A rare knife grinder

VietNamNet Bridge – “Knife, scissors sharpening service, please”, the old man was riding on an old bicycle while inviting people to bring him their knives and scissors with his loud, husky voice.

20 years living on knives and scissors

20 years is long enough for Mr. Vinh and his bicycle to get wonky. But to survive, the old man still has to travel to all markets in Hanoi on his old bicycle with an old wood box containing some pieces of grindstone and a plastic box containing water.

“I’m alone so I have to ride on this bicycle to markets to grind knives to earn my living. One day absent and I’ll starve,” Vinh said.

Vinh said there was a golden time for knife grinders, over one decade ago, when he only needed to go to two markets to earn enough money for the day.

Vinh said at that time Chinese knives and knife grinding devices were rare so all butchers had to use knife grinding service. He was the familiar “partner” of butchers at big markets in Hanoi, for example Hom market.

“It was so easy to earn money that I didn’t think of saving. Now I’m bare-handed,” Vinh said.

Nowadays, life is hard for knife grinders like Vinh, when stainless steel knives and grinders are sold everywhere.

Vinh gave up this job to work as a cyclo rider but he finally returned to his old job.

Old job in capital city

“Knife, scissors grinding, please!”, once heard on every road and in every market in Hanoi, has nearly disappeared. Sometimes at the corner of a small market, one can see an old man who is grinding knives for butchers, but the sound of knife grinders has been considerably muted and the knife grinding trade, nearly extinguished.

Duc, a knife grinder of 10 years experience, complained: “Nobody thinks of grinding their knives now because stainless steel knives are sold everywhere. If knives get blunt, they quickly throw them away to buy a new one. Only butchers are using iron knives.”

Duc praised iron knives, which are forged at forging furnaces, saying: “Iron knives are not nice-looking but they are forged with good iron. Stainless steel knives are shiny but they are very poor in quality. But they are favoured! That’s strange!”

Tich, a knife grinder from Thai Binh province, said: “I’m trying to earn several tens of thousands dong per day. Tradition iron knives are no longer favoured. We are going to lose our job.”

PV