Starting a Sharpening Business: Karl's success as a bandsaw blade sharpener

Looking to start your own bandsaw blade sharpening service? This sawyer shares how he did it

What do you do when you have a portable sawmill but no way to sharpen blades?

You get yourself the Woodland Mills RS8 Bandsaw Blade Sharpener like Karl did, but he took it one step further.

This Ontario-based sawyer has created his own sharpening business, sharpening the blades of many sawmill owners across his home region of Sudbury and Manitoulin Island. Sharpening became such a serious business for him that he ended up getting both the RS8 and the RS30 PRO Sharpener too.

Other sawyers looking for blade sharpenings say to Karl "do I have to wait three or four days, or do I have to wait a week?" By contrast, when he sharpens blades for his customers "they're in and out," he says.

So how did all this start and what's Karl's secret to success?

A sawyer in need of sharp blades

Like many sawyers, Karl found himself in need of sharp blades to keep his Woodland Mills HM126 running. The sawyer and acreage owner runs his own sawmill business, God's Country Live Edge Wood Milling, where he makes rounds and live-edge slabs for his customers, who turn them into charcuterie boards or decorations for weddings.

Karl says it's so satisfying when customers send him photos or videos showing the end results from his milling, and it's that satisfaction that's kept him going.

Originally Karl was going to a business that sharpened his blades, but the sawyer says he wasn't really pleased with the results.

"You take in five blades, maybe two would come back sharp. So I got tired of that," he says.

So instead he drove down to the Woodland Mills headquarters in Port Perry and got himself an RS8. Now he was able to service his blades and keep them in use, and ensure they were always sharp when he needed them.

But he figured if he needed blades, why didn't others? After all there were plenty of other sawyers on Manitoulin Island where Karl has a hunting camp.

So he started offering to sharpen blades for others and quickly built up a customer base.

When he'd drive back home to Sudubury from Manitoulin, he'd pick up blades from his customers, sharpen them at home and then drop them off when he returned.

It was a good business and his customers were very happy with the results, but Karl wanted more. That's when he got the RS30 PRO Sharpener, to speed up his results.

"That was a game changer," says Karl. "It puts such a fine, sharp edge on the teeth."

Since the RS30 runs more than three times faster than the RS8, Karl says he's able to have more blades in service and get them back on their bandsaw mills in no time.

Sometimes the RS30 works so fast that customers doubt Karl when he says they're sharp.

"Customers are just like 'did they actually sharpen it?' And I'm like, yeah and they can watch it go around."

The tools of the trade

All of Karl's customers walk away happy and are more than eager to return to him for their next batch of sharp blades, knowing they'll turn up right every time.

Karl says he's almost tempted to get another RS30 PRO Sharpener, just to double his output.

When it comes to starting your own sharpening business, there's a lot of potential money on the table from customers. Here's a few pieces of advice:

• • Know your audience: Talk to local sawyers and see if there's a demand for sharpening services in your area.

  • Market yourself: Karl posted ads on Marketplace to find customers, so think about a similar strategy.

  • Make a plan: Look at the logistics of dropping off/picking up blades and your workshop space for running a sharpening business.

  • Get the right tools: Get a sharpener that will do the work you need at the output your customer's require.

  • Look at room for expanding: Now that you're able to offer sharpening services to your customers, maybe take your mill on the road and offer portable milling too?

Karl says he's not just a sharpener, but a paid sawyer too, turning wood from his property into whatever his customers need. It means that every part of his sawmill experience, from the sawmill itself to his bandsaw blade sharpener, is making money for him.

What's next?

Karl says he has no trouble making money with his Woodland Mills machines.

From his sawmill he's able to make dozens of rounds at a time and turn each one into revenue.

"I got customers from artists to master carpenters, hobbyists, that do art," says Karl. "I'll do little rounds for kids in daycares and schools."

And when it comes to his sharpener, he knew there would be people nearby who were like him: sawyers in need of sharp blades to keep their mills running.

Karl says he's continuing to grow his business and his Woodland Mills lineup. He's got a Multilander Trailer and a TFG55 GAS Wood Chipper for cleaning up his property.

Now he can keep his property clean on top of helping other sawyers with their projects by keeping their mills running.

Karl is consistently sharing his adventures in the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook group, where every day sawyers and acreage owners are sharing tips, advice and works-in-progress of everything they're working on.

Interested in seeing more sawyers like Karl? Check out the Facebook group and see what everyone is doing with their Woodland Mills products.