D&D Sharpening Shop, owned by Dave Humphreys, recently opened in Francestown. Courtesy photo—

D&D Sharpening Shop, owned by Dave Humphreys, recently opened in Francestown. Courtesy photo—

D&D Sharpening Shop, owned by Dave Humphreys, recently opened in Francestown. Courtesy photo—

D&D Sharpening Shop, owned by Dave Humphreys, recently opened in Francestown. Courtesy photo—

D&D Sharpening Shop, owned by Dave Humphreys, recently opened in Francestown. Courtesy photo—

If it’s got an edge, Dave Humphreys will find a way to sharpen it.

For 35 years, Humphreys operated a sharpening shop out of his North Attleboro, Massachusetts home. He worked part time, nights and weekends, using equipment he bought off a longtime shop owner who was getting to retire.

Last September, Humphreys retired himself after a career as a technician for an auto sensors company, and planned on increasing his business to fill his newly found free time. But with his son, daughter-in-law and only grandchild living in Milford, Humphreys and his wife Debbie, decided to move to New Hampshire – Francestown to be more precise.

They relocated in July and with all of his customers close to 90 miles away, he knew if he wanted to continue his business, he’d have to start over.

“It will take some time,” Humphreys said.

But this wasn’t going to stop Humphreys from his plan to make sharpening “retirement gig.” So he bought a shed – an upgrade from when he used to do it in his basement – and got his workshop set up and opened D&D Sharpening at his Francestown home a couple weeks ago.

“In the past, my customer base has been homeowners and small businesses,” Humphreys said.

All those years ago, he was talking to a coworker about putting together a side business and they recommended sharpening, and buying out the closing business. Humphreys started with his own knives to work on his technique and then took on his neighbors outdoor equipment. It was the beginning of a 35 year relationship.

“I was fortunate my neighbor’s son was into landscaping because that first summer I sharpened all his tools for him,” Humphreys said.

Humphreys does a little bit of everything. He can sharpen household items like kitchen knives and scissors. He has worked with a lot of carpenters to sharpen carbide circular saw blades, as well as wood chisels, hand saws, tin snips and planer blades. And for the homeowners who do a lot of work to the outside of their property, Humphreys is your guy. He will restore chainsaw blades to their optimal condition, along with offering replacement blades and repair. Hedge clippers, pruning shears and lawnmower blades are also on his list of services.

“A knife will come in in a lot of different conditions,” Humphreys said, including nicks in the blade, bent tips and gauges, that he will repair.

No job is too big or two small. He’s had landscaping companies bring in all their equipment at the end of a long season, while others drop off a handful of kitchen knives. He'll even do hunting knives and pond skates.

“Just about anything that has to be sharpened,” Humphreys said.

A rule of thumb is two or three days “depending on what I have” but if its a small job and someone has to drive a distance to his shop, he’ll try and turn it around right away, if they don’t mind waiting. He’s even had people call on Thanksgiving morning to get that special carving knife sharpened.

“What I found with this business is that word of mouth is how it works. If you do a good job, before you know it, you have a big clientele,” Humphreys said.

As of now, Humphreys is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and people are free to just stop in with whatever they need done. If he’s not home, he has a drop off spot on his deck where customers can leave their items and fill out a tag.

“I believe in this business,” Humphreys said. “It’s a nice service for people.”

And he understands the importance of it.

“A dull knife is a very dangerous knife,” he said. “A sharp knife is actually safer because it does its job.”

Those interested can call or text Humphreys at (603) 213-4616 or visit www.facebook.com/ddsharpening for more.

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