Friday, October 23, 2015

Have You Seen the New Wolff Scissors Sharpener?

(If you are reading this in your email inbox, click on the Title above to see the complete post.)

So...have you seen the new Wolff Twice as Sharp® scissors sharpener? There are a few new features. Take a look below:


Wolff as raised the height of the motor base a bit to incorporate a new riser block. This new feature helps with positioning the sharpening arm in the correct position, and it allows you to tighten and loosen the arm from the top of the machine. No more flipping the machine over to tighten your arm back up!


Here's the arm moved over for easy transport in a case.


Wolff also added one other great feature to this new unit, vacuum ports.


Simply add collars (sold separately) to the ports to attach a vacuum unit and the suction that will come trough your end-bells will help take some of the dust out of your work area.*

If you have questions about this new motor or it's pricing give me a call at 864-381-8697 or email me at otenews@gmail.com and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have. As always, thanks for reading and thanks for being my customer. 

*This does not remove all dust! You should still wear a dust mask when sharpening.     

Friday, September 18, 2015

Last Call for Early Bird Special for Wolff/Edge Pro Show

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This is the final call to sign up for the Wolff/ Edge Pro Show before the price goes up! We are extending the early bird discount until the end of day on Tuesday, September 22nd since the actually deadline falls on a Sunday. There are still a few seats left, so if you'd like to come be sure to take advantage of the discount. To find out more about the show, click on the link below.

http://jimsharp.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-2015-wolff-edge-pro-sharpening.html 

PS - We will be posting the finalized schedule next week.

Monday, August 17, 2015

The 2015 Wolff - Edge Pro Sharpening Convention

(If you are reading this in your email inbox, click on the Title above to see the complete post.)

Wolff and The Edge Pro have scheduled their second combo show for the 2015 season. It will be held on Saturday, October 17th and Sunday, October 18th at the Nugget Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. The show times will be 9am - 6pm on Saturday, and 9am - 3pm on Sunday. The price to attend is just $89 if you sign up by September 20th, and then $109 thereafter. Seating will be limited to 50. The price includes access to all seminars. 

There will be a number of seminars just like at past Wolff Shows. I will be doing in-depth training on the Hira-To®, the Ookami Gold®, the Twice as Sharp®, and the Corru-Gator. Throughout all of these seminars I’ll be including some shears that will be pretty beat up so I can show some repair work as well. So whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned sharpener, you should find my presentations interesting. Jason Sturm will be training on clipper blade sharpening and clipper repair. He will walk everyone through a wide variety of clippers so be sure to bring a notebook and any questions you may have.

If you’d like to come, keep two things in mind:
1. Since seating is limited to just 50 the show will fill up fast. As of the printing of this issue there are already 25 signed up for the show. So please DO NOT WAIT if you want to attend. Call 800-888-3832 to reserve your seat and get the discounted price now!
2. The Nugget Hotel and Casino has blocked a number of rooms for us at a special price. The room discounts are as follows:
Single or Double Room (Sun-Thur) - $49.00 + Tax
Single or Double Room (Fri-Sat) - $69.00 + Tax

The only other charge is a $10.00 per night resort fee. This includes:

Wireless Internet
Shuttle Service
Pool
Fitness Center
Concierge Service
Parking
The number for the hotel is 800-648-1177. Be sure to ask for the Wolff Industries rate when you call.  

I hope to see many of you there. If you are new to the industry these shows are excellent for giving you ideas on how to grow and expand your business. For those of us that have been at this a while, it’s always good to refresh ourselves and catch up with our friends and fellow sharpeners.

Also, if you’re looking for a great way to write off a vacation, this area of the country is beautiful. Lake Tahoe is just a short trip from Reno as well as many other fun and exciting destinations. The food is great and the entertainment in Reno is top notch. If you’ve never been, it’s kind of like a little Las Vegas, just without all the...well...other stuff that comes with Vegas.

Give me a call at 864-381-8697 or email me at otenews@gmail.com if you have any questions about the show or anything else. As always, thanks for supporting both me and Wolff.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Coming to the NBTSG?

Coming to the NBTSG? If so, just a heads up that I'll be doing a new class there this year. There's been a bit of a miscommunication in the literature going out in box stuffers about this though. I will be doing a class on Friday morning, but it won't be on the TAS, Ookami®, and Hira-To®. It will be on using a flat hone and Ookami® in conjunction with one another to create an edge that will set you apart from your competition. I will also be going over how to increase speed when repairing an improperly sharpened convex shear and free hand sharpening. This class will be unique and new. If you're interested, give me a call at 864-381-8697 or email me at otenews@gmail.com and I'll go over all the details.

PS - If you're in the market for Wolff sharpening equipment, give me a call at 864-381-8697 and mention this code: 072415. Thanks as always for your business. Talk to you soon.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Sharpeners Jam

I'm headed to the Sharpeners Jam this weekend. If you're in the area stop by. It's always good to get together with my fellow sharpeners.


Saturday, July 4, 2015

Friday, April 3, 2015

WOLFF/ EDGE PRO SHOW REPORT

(If you are viewing this in your email inbox, please click on the Title Link above to view the complete post.)

Also, I'm sorry about that old post that showed up in your inbox the other day. I was repairing a broken link and had a hiccup. :) Here's a quick run down of how the Wolff/ Edge Pro Show went.


Well it's been about two weeks since I've gotten back from the Wolff/ Edge Pro Show. Questions we asked our packed house: "Was it fun?" "Absolutely!" "Did you learn a lot?" "I learned a bunch!" "Was it worth the time and expense?" "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." We heard many more positive comments besides these and all-in-all we would say it was an excellent show. We received many accolades on our teaching, the sharing from the audience was the biggest help of all, and finally, the tour was great. It’s always helpful to see how companies like Edge Pro do their day-to-day business and how we as sharpeners can incorporate some of these processes into our businesses to make them better.


We started the show off with an introduction of all of Jason's crew. The nice thing about having a show close to home, like Jason had this year, is the ability to have everyone from the shop at the show; making it possible for people to put faces with names. Many of you have spoken to Ronnie, Brandon, Emily, Phil, and the rest of the crew on the phone. Those who attended the show had spoken to them too, but this was the first time many of them met them face-to-face. This is always a treat for everyone.


After introductions, we moved on to clipper blade sharpening. By far this was one of the best clipper blade sharpening presentations I've seen. Jason talked about the benefits of different grits, proper plate taper, how to properly test your blades on a rub block, correct sharpening pressure, and proper sharpening technique. While listening I picked up quite a few teaching techniques that will help me as an instructor. One in particular included a matchbox car like you see in this picture. Jason uses this car, along with a scale, to teach proper pressure when sharpening. Great teaching and practice trick.


After the clipper blade sharpening presentation I had the opportunity to teach on the basics of sharpening. I taught on all three of the Wolff style scissors sharpeners. We started with the Twice a Sharp®. Then moved on to the Ookami Gold®. Then finally we worked with the Hira-To®. Occasionally at the shows I like to go back to the very basics of sharpening because that's the most important thing all of us can do as sharpeners, go back to the basics.


We finished up Saturday’s classes with an in-depth look at the Andis® master clipper. Jason and Ronnie ripped this unit down, parted it out, showed all the tricks of how to repair different problems that creep up, and then rebuilt the clipper for everyone. It was an excellent class.

On Sunday we started the day with advanced scissor sharpening. In particular, my main focus was on the Hira-to® and hollow ground/convex shears. Topics included shear assessment, how to address edge repairs, how to correct inside work, how to address set, tip, and other issues that come up in shear sharpening, and also when to walk away or suggest a new shear. Never an easy thing to do because we all want to be able to fix everything, don't we? My biggest focus was on the inside work. This is the most important part of sharpening high-end styling shears, and/or grooming shears. I will be addressing this specific topic again at the Sharpener's Report Show this month. We finished the day ripping down more clippers, both Oster® and Andis®, showing a number of tricks to make repairs faster and easier, and how to quickly assess each problem to increase profitability.


Here's a shots of the tour that took place at the Edge Pro on Saturday afternoon. I didn't get to take many pictures because I spent most of my time there answering questions. I did do a full video tour before I left, and that will be up soon on my Blog and YouTube channel. I'll be posting that sometime this month, if you'd like to see that, keep an eye on www.jimsharp.blogspot.com and/or www.youtube.com/jimsharpblog.

Also, I always try to write on my biggest take away from the show. My biggest takeaway was a clipper blade sharpening trick, and involved in earth magnet. See the article in the SideBar on page 9 to see this neat little tip (Interested in learning this tip? Order On The Edge at: http://otenewsletter.com/how-to-order-on-the-edge/). It'll make sharpening slippery cutter blades and thick blades like 3/4 blades a cinch.


Thanks to all that were able to come to the show. It's a joy to be able to host these get togethers. Were Jason and I tired when it was done? You bet! Was it worth every minute of the time and preparation? Absolutely! Some of our favorite things to do in this industry is help, teach, and learn; and we get the benefits of all three just like you when we host these shows. Thanks for letting us serve you.

Interested in when we will be doing this again? That’ll be October. Where? At the Nugget in Reno, NV. What dates? October 17-18. For more info see the show list in the Sidebar on page 3 in On The Edge.

If you're in the market for any of the Wolff  sharpening machines, be sure to give me a call before you buy. I know all the best places to buy at the best price! Call 864-381-8697 or email me at otenews@gmail.com.

If you came to this show and have any questions, please shoot me an email at otenews@gmail.com. If you’d like to find out more about the upcoming shows I’ll be speaking at, please do the same. Looking forward to seeing many of you in Hickory. 

Friday, February 13, 2015

The Wolff/ Edge Pro Show is Almost Full

UPDATE: The show is now officially full! Thanks to all that signed up. We are still working on our waiting list though, so if you're interested in coming call 800-888-3832. You never know, a seat may come open.

In On The Edge and Wolff Prints you've seen that Wolff and The Edge Pro have scheduled their first combo show for the 2015 season. It will be held on Saturday, March 14th and Sunday, March 15th at the Best Western Hotel in Ankeny, Iowa. The show times will be 9am - 6pm on Saturday, and 9am - 3pm on Sunday. The price to attend is just $89 if you sign up by February 20th, and then $109 thereafter. Seating will be limited to 50 and as of this writing there are only 2 seats left. After those fill we start a waiting list. The price includes access to all seminars and tours. Call 800-888-3832 to save your seat. 

At many of these shows Wolff offers a door prize. This time we have a special one, a black Twice as Sharp®. Why is it black? Wolff announce last month that they are having to re-cut their molds for the Twice as Sharp® housing. Every time we do this we change the color. (Last time was 1998) Black was one of the colors we tried along with red and yellow. Red was the winner. Who is eligible to win this prize? Anyone who signs up before the February 20th price increase deadline and in attendance at the show, so if you’ve signed up already you’re name is in the hat. If you haven’t, you now have another reason to sign up ASAP. 


There will be a number of seminars just like at past Wolff Shows. I will be doing in-depth training on the Hira-To®, the Ookami Gold®, the Twice as Sharp®, and the Corru-Gator. Throughout all of these seminars I’ll be including some shears that will be pretty beat up so I can show some repair work as well. So whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned sharpener, you should find my presentations interesting. Jason Sturm and Bob Schiessl will be teaming up to do clipper blade training, and Jason and his staff will be training on clipper repair. He will walk everyone through a wide variety of clippers so be sure to bring a notebook and any questions you may have. (Schedule will be out soon)

If you’re coming the Best Western has blocked a number of rooms for us at a special price. The room discounts are as follows: Single Queen - $70.54 + Tax, Double Queen or King - $79.04 + Tax, Double Queen Pool Side - $87.54 + Tax (Pool side rooms have been newly remodeled.) This room rate includes parking and a full hot breakfast at the hotel restaurant. The number for the hotel is 515-964-1717. Be sure to ask for the Wolff/ Edge Pro rate when you call. Also, the Fairfield Inn that is just across the street where Jason has his students stay is also discounting rooms for this event. Their room rate is $70.00 + tax and comes with free parking and a hot continental breakfast. This is a newer hotel. The hotel number is 515-965-8400, ask for the Edge Pro Rate. Both hotels are nice, you’ll just have to decide whether you want to stay at the event hotel or across the street.

Part of the show will also include a tour of The Edge Pro. Come and see Jason’s shop and meet his crew. Come see how they operate their business and perhaps take home some new ideas you can incorporate into your own business. 

I hope to see many of you there. If you are new to the industry these shows are excellent for giving you ideas on how to grow and expand your business. For those of us that have been at this a while, it’s always good to refresh ourselves and catch up with our friends and fellow sharpeners. Give me a call at 800-888-3832 if you have any questions.