Where To Look For A ‘Knife/Scissors Sharpener’ At Jalan Sultan

A long and lost trade…Located at the carpark of the former Rex cinema and away from the daily hustle and bustle of busy Lorong Sultan, KL, sits the Yap sisters (the elder being 78 years ‘young’ while the younger is 68 years. Both have been working together for 50 years and doing just this trade because when they were 12 years old, their father didn’t allow them to study and during those days, finding a job for a girl was not easy! Customers from the Klang Valley, Kajang, and as far as Johor Bharu and East Malaysia would bring the knives and scissors for them to sharpen. These mainly consist of tailors, restaurant chefs, cobblers and the occasional house wife. And they don’t use any modern fancy tools but the traditional way to sharpen the utensils.Ever since China opened its doors to the world, dresses came in ready-made. Business has been slow as these days, people are willing to buy ready-made clothes from department stores rather than go to the tailors have your shirts, pants or dresses measured and sewed. During their father’s time, the earnings from this business could feed their whole family of 7 members! Now, it’s just enough for ‘pocket money’ and passing time. Even at their age, both can still speak clearly and their minds sharp, even to sharing their life experience. They work seven days a week come rain or shine between the hours of 1:30pm to 5:30pm, except for Chinese New Year, Chinese traditional celebration days or when they are sick (but I doubt that as they look fit as a fiddle). According to them, they will carry on working until the day when they just can’t work anymore. Both are so committed to their work and always have a smile on their faces. It normally takes 20 to 30 minutes tosharpen a knife or scissors depending on the condition. Their rates are very reasonable ranging between RM10 - RM12 for scissors and RM8 - RM10 for knives.