass and you control if it goes back to the other side ”.Patience, precision and care of detail are the skills that stand out the most to do this work well.

Lorenzo dedicates his services mainly to restaurants from Coruña and Pontevedra to which he moves to sharpen his knives at the time and not deprive them of them more than necessary.Among his clients are Lucía Freitas, from A Tafona;Pepe Solla, from the Solla restaurant;Xoán Cruxeiras, from the Bido restaurant;Alén Tarrío, from Pampín Bar;or Daniel López, or Camiño do English.Despite the success, he says the following: “I am happy, but it could be more, because sharpening does not have too much valuation and I know that many people do not take care of them, hits them, and that is as if you are going to Diverxo and you take your ketchup Cousin".

I think that sharp now is at a point where it resurfaces or dies

Alberto LorenzoAfilador artesanal

"In addition, I would like people to become aware, especially chefFilo in his nail, the knife is nailed, he is satisfied.“I think that sharp now is at a point where it resurfaces or dies.It is one of those trades, such as Zapatero's, which seemed to disappear, but since there is almost no one to do them, who is dedicated to it has a lot of work ”.

What if the sharpeners disappeared?"We would have to buy knives that endure a lot.Although now something similar happens: people buy poor quality knives and as soon as they spoil, throw them and buy others.We complain about the obsolescence programmed in technology, but it also affects knives ”.

It also refers to the programmed obsolescence Ramon Utset, the fourth generation of the Badalona Utset knob, even located in the same place where it opened in 1894."We are at a time when everything is buying and throwing, and with the knives the same thing happens, despite the fact that betting on a good quality is relatively economical, about € 20".

Among the reasons why make that investment, is precisely the economy: “It will be much cheaper to buy a good knife and give it proper maintenance, since if nothing strange happens, a lifetime will last you, not to gobuying half -price knives that you will have to throw after a few years.Personally, I love it when they bring me a knife that my grandfather sold 70 years ago, sharpened it, and continues to cut perfectly ”.

He, who sharpens since he has reason and began working in the family business 19 years ago, learned from his grandfather and his father, who transmitted passion and affection for this trade he enjoys, and contact withJapanese and Americans - who, he says, have much more knife and sharp culture than the Spaniards.

There is a lot of culture to take care of the knives!

Ramon UtsetCuarta generación de la Cuchillería Utset

Utset points out that they currently have more work volume than before and argues that the specialization they have carried out and the investment in machinery will surely have something to do.“We give a much more precise and fine service and also sharp by hand and for an economic price, because we do not make a living with it, but with the sale.That is why I can dedicate the time that a knife needs and that would otherwise be difficult to collect, despite the dedication it needs and the few professionals who offer the same service ”.

In his Badalona space, UTSET 7 years ago to teach sharp courses.Far from throwing stones on his own roof, he argues that it is a professional and personal desire that comforts him: “I want people to be autonomous, that they can take care of their knives.There is a lot of culture to take care of the knives! ".

And he adds: “In the same way that we do not conceive that a guitarist who challenges the guitar does not know how.Because I consider that a knife that does not cut is a sick knife.And I am a knife surgeon.But in the same way that if our head hurts we do not go to the surgeon, but to the pharmacy or the header, an detached knife is not missing my surgeries.Try it ultimately, if you break, if you mella, if you can no longer sharpen at home, and I will leave you perfectly ”.

On the importance of a good sharp.Tiago Cardoso, Jikasei chef, learned to sharpen his knives, who reviews three times a week.“At the moment, I don't know any sharpener in which I can trust.In addition, it is something that I like to do as a hobby: I've been doing it for 7 years and I love it.Sharpening my knives is a matter of pride and part of my work ethics ”.

The cook, specialized in Japanese cuisine, comments that “Japanese chefs indoctrinate to have your knife, as well as your capabilities, at the highest level at all times.As a teacher once told me, the knives are extension of my arm and reflection of my soul.That is, they are an integral part of my life, I take care of them as children, I take them travel around the world.Therefore, being able to get the best out of a careful tool for me is an unparalleled sensation ”.

Cardoso emphasizes that a good sharpening in the knife shows in many ways: “The product offers little resistance when cutting, it looks much more beautiful and the taste is even better.A good test is as follows: in summer, cut a good tomato with a knife without sharpening and another sharp.You will notice differences both in flavor and texture ".

For his part, José Cerdá, Sushi Shokunin by Hoze Sushiya, in Gothenburg, shares the ethical vision as a sharpening knife: "sharpening your own knives is part of being a professional chef," he argues.“Out of respect for the ingredient that I am going to cut, I must have them correctly sharp, since the cut has many implications in the taste of the product.With a very sharp knife, the structure of the product does not disrupt, it is intact, which will make the cut and the product do not lose quality ”.

Sharpening my knives is a matter of pride and part of my work ethics

Tiago CardosoChef de Jikasei

Cerdá adds to the previous ideas a tremendously graphic image: "Cutting with a sharp knife is how to caress silk, while doing so with a declared decading is like doing it on bricks".

He also has a special relationship with his knives, anyone would say that almost mystical.“All my knives have different properties and I treat them as an extension of myself.It is an intimate relationship and you have to maintain the habit with them so that they do not cut you ”.

Speaking of cuts, it turns out that the bliss is true, as all the interviewees confirm for this article: "An unleashed knife is much more dangerous than a sharp one".David Andrés, Via Veneto chef tells, “When you work with a sharp knife you are concentrated in the cut, which is clean and easy, with hardly any pressure;But when a knife is declared, the concentration goes in force, and too much force can make the cut out of the expected, and that is when we hurt ourselves, apart from the fact that we will not be making our task with precision with precision.It is the difference between enjoying your work or suffering, between playing a hockey match with well -greased skates or doing so with wooden clogs ”(the cook was a professional of this sport).

Andrés argues that the knives are the main work tool of a chef and not take care of them, not having a special relationship with them, is to go on a bad way.He learned from his wife, the cook Zhou Mengxin, who cooks both the restaurant, Somiatruites, equally."In Chinese culture, your care is bestial.In my house, the knives are almost sacred.She treats them better than anyone, so I trust her care, since she learned to sharpen them and possess different stones according to the needs of each one ".

If we are not yet convinced about the importance of having well sharp knives, Utset gives us the definitive reason: “You will cut onion and you will not cry.Do the test".