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.
