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  • Jan-Michael Stump

    TONY VALERIO
June 16, 2008

Photo Story: Knife sharpener keeps the edge

Work allows Tony Valerio to get around the region

By JAN-MICHAEL STUMP

Passersby give strange looks to the white, unmarked van parked at a meter with its side door open, a loud, grinding noise emitting from the interior. That's where Tony Valerio sharpens knives and shears for chefs and hair stylists.

Valerio left a job in insurance to start his business and, as he put it, escape the shackles of a desk and meet new people. He spent about a day and a half with a professional, learning the basics of sharpening, and then learned the rest on his own. He frequently draws on his experience as a hair stylist in the sharpening of stylists' shears.

"It's the ones that weren't satisfied, who called me up and said this isn't working, that allowed me to learn."

Different clients have different needs and expectations.

"The same tool could be given to two different people. One might think it's (bad) and the other may think it's God's gift to their lives."

Valerio's van features a number of belt grinders, a flat hone he customized to be leveled wherever he's parked, buffers and a couple of Japanese whetstones.

"It's my mobile lemonade stand, but no one else has the type of lemonade I have."

Valerio covers an area roughly from Cadillac to Harbor Springs, and serves about 600 clients a year. He works on a four-week rotation to cover the areas, and recently had to implement a travel charge because of rising gas prices.

He calls ahead a week in advance to set up appointments. His schedule during the week is decided largely on his son Max, 5, whom he shares custody.

Eric Patterson, co-owner and chef at The Cook's House in Traverse City, has had Valerio sharpen the restaurant's knives. Valerio visits once every two months or so. The two met when Patterson was at Ciao Bella and Valerio stopped in to sharpen the staff's knives. Patterson took Valerio's card, but lost it before opening the Cook's House. Valerio came by shortly after the restaurant opened.

"He does a good job, he doesn't grind it down," Patterson said. "It's not easy to find someone who does a good job."

"A properly sharpened knife is as important as proper ingredients," said Patterson. "It would be like a mechanic working with the wrong tools."

For more photos, don't miss today's "Keeping the Edge" photo gallery.

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