WOLFF SHOW UPDATE

There are still seats available for the Wolff Show in Richmond, VA in a couple of weeks. So if you'd like to come, just give Wolff a call at 800-888-3832.

The host hotel is booked up already, but Bill has found a number of places you can stay at a reasonable price. Be sure to ask to talk to him if you decide to come. Here is a quick list of some of the things that will be covered at the show:

Hira-To Flat Hone
Twice as Sharp
Convexing on the Ookami Gold
Proper Sharpening of Right & Left Hand Shears
Thinning Shears
Corrugating on the Corru-Gator
Industrial Shears Sharpening
Pinking Shears
Forged vs Cast
Handle Bending
Setting Shears
Hammering Set
Building Sharpening Routes
Marketing & Selling Shears & Sundries
Coated & Painted Shears
Recognize a Bad Hollow Grind on a Beauty Shear
Repair Bad Inside Work
Recognize Welded Handles
Advantages of Different Handle Styles on Beauty Shears
How to Size a Shear to Your Customers Hand
and more...

Be sure to come if you can!

STREAMING LIVE

I have been playing with a site called Ustream over the past few days. I'm thinking about using it for logging sharpening and business tips as they come to me by recording them through this site. Writing has become more difficult for me because of added duties here at good ol' Wolff. :) So this is just something I'm trying so I can stay in touch better.

Anyway, this stream is live and I've included a video window at the bottom of the blog for you to view if you wish. If you scroll to the bottom and see the window has a play arrow in the middle of the box, that means I'm streaming live at that time. If you see my cartoon (long story) in the middle of the box, that means I'm not streaming at the moment. If you'd like to watch when the arrow is up and I'm streaming live, just click on the arrow and it will start the live stream for you. You won't even have to leave Jim Sharp. I also put a chat box below the video box for you to ask questions if you like. When you watch the video, I'm pretty sure you'll see some ad windows roll up into the bottom of the video. This is how UStream makes money, but if you don't want to see the ad box at the bottom, you can close it by clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner of the ad box. Scroll down to the bottom of this blog and give it a try.

THE DARKSIDE OF SHARPENING

"He's turned to the darkside. " Obi Wan said, speaking of his former student Anakin Skywalker. One of my favorite movie series is Star Wars, I just never thought I'd get to play the part of Obi Wan. Unfortunately, I am.

I started to write a whole post about what has happened with a former student of mine, but then thought the better of it. I don't want to give the shifty people of the world any ideas, and I have no idea who might be reading this. Instead, I'll be writing about it in On The Edge, the newsletter I write for the sharpening industry.

What I WOULD like to say here is integrity is everything in this business. The most important thing you can do as a sharpener is gain the trust of your customers. Once you have that trust, the second most important thing you need to do is keep it!

I've been sharpening for a long time. I love this business and those in it. It breaks my heart when I see a sharpener turn to the darkside. It hurts all of us when they do.

If you'd like to subscribe to On The Edge, give me a call at 864-909-3381. If I can't pick up when you call, just leave a message and I'll call you back. To find out more about On The Edge, click here.

Image: reelmovienews.com