About Battle Born Blade Sharpening
This work is not oriented around sales, speed, or novelty. It exists to protect, advance, and transmit the understanding of edges as engineered systems. Sharpening is treated as a discipline with consequences, not a hobby or a transactional service.
Battle Born Blade Sharpening operates at the intersection of elite craft, industrial process control, and personal responsibility. Performance is engineered, not assumed. Results come from controlled systems, deep mechanical understanding, and disciplined execution. Speed and volume are secondary considerations; the primary metric is whether a tool performs at the highest level it is capable of, consistently and safely, under real working conditions.
This approach is rooted in world-class manufacturing environments where tolerances matter, failure is unacceptable, and quality is enforced through systems rather than claims. Tools are treated as engineered instruments with intent, limits, and consequences. Sharpening, in this context, is stewardship: preserving performance, extending functional life, and respecting the design intelligence embedded in the tool.
Craft-driven sharpening focused on geometry, performance, and long-term tool health.
Mission Statement:
We stand for the awareness of craft sharpening and edge fabrication.
Background, Lineage, and a Life in Edges
This work is not the result of a career decision. It is the result of a life shaped by tools. Sharpening began in childhood and evolved through decades of direct exposure to systems where performance mattered, failure carried consequence, and craft could not be faked.
Growing up in Los Gatos during the rise of Silicon Valley embedded a systems-first way of thinking—logic, optimization, iteration, and scale—that still governs how sharpening is approached today. Every edge is treated as an engineered outcome, not an aesthetic goal.
Professional responsibility deepened inside Snap‑on–grade tool culture, where ergonomics, safety, documentation, and repeatability are enforced at global scale. Work extended beyond individual tools into building and operating large fulfillment and distribution systems, ensuring that the highest‑productivity tools reached elite mechanics and tradespeople worldwide. These environments do not tolerate inconsistency. They reward discipline, process control, and continuous improvement.
Sharpening authority was not assumed. It was tested. Shear sharpening skill was formally evaluated in a factory setting in San Francisco by Mizutani Shears, including direct testing by Kioshi. Acceptance was based on demonstrated control of geometry, convex edge behavior, and adherence to Japanese factory standards.
Over time, work expanded to include sharpening and service for high‑level shear brands such as Green Mouse and Kenchii, as well as recognition as a competent sharpener by Utsumi Shears.
Advanced training followed the same uncompromising path. Education includes extended on‑site CxPro training with French master sharpener Jean‑Paul Babin, alongside intensive sharpening work with Mark Guzak, who helped introduce CxPro systems to the United States. Additional instruction spans Nano Hone Sharpening Systems, Perfect Edge training in the Bay Area with Ward Collins of Perfect Edge Hawaii, and Hikari‑aligned methodologies with Jean‑Paul Babin and Mark Guzak. Certification through Bonika Shears resulted in one of the highest fine‑edge performance awards, recognizing exceptional control and finish quality.
Sharpening discipline was further forged in zero‑failure environments. Service as a Wildland Firefighter on a Hotshot crew required routine hand sharpening of axes, Pulaskis, shovels, and critical implements where edge reliability directly affected safety and endurance. Parallel work includes ceremonial sharpening for world‑renowned wood carvers, where lineage, restraint, and intent matter more than material removal. These experiences reinforced respect for durability, minimal intervention, and edges that perform under real stress.
Professional shear work also includes direct involvement in the early brand liftoff and growth of Above Grooming Shears alongside Alex Lee, Jason Pintel, and others—helping establish early product standards, sharpening protocols, and real‑world feedback loops between designers, manufacturers, and working groomers. Additional brand development includes helping launch grooming shear lines such as GEM and GSH, and founding Reiki Shears.
Industry immersion spans attendance at the Vidal Sassoon Academy, extensive participation in IBSA events, serving as a guest instructor and artist for Paul Mitchell where shear education is taught, and long‑term presence at cosmetology expos fitting shears and advising professionals. Sharpening work has supported some of the most prominent, world‑recognized groomers, stylists, and hairdressers in the industry—professionals whose livelihoods depend on uncompromising tool performance. Experience also includes founding and building a professional dog grooming salon, providing firsthand insight into sustained, high‑output production environments.
Teaching and coaching are integral, not secondary. Sharpening has been taught hands‑on to multiple individuals through mentorship focused on mechanics, diagnostics, and disciplined correction. Formal responsibility has included serving as a warranty sharpener for multiple major brands, requiring strict adherence to manufacturer standards, documentation, and accountability. Life coaching work with high‑level CEOs further reinforces systems thinking, responsibility, and performance under pressure.
This foundation is unified by traditional Japanese craft philosophy and the shokunin mindset—mastery through humility, repetition, and lifelong refinement. Kaizen and Six Sigma principles govern how sharpening processes are documented, measured, standardized, and improved; formal training includes Six Sigma Green Belt certification through the University of Nevada, Reno. Years of disciplined physical practice, including traditional martial arts and Brazilian jiu‑jitsu, reinforce efficiency, balance, timing, and control. Certification as a Reiki Level 3 Master Instructor reflects respect for the physical and mental demands placed on grooming professionals.
Service pace remains intentionally measured. Operational issues are addressed directly and corrected. Integrity, accountability, and performance standards are non‑negotiable. Every tool returned is expected to meet the same expectations demanded in elite manufacturing, safety‑critical, and professional environments. This work is not built for speed. It is built for excellence, durability, and trust.
This life in sharpening has never been about accumulation for its own sake. Knowledge, access, and skill have been given freely to others—students, professionals, brands, and peers—often without expectation of return. In the shokunin tradition, craft is something held in stewardship and passed forward until nothing is left to hoard. What remains is the work itself, the people it supports, and the standards it leaves behind. This is not a persona or a market position. It is a lived commitment to the discipline of edges, carried forward through service, teaching, and responsibility.
This same discipline extends beyond tools into human development and knowledge transmission. In parallel with sharpening work, I operate as a life coach through The Life Sharpener (info@thelifesharpener.com), applying the same principles of systems thinking, discipline, accountability, and continuous improvement to individuals operating at high levels of responsibility. This work focuses on clarity, performance alignment, and long-term resilience rather than motivation or abstraction.
In addition, I am actively developing a youth apprenticeship initiative titled Keeper of the Edge (info@keeperoftheedge.org). This program is designed to transmit craft discipline, tool literacy, and responsibility to the next generation, grounding young people in real skills, real consequences, and respect for lineage. It reflects a belief that sharpening is not only a service or a trade, but a vehicle for stewardship, character formation, and cultural continuity.