72-year-old knife-grinder Du Jikun is sharpening a pair of scissors in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, on July 12, 2017. (Photo/zjol.com.cn)
Du has sharpened nearly 500,000 knives and scissors in his 56 years career. In lanes or hutongs, the calling of “knife scissors grinding” can occasionally be heard. Though knife grinding is an insignificant skill, it is indispensable in that knives and scissors used for chopping, cutting and tailoring can be blunt after some time and need sharpening. To serve customers, a knife grinder only needs a specially made bench with a grindstone placed on one end and a small bucket of water. Du says he hopes to pass the traditional handicraft to the younger generation.
