On the Cutting Edge

     I mentioned previously the advantage of having sharpened cutlery at the beginning of the new year.  Heading to the Internet I investigated the ways to accomplish that and discovered numerous methods for honing knives at home.  But they all assumed that I knew what I was doing.  I, however, do not.  And they were all expensive, carrying a price tag of over $150 for a sharpening devise .  So I continued to investigate the subject and came across two businesses that provided sharpening services.  One was in nearby Pennsburg, in northern Montgomery County.
     So equipped with the address and phone number and a box of dull knives I headed north to find 2260 E. Buck Road.  That sounded easy enough, however I soon discovered that East Buck Road does not intersect with Main Street as I supposed.  Instead it only appears about a mile out of town from Eighth Street.  Having overcome that diversion I was now looking for the street number only to find that there is no 2260 on East Buck Road.  I went up and down the street twice and finally decided to give a call to the number I had carried with me.  The voice on the phone acknowledged that I was on the correct road and very near his location.   In fact it was in what appeared to be an abandoned barn just behind me.  I turned around and pulled into the small parking area, trying to find an entry way.
     There was one small indistinguishable door that led into the establishment.  I cautiously opened it and found myself in a room filled with shelving containing innumerable trays of cutlery.  It was the kind of place where you needed a secret handshake to enter.  I was greeted by the man on the phone, the grandson of the founder, who looked over my knives and promptly called to one of the ten men in an adjacent windowless room to sharpen them.  In only a few moments they were returned to me with a keen edge.  The charge: $20.  A small price to pay for such a professional service.
     I returned home delighted with a set of knives that can perform the job they were intended to do.  I just hope I can remember how to get there next January.