Meet the Master Knife Smith

Meet our Master Knife Smith
A knife sharpening business without a professional craftsman is like soup without salt - hence we are proud to introduce our Master Knife Smith Magnus Pettersson. 

A Swedish native, Magnus has been living in California since 2001. His career in knife sharpening began somewhat coincidentally - what started out as a teenager’s summer job in Sweden turned into a passion that would eventually earn him celebrity status in the knife sharpening world. 

With more than 30 years of experience under his belt, Magnus spent the last decade building a highly successful knife sharpening business, mainly focusing on Japanese knives and servicing chefs in high-end restaurants in L.A. Magnus holds a BA in Physics and Math and a MSc in Art and worked previously in information and security consulting. 

If not sharpening knives, Magnus can be found biking all around the Los Angeles bay area, sourcing produce and ingredients to fuel his other passion - food. Together with his wife and fellow foodie Eriko, he lives in Santa Monica, CA. 

Interview: Let’s hear it from the expert!

What sets Knife Aid apart from other knife sharpening businesses?

Magnus: We sharpen on the platten instead of the slack belt to maintain a straight bevel of the knife, as opposed to creating a convex edge as most others do. Also, sharpening like this means that the heel and the tip of your knife don’t get rounded off. 

Another thing we do and that you don’t see too often in conventional sharpening is keeping the thickness behind the edge in mind. 

Why is this important?

Magnus: The thickness behind the edge is way more important for the performance of the knife than the actual edge angle. You want the blade to be as thin as possible, generally speaking. Of course, there are exceptions, and we always decide on a knife-by-knife basis. 

Which kind of grit do you prefer?

Magnus: The grit choice is all about the perfect compromise between slicing and cutting performance and longevity of the edge. We use anything between 120 and 2,500. Buffing on jewelers rouge is comparable to a grit size of about 15,000 - to give knives a nice, polished edge when needed. Western style Japanese knives are being deburred and polished on a leather belt with compound for an even slicker, more polished edge. So again, it really depends what kind of knife I am working on. 

Thank you.