From a first restaurant account to a full route van, every edge sharp and every job logged.
Curated starter gear · buy direct from trusted retailers · no markup
Start on the Manual Core tier so you can sharpen and land your first restaurant and butcher accounts for a couple hundred dollars total. Once you have a recurring route booking loads of blades, reinvest the cash into a wet grinder and van power so you can turn edges faster and take bigger accounts. Buy sharp, prove it, then scale to powered gear.
Typical starter cost: $410–$3200
| Item | Price | |
|---|---|---|
Dual-grit Japanese water stone set (1000/6000 grit) The workhorse for repairing and refining kitchen edges King | $30–$55 | Shop → |
Coarse 220/400 grit repair water stone Fast steel removal for chipped and badly dull blades Shapton / Norton | $40–$90 | Shop → |
Fixed-angle guided sharpening system Repeatable exact edge angles for consistent pro results Edge Pro Apex | $180–$320 | Shop → |
Ceramic and steel honing rods (12 in) Realign and finish edges chefs expect after service Idahone / Victorinox | $25–$55 | Shop → |
Stone flattening plate (diamond lapping plate) Keeps water stones flat so edges stay accurate Atoma / DMT | $40–$90 | Shop → |
Edge sharpness tester card set Prove before/after sharpness to clients objectively BESS / Edge On Up | $15–$35 | Shop → |
| Item | Price | |
|---|---|---|
Fine leather strop with polishing compound Final polish that removes the burr and screams sharp BeaverCraft / generic | $20–$45 | Shop → |
Honing / polishing compound assortment (green, white) Different grits for stropping to a mirror edge Ryobi / generic buffing compound set | $12–$30 | Shop → |
Cut-resistant sharpening gloves (Level A9) Protect hands while testing and handling live edges all day NoCry / Dowellife | $12–$25 | Shop → |
Portable folding work table / bench Stable on-site sharpening station at any account Keter / Worx Pegasus | $45–$110 | Shop → |
Water spray bottles + microfiber towels bulk Keep stones wet and blades clean and dry between passes generic | $15–$30 | Shop → |
Knife roll / blade transport case Safely carry client blades to and from the van Messermeister | $30–$70 | Shop → |
| Item | Price | |
|---|---|---|
Rolling tool case / gear cart Wheel your full kit into restaurants and markets DEWALT ToughSystem / Milwaukee Packout | $90–$200 | Shop → |
Numbered blade tags / return tag system Track whose knife is whose across a batch route generic laundry / tool ID tags | $10–$25 | Shop → |
Thermal receipt / label printer (Bluetooth) Print invoices and blade tags on-site MUNBYN / Rollo | $60–$140 | Shop → |
Mobile card reader Take payment at the account, no waiting on invoices Square | $50–$60 | Shop → |
| Item | Price | |
|---|---|---|
Variable-speed wet sharpening grinder Turn full restaurant batches far faster than by hand Tormek T-8 | $700–$950 | Shop → |
Belt grinder / knife sharpening belt sander Reprofile heavily damaged blades and scissors quickly Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition | $150–$300 | Shop → |
Portable power station / inverter (1000W+) Run powered grinders anywhere without shore power Jackery Explorer 1000 | $600–$1000 | Shop → |
Scissor and shear sharpening attachment kit Add salon and butcher shears as a revenue line Work Sharp / Tormek accessory | $40–$120 | Shop → |
Van work bench with vise and lighting A fixed in-van station for a full mobile shop WEN / generic workbench | $120–$280 | Shop → |
Run the business, not just the gear. The kit gives you the spreadsheet back-office; the course teaches you to price, win clients, and scale.
Get the ops kit See the full courseEvery item here is the beginner-right version — not the cheapest junk that fails on job two, not the pro overkill you don't need yet. It's the exact loadout taught in the course.