DECEMBER 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 29
WHOLLY MOLI
WE MAKE IT SHARP
THE CUTTING EDGE
BY CLAUDE SOLNIK
Richard De Vito Jr. knows what it
means to be at the cutting edge of
commerce.
Too many people settle for using a
knife that is just not as sharp as it
once was. He helps many keep their
tools from getting dull as he plies
an old-fashioned craft: sharpening
knives that otherwise would likely be
replaced. In May he opened We Make
It Sharp, a charming old-fashioned
knife-sharpening store in Centereach.
“I’ve been in this business for 30
years, since I was 17 years old,” he
says. ““We cater to cooks and chefs
from restaurants, bagel shops, pizzerias,
homeowners, haircutters,
barbers, delis. The list goes on and on,
virtually everyone who uses a knife
or scissors every day.”
A man on a mission, De Vito continues
a family tradition that has helped
keep chefs’ and others’ knives sharp
for decades — the old-fashioned way:
sharpening by hand.
De Vito is among a vanishing profession
of sharpeners on Long Island
and nationwide, but that may make
his services all the more valuable.
In an age of built-in obsolescence
and disposable products, De Vito is
engaged in a fight against time.
On the one hand, he battles time by
keeping otherwise superannuated
and ready-to-toss knives sharp. He’s
also keeping a skill and a profession
current while providing a service
many Long Islanders don’t even know
exists. His services can make cooking a
little easier and save people some money
(the charge is $1 an inch per knife).
“We have the best grinding, sharpening,
and polishing and buffer
machines and also Arkansas stones
for deburring and hand honing,” De
Vito says. “This is a rare trade.”
As with most crafts, De Vito’s
has been passed from generation
to generation, starting with his
great-great-grandfather Angelo De
Vito, who sharpened knives in Abruzzi,
Italy. Italian Americans called
“moletas” worked out of trucks or
wheelbarrows or carried grinding
stones, sharpening knives on
city streets.
“I’m a fifth-generation knife
sharpener,” he says. “My
great-grandfather immigrated
here from Italy and went
door to door with a knife
sharpener on his back.”
He works with knives, scissors, clippers,
and even lawnmower blades
along with the occasional sword, axe,
cleaver, or hunting knife, as well as
hair and upholstery shears.
“There's nobody left,” he says. “Some
people buy new knives because
there's nobody around
sharpening anymore.”
A Cut Above: Richard De Vito Jr. helps
chefs stay sharp when it comes to cutlery.
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