Garrett Lorton, a former chef, wants to sharpen your knives
Beyond creating incredible food, Garrett Lorton had another priority in his 20 years of working in the culinary arts.
“I always liked having the sharpest knife in the kitchen,” Lorton said. “It was like a pride thing. My chefs would always walk by and grab one of my knives to do stuff. It just progressed into learning how to sharpen knives really, really well.”
Now, the Clark County resident wants to make sure your knives are sharp … and safe.
Lorton has opened Garrett’s Knives, and he will sharpen just about anything.
“Scissors, garden shears, loppers, chisels, hair clippers, axes, hatchets, anything with a blade,” he said. “I’m getting into chainsaw blades.”
(He is also dabbling into making knives, but for now, the business is sharpening knives.)
Lorton left the kitchen a little more than a year ago. He has arthritis in his ankles, and his medical team said if he wanted to be able to walk by the time he was 50, the 40-year-old had to stop cooking.
“You’re standing for 12 hours a day,” Lorton said.
He still appreciates the art and science behind cooking, though. And the tools needed to prepare food.
“I figured I could sharpen knives,” Lorton said. “It’s a skill not a lot of people have, and it’s something people need, especially with Covid. You’re home now. You’re cooking more. You’re using knives you don’t normally use. A sharp knife is a safe knife.”
That’s the business philosophy right there: A sharp knife is a safe knife.
“If you cut yourself with a dull knife, it’s going to tear,” Lorton said. “A sharp knife will cut you, and that’s it.”
A dull knife makes one work a little harder to make a cut, which leads to potential danger.
“Because it’s dull, you have to press harder, and if you’re pressing harder, it’s just going to rip you right open,” if there is an accident. “But a sharp knife, you’re not pressing harder. If it does hit you, it will slice you open, but it’s not going to be near as jagged, and it will heal quicker.”
Garrett’s Knives has a Facebook page to show potential customers his rates as well as where he will set up on weekends, for example. (He was at a large garage sale last week.) He also will pick up knives. For more information, go to: https://www.facebook.com/Garrettsknifesharpening. Or email: Garrettsknives@gmail.com. Phone: (503) 341-2917.
