about 3 years ago

'We do it to keep busy': Elderly sisters continue knife sharpening trade in Kuala Lumpur

Sparks flew as Yip Yoke Lin, 74, held เล่นเกมสล็อตฟรี the Chinese chef knife she was sharpening at a 30-degree angle off the bench grinder.

After running the blade a few times with the grinder, she tested her work by gingerly running her thumb along the edge.

“This is the ‘rough’ portion. Once it’s satisfactory, then I’ll put it on the workbench and whet the blade with those sharpening stones,” she said.

Her elder sister, Yip Ah Moy, 84, bent from age, was already doing the same thing with another customer’s knife, drawing the blade across the stone in smooth motions from the handle end of the blade to the tip.

Occasionally, Yip Ah Moy would stop and dip her sharpening stone in a bucket of water placed next to her bench to wash away the swarf (waste material) and re-lubricate her stone.

In the background, trendy music played in the cafes and open-concept food court at REXKL’s ground floor, a former cinema turned arts and culture hub along Jalan Sultan in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown area.

Occasionally, curious visitors would wander over to the Yip sisters’ corner to watch them work, while some dropped by to hand over one or a few kitchen knives for them to sharpen.

STARTING OUT BY THE ROADSIDE

The tool sharpening business was started by the sisters’ father back in the late 1940s in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, along Petaling Street.

In fact, Yip Ah Moy recalled that her father first set up shop in front of the Fung Wong Chinese confectionery maker, a Petaling Street institution which has lasted for four generations.

Yip Ah Moy said the business had always been based around the Petaling Street area, and they recently moved into REXKL when the new proprietors allowed them a small space to continue their craft.

They also operate out of a morning market in Cheras.

“Our customers did not just come from the nearby shops, but also from other parts of the town looking for us to sharpen their tools,” she said.

BUSINESS IS NEVER CERTAIN

Feast or famine would be the appropriate description for the Yips' sharpening business.

“Business is never certain. Sometimes, we can sit the whole day and get no customers. And then you have days like today, we’ve been working non-stop since we opened up at 2pm,” she said.

At one point, Yip Ah Moy finally took a break from work to tuck into her lunch - a packet of chee cheong fun (rice noodle rolls), with her sister helping to pour the packet of chilli sauce all over the dish.