Putting in the reps

Focus, hand-eye coordination, speed, muscle memory, looking and planning ahead, memorization. Practice, practice, practice. Putting in the reps. Getting the times down. Seeing the results.

Knife sharpening has a lot in common with my other obsession. I’ve been solving the 3×3 Rubik’s cube since 2013. 10-20 solves a day at least, thousands of solves over the years. Slowly gaining the experience and skills where it’s just automatic. I’ll never be Felix Zemdegs, but I can try.

I don’t quite have the numbers when it comes to knives sharpened, but I’ve got a few hundred (OK, more like 2,212 according to my spreadsheet. What??!!) And this is really just small potatoes. I realize that to get to truly expert status, it’s going to take thousands of hours, tens of thousands of knives, maybe even a lifetime to reach master level. I still have so much to learn. More practice.

When I first started solving the cube it was tedious business. Knife sharpening was the same way. It took hours to get through an order. It was getting to the point where I was debating whether this was going to be worth my time, but I stuck with it, and it got easier. Found my process, equipment, and systems. A lot of “Aha!” moments.

A funny thing happened along the way. I learned to enjoy it too. I enjoy the process and seeing the results. I especially love hearing from satisfied customers and getting their feedback and reactions. It’s fun, I dare say (not as fun as the cube though).