Every Monday morning at the Mirepoix Market there is a knife sharpening vendor with his equipment set up under a couvert near a particular restaurant. He always has a bunch of customer's knives sitting on his bench, along with scissors, pruners and anything else you can sharpen with a grinding wheel. Customers leave their knives and shop for awhile and give him time to work on them. The wheel operates with an ancient pedal mechanisim, like a treadle sewing machine.
Today I took my folding knife to him for its first ever professional sharpening, and here is the "gentleman" working on it. I use "gentleman" in quotes only because he looks like a bald headed pirate, or a character from a movie about the apocolypse. But regardless of his appearance, he is a gentleman. He always has a hand rolled cigarette hanging from his mouth and sports a billy goat's beard. His fingers are knobby and calloused and he's always nursing beer sitting on his grinding wheel frame, no matter that it is ten o'clock in the morning.
I'm glad to report that the knife is like new, in fact, much sharper than it was when I bought it five years ago. Definitely worth the 2 euro. Click on 'em to enlarge 'em.
Every Monday morning at the Mirepoix Market there is a knife sharpening vendor with his equipment set up under a couvert near a particular restaurant. He always has a bunch of customer's knives sitting on his bench, along with scissors, pruners and anything else you can sharpen with a grinding wheel. Customers leave their knives and shop for awhile and give him time to work on them. The wheel operates with an ancient pedal mechanisim, like a treadle sewing machine.
Today I took my folding knife to him for its first ever professional sharpening, and here is the "gentleman" working on it. I use "gentleman" in quotes only because he looks like a bald headed pirate, or a character from a movie about the apocolypse. But regardless of his appearance, he is a gentleman. He always has a hand rolled cigarette hanging from his mouth and sports a billy goat's beard. His fingers are knobby and calloused and he's always nursing beer sitting on his grinding wheel frame, no matter that it is ten o'clock in the morning. 
I'm glad to report that the knife is like new, in fact, much sharper than it was when I bought it five years ago. Definitely worth the 2 euro. Click on 'em to enlarge 'em.
4 comments:
I'm just making this comment so you know someone's reading! Glad you guys made it over safely.
You must be the only one.
Looks like the Montrose Andorrans are getting back into the flow in France starting with a trip to the Mirepoix market.
Hi Guys: Thanks for reminding me to take the secateurs for a sharpening when we go to Mirepoix next Monday.
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