Check Out Sandy Smith – SharpXperts

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra Smith.  

Hi Sandra, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was young, my dad had a huge influence on me. I remember him teaching me to do all kinds of little things, for example, whittling and carving shapes out of wood with a knife. He was a handyman and from my young eyes, he could do just about anything! But most importantly of all, he taught me to appreciate nature, creation, and the Grand Creator of all things. Thus, I came to love arts & crafts, working with my hands, and developing a passionate interest in the inspired word of the Almighty God who has a name, Jehovah. He became very real to me, although how was I going to make a living? The money seemed to be with computers, so I got my associate degree in computer programming only to discover that I did not want to end up in a cubicle full-time for the rest of my life. Nor did I want to live to work. 

I started thinking about life goals, what my parents had taught me and decided that my focus needed to change for me not to have regrets. I chose to work to live! I turned down 2 prominent programming jobs and started performing a variety of other services part-time to support my full-time ministry. Along the way, I developed a real thrill and passion for helping others by teaching Bible truths! I desired to do even more, which led me to learning Spanish and then Portuguese. And there started my travels all over Central America, Europe, Portugal, the Azores, and more. I lived an amazing life in Nicaragua for 3 years doing volunteer missionary-type work, opening my eyes to a world that I never knew existed! I was there to teach, but I was the number 1 student. I learned so much from the humility of the culture and the individuals that had near to nothing and yet were happy and hungry to learn about the marvelous promises from the Bible that gave them such strong faith and hope, enabling them to endure circumstances that most of us here will never see in our lifetime. I returned home a changed person. My eyes had been opened to the beauty of simplicity in life! So, I have continued to work part-time, leaving me the flexibility to still focus on teaching free interactive bible courses to individuals yearning for the answers to life’s big questions. 

Amongst those jobs, Court Interpreting and owning an interpreting agency were thrilling opportunities for me since I had personally experienced the insecurities and fears of living in another country as a foreigner while learning the language. With time, however, the competitive spirit in that world of business sadly took out the heart of it all for me. I sold that business and flew to Africa as an invited delegate for a special international convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Once again, that was just the energizing shot in the arm that I needed to refocus. 

I moved back home to Durham, longing to get closer to family and settle down a bit from my travels and to help my aged parents. Then covid hit the world causing me to lose the part-time jobs that I had. Health problems started to creep into my life making sedentary jobs with a lot of sitting difficult anyways, and I found myself without work during covid for 6 months in a bit of a panic state. “What to do?” was now the question.? No longer being able to perform sedentary computer or administrative type duties due to my sleep disorders, it was time to think out of the box as to what I could do that wasn’t so competitive, allowing me to stay on my feet, keep busy at work and all while still supporting my volunteer ministry work. 

I thought about a friend of mine who sharpens salon shears nearby. I always thought, what a cool and unusual job! My sister-in-law has worked with 5-star chefs in the local area of Durham, and we would always talk food and knives as I, too, am a passionate “home” cook. I thought, hey, why not sharpen knives!? The thought took me back to my childhood while whittling and carving out in the backyard with my dad 😊 

After much research, although predominantly a “male profession”, I thought, I can do that! I found this gentleman in NJ that had a newspaper article written about him, Warren Glazer! He started out as a jeweler and then became a professional sharpener of 30 some years. So, off to NJ, I went. I learned so much from him, and he became a wonderful mentor. He and his wife even came to visit me to see my little “she-shed” shop that I worked out of. That meant the world to me. Since learning from Warren, I have traveled to South Carolina to learn to sharpen Salon Shears and to Arkansas to learn how to sharpen grooming scissors and clipper blades. I now sharpen all types of scissors, including surgical scissors and instruments. 

Honestly, never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that sharpening would sustain me. I’m not rich by any means! Some months, I just barely get by. But what a blessing this profession has been! It allows me to work from my own garage in my backyard, care for my parents, support my passion of teaching free interactive bible courses, and I even have amazing conversations with my awesome and interesting customers that show curiosity in what brought me to where I am. Who knew that this is where I belong! 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It was not a smooth road, for sure. The biggest struggle for me was starting a business like this during covid while out of work as I have never left a job prior to having one to transition to first. Then being predominantly a male profession and frankly so far out of the box for me, I feared that my friends and family would think I had lost my mind, LOL. Surprisingly the one who stood behind me as my biggest supporter was my dear sweet mom! So, having her for support was great but the desperation of needing this to work yet not having a clue as to what the outcome would be was truly unnerving. Then, of course, like everything, there is the financial struggle of starting a business and the amount of money it takes to invest. But this time I was exhausting my savings to invest in something I was just learning and therefore was completely unsure of. Being the conservative person that I am, it was all a real leap of faith for me. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I feel that I have an artistic/creative personality. I do love to draw, paint, sew, occasionally write poetry when I get inspired, etc… So, sharpening and restoring things has become an art for me as well. I never imagined there was so much to learn about the hardness and layers of the metals and how this determines the type of angle that an edge can withstand etc. I’m very detail-oriented, so I often spend more time on an item than what I charge for, but it is all fascinating to me and has truly become like a hobby. I love it! 

I think I’m most proud of the fact that against all the odds, I did not allow the unpopularity of being a female in my 50s doing this deter me from following through with it! I love to see the initial look on the faces of the guys when they drop off their expensive pocket & tactical knives verses the pleasantly surprised look when they come back to pick them up! Although I sharpen other things, I think this is why I have become known as the “female knife sharpener.” 

Although I sharpen many things… I specialize in knives and all types of scissors, including surgical scissors and instruments. Gradually I have taken on more commercial work and am so thankful to say that I sharpen for some restaurants, catering companies, animal hospitals, laboratories, research companies, rehab facilities, and even some bigger industries. 

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Dad & Mom – Biggest Supporters, of course! 

Bill Stuart – Like a second dad to me, he researched this field as he was in his final stages of cancer and made it his determination to convince me of all the reasons why he thought this was a brilliant idea to support my real career as a Bible Teacher in his words. I’m only sorry that he did not live to see it become a reality. But I know he would be so proud. 

Janet Meyer – She was the one responsible for initially inspiring me to get into this field, whether she knows it or not, simply because I thought her job as a salon shear sharpener (which I had never heard of) was so super cool and ingenious. 

Warren Glazer – My first inspirational Mentor that convinced me I could be a success at this profession. 

Jeffrey Andrews – Another mentor and instructor that was an educator at a sharpener’s jam I attended. 

Wolfe Industries – A company that took me in and trained me along with supplying me with my favorite machine thus far. 

Heather Creatives Website Designer – A good friend and wonderfully talented web designer who helped get my name out to the public and bring in the customers. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sharpxperts.com/
• Instagram: SharpXperts.NC
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SharpXperts
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sharpxperts-durham
• Other: https://www.bbb.org/us/nc/durham/profile/sharpening/sharpxperts-0593-90328420
• If Interested In The Free Interactive Bible Course: Call Me or Go to:JW.ORG