Appreciation post: the old hardware store on 5th in my town still sharpens blades by hand

Quinn Allen · 2026-10-16T18:30:03.674905+00:00

I stopped by Miller's Hardware on 5th Street last Saturday to grab a belt for a dryer job, and the owner was sharpening a mower blade on a bench grinder that has to be older than me. He told me his dad bought that grinder in 1961 and it still runs quieter than the new ones in the catalogs. It got me thinking about how many of my calls now end with me telling a customer to just replace the unit because the part costs more than the whole thing did ten years ago. I am not against new tools or new machines, but there is something to be said for fixing what you already own. Does anyone else still have a supplier or a shop in their town that does repairs the slow way and makes it work?

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Appreciation post: the old hardware store on 5th in my town still sharpens blades by hand | Appliance Repairers - Thought Shares