About Steve…
Steve is 62 years young and living the retired life dream. For 29 years of his life Steve was a City Letter Carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, so needless to say, he is glad to just be able to sit on the couch. Steve has 2 children, 2 step children, 7 grandchildren, and an amazing wife, Candy, who helps him with the day to day operations at Sundog Sharpening. Steve was born in Cameron, grew up in Hamilton, and has now found home here in Kansas City. For someone like Steve it is not easy to sit still, he always needs to be doing something. One day as Steve was sharpening Candy’s kitchen knives, a hobby was born, and a business idea was sparked. As he was sharpening his kitchen knives, he realized that everyone’s knives get dull, and only a small percentage of people have the tools and skills to put a good edge on their knives, scissors and garden tools. Steve started out sharpening family and friends’ knives and scissors. Over the next several months, through research and practice, he refined his skills and purchased the right equipment to do the job right the first time. In the spring of 2016, Steve decided to jump in with both feet. He set up a small booth several times a month at the Kansas City, City Market. Doing this gave him some great exposure, and he saw that sharpening knives, scissors and garden tools was only scratching the surface of the things he could do with a whetstone and a grinder! In October of 2018, Steve traveled to Minnesota and took several advanced courses in sharpening at the American Sharpening Institute and now has certifications in sharpening bevel shears, convex edge shears, and sharpening/repairing clipper blades. Steve looks forward to focusing mainly on stylists and groomers from KC and around the country via his mail order services. Sundog wants to guarantee 100% customer satisfaction in our work. After spending his entire life in a customer service role as a postman, Steve knows what it means to be customer focused, and this is his goal for Sundog, to provide his customers with a high level of quality, at a reasonable price, and to provide the type of service that EVERYONE deserves!
I can’t wait to “sharpen” for you too!
What is a Sundog?
A sundog is a patch of light that sometimes appears beside the sun. The scientific name is parhelion (plural: parhelia) from the Greek parēlion, meaning "beside the sun." Speculation is that they are called that because they follow the sun like a dog follows its master.
When I was a kid I would see these great lights to the side of the sun as my father and I were out fishing, hunting, or just spending time together. I wanted to know what these strange auras were. My dad explained that those bright spots on either side of the sun were called “sundogs”
He told me the old wives tale that when you see one, the weather will be changing significantly within the next 48 hours. As I was searching for a name for my new business that was born from a hobby, I couldn’t help but think of that old wives tale. From the last 29 years as a letter carrier for the USPS to a retired old guy sharpening knives, a sundog signifies that SIGNIFICANT change in my life.
About Candy…
Candy is 61 years young and is very happy to be retired. She worked in the IT industry for 33 years, and spent many of those years managing customer support. She is an avid cook, and loves to cook for her 2 children, 2 step children, 7 grandkids, and countless nieces and nephews. Candy was born in St. Joseph, raised in both Allendale & Grant City, but has finally planted and grown her roots in Kansas City for the last 54 years. Candy and Steve met on a blind date back in 2009 and fell in love almost instantly. (Fun Fact: Candy and Steve actually went to high school together.) For Candy the knife sharpening hobby of Steve’s was a great way for her to save money on having to sharpen her knives. As soon as she saw the spark of joy that Steve got from his new hobby that she decided to help nurture and raise “Sundog Sharpening, LLC” to what it has become. While Candy may not be the one behind the grinder she sure is a “puppet master” here at Sundog. From customer service, to website construction Candy does whatever she can to make sure that Sundog is everything that Steve could hope and dream for. Candy’s extensive history in customer service has a strong influence in the 100% customer satisfaction guarantee that Sundog brings to the table.
“What the other guys don’t do is care about their customers the way we do. From our low prices to our incredible care for our customers, you will definitely know what it means to be a part of the family” - Candy
