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Marius the professional traveling kitchen knife sharpener from Paris

If you live in Paris or visit the French capitol often maybe you have passed by a rather peculiar vehicle that roams the streets and boulevards… It’s Marius’ on-site knife sharpening truck. Marius works 24/7 in Paris, traveling to restaurants and hair salons to professionally sharpen their kitchen knives and scissor blades. The following is an original portrait of a passionate individual that is reviving an old-fashioned trade.

Marius the professional traveling kitchen knife sharpener from Paris

Marius the traveling Parisian knife sharpener and his astonishing car!

Reviving the concept of traveling knife sharpeners

Make way for Marius, the famous traveling knife sharpener that has been criss-crossing the streets of Paris offering his knife sharpening services for the past several years.

Didier Mouche, who goes by the nickname Marius, drives in his easily recognizable black London taxi wearing a street urchin cap. His taxi is equipped with an entire grinding workshop, which allows him to continue a trade from an era long gone.

Most of the younger generations probably do not know what the blade sharpening trade is, whereas the older generations must stare in awe at this throwback to a profession that was once very common throughout France.

A truly amazing vehicle!

Marius, the traveling knife sharpener from Paris, has all of the tools necessary to complete his first-rate work at his disposal inside of his specially equipped car:

  • A sink attached to a water tank
  • A generator
  • A folding seat that allows him to sit in front of a round detachable table
  • Numerous grinders and sharpeners for a wide variety of kitchen knives and blades.

His car is stocked with everything he needs to keep his ever-growing list of clients happy. These clients are ecstatic because Marius offers them his on-site sharpening services so that they can have their cutting objects maintained easily without leaving their homes or shops!

More than just knife sharpening services!

As a large portion of Marius’ clientele are hair stylists, his workshop-on-wheels is also equipped with a special grinder that was created for contemporary sewing and hair cutting scissors. One of Marius’ favorite mottos is: “Modern equipment for an old-fashioned trade.”

Marius’ savoir-faire: Sharpening kitchen knives and a wide variety of blades

A retired chef with a prestigious Rolodex

In a few short years Marius the traveling knife sharpener has made a name for himself in Paris.

His list of clients includes the Moulin Rouge, the chef Cyril Lignac’s restaurants Le Quinzième and Le Chardenoux and Thierry Marx’s restaurant Le Mandarin Oriental. Paris’ best restaurants and major companies trust Marius to sharpen their kitchen knives. Marius is an expert at making chef’s knives, paring knives, peeling knives and other Japanese knives as sharp as new. Marius is a retired chef who decided to try a hand at this trade by chance: “My interest was sparked when I was sharpening my own knives. Then my friends in the restaurant business came to me asking if I could sharpen their knives the same way! You know, when you have a dozen jobs to do each day, you spend an entire afternoon sharpening kitchen knives!”

Not only businesses call upon Marcus for his services, several individuals also trust in this traveling knife sharpener’s savoir-faire and solid reputation. Marcus is an expert at bringing life back to cutting tools and his sharpening fee for his remarkable work is three euros a blade.

This Parisian traveling knife sharpener’s know-how

It must be said that this traveling knife sharpener has mastered his trade.

First he uses a grinder to thin blades that have damaged cutting edges.

His next step is to refine the edge with a dry belt and a water-cooled grindstone. This step brings out the cutting edge and allows you to create all types of edges.

Then a piece of felt it used to soften the cutting edge and make it shine. Finally the kitchen knife is polished with a few swipes on a piece of leather.

And there you have it, the summary of his professional work! If you would like to see Marius at work, watch this video or go to his website.

Marius is not the only one working to revive this profession; in France approximately 200 artisans work in the knife sharpening trade. Bravo to all these passionate individuals that are helping to bring back this beautiful and useful trade while preserving French historical culture! Feel free to leave a comment about this article on our Facebook page. Thank you and see you soon!
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