Cutting edge Ilkley business at very heart of the community

Gareth Heaton is on a mission - to get the country sharpening their knives and garden tools rather than throwing them away. And the professional knife sharpener and man behind Ilkley shop Community Cutlery has written a book, which he's talked about at the town's literature festival. He's also taken time out to tell the YEP about life at the sharp end of business...

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The story is you had something of an epiphany while working as a gardener and that that's how Community Cutlery came into being. Is that right?

"I was mowing someone's lawn and listening to a podcast, and had a lightbulb moment."

How so?

"The podcast was called the Side Hustle Project, and the guest was a bloke from America who had just left the military and started a knife-sharpening business. I thought there must be a lot of knives out there that need sharpening. And I was right."

You knew straight away?

"I did a lot of research into how to sharpen knives. There was a bit of trial and error; there is a lot of information out there, but not all of it is good."

So then it was a case of practising what you'd learned?

"Initially, I just sharpened my own knives and then for friends and family for free. Then lockdown happened."

And you saw an opportunity?

"People were at home more, cooking more, and therefore using their knives more. I had some flyers printed and put them through people's doors."

How did that work in terms, of say, social distancing and lockdown?