Need a blade upgraded? Charley McKay can do it.

About two years ago,  McKay moved to Fort Scott from Hutchinson and found he needed something to do with his time.

His son-in-law, Kale Nelson, had some chainsaw blades that needed sharpening, so McKay worked on them.

Nelson then told some of his friends about the service, and this turned into a new business, called Sharpen It.

He can sharpen “about anything with a blade”, McKay said. “Knives, chainsaws, lawnmowers, Dado… about anything, I have a sharpener for it.”

Before he retired in 2001, he was a refrigeration and air conditioning serviceman in Hutchinson. “Then I worked as a bus driver for Nickerson School District for 14 years before I moved here.”

Most people bring the items that need to be sharpened to his workshop at 738 Osbun, on Fort Scott’s northwest side of town.

“If I have to pick it up, I charge about $1, depending on how far I have to go,” he said.

His sharpening prices: $4-12 for knives, $6-12 for chainsaws, and $5 a piece for lawnmower blades.

“I always make sure that I charge a little cheaper than what’s normal,” he said.

“It might be a day or two out before I get to it,” he said.

However, he said he provides the added service of cleaning the blades before sharpening.

This week is McKay’s vacation, but you can text him at 620.960.6059 and leave a message with your phone number for him to call back.