La Jolla High student cuts his entrepreneurial teeth with knife-sharpening service

Keeping with his family’s entrepreneurial spirit, La Jolla High School student Drake Richardson is carving his own path with a knife-sharpening business.

The 16-year-old sophomore and Troop 4 Boy Scout considers himself an avid outdoorsman, frequently fishing and cooking. In those hobbies, he saw the importance of maintaining knives for various uses.

“Something that’s always bothered me is having dull blades,” Drake said. “It can be an issue when you’re trying to cut something like fruit and the blade slips. It could be very dangerous because it’s not strong enough [and] it’s not sharp enough.”

After receiving a professional knife-sharpening system as a gift from his father, Shawn, Drake worked on knives belonging to friends and family members and eventually offered his services to the wider community. The system is adjustable to different blade types and styles, enabling him to sharpen anything from machetes, axes and lawn mower blades to scissors and steak and bread knives.

Drake’s business, La Jolla Knife Sharpening, started roughly a year ago, but a knee injury and surgery kept him away from picking up and delivering knives for a time. Now he’s making a push to build up customers this holiday season across La Jolla and north Pacific Beach.

“It’s been on and off,” Drake said. “So honestly, the season’s mostly picking up right about now as it’s becoming Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s perfect to get your blade sharpened when you’re cutting the ham, chicken, turkey or whatever.”

Though the business is a year old, Drake estimates he’s sharpened 300-500 knives over the past three years. That experience shows up in the final products, his father said.

“He’s really, really good at it,” Shawn Richardson said. “I used to sharpen knives when I was a kid. We didn’t have all these fancy systems [in which] you could adjust all these angles. … But we picked up this system years ago, and he just took to it.”

Shawn said he encourages his sons to pursue their interests, and he saw potential in Drake’s budding skill.

“I think he was better than I was at it right from the very beginning,” Shawn said. “He takes a lot of time on what he does.”

The family entrepreneurship extends to Drake’s older brother, Dash, who along with friend and fellow La Jollan Evan Martin founded Windansea Hauling, a business that offers furniture removal, garage and attic cleanups, curbside pickups and eco-friendly disposal.

When asked whether he and his brother have a friendly competition, Drake responded, “Oh, totally.” However, their approaches vary.

“My brother has a truck … where I am more limited to a bike because I didn’t have my license,” Drake said. “He gets a lot more money off [his business], but his is a lot more labor-intensive, while mine’s more [about] finesse and precise movements.”

The family’s entrepreneurialism has been passed down from generation to generation, Shawn said.

“I grew up mowing lawns and raking leaves,” he said. “I paid for a lot of my stuff, so I think I kind of instilled that in my sons along the way.”

Community involvement also is in the family, as he and his wife, Britta, have volunteered as Boy Scout and Cub Scout leaders for a dozen years.

“I think these are really good people skills,” Shawn said. “Kids these days tend to look at phones, and I’m trying to get him to do something other than look at phones and [to] talk to people. I think this is a really good way to do this.”

Drake’s prices vary based on the size and style of the blade and the customer’s desired edge. Most jobs have a turnaround of three days or less, he said.

To find out more, email drakecrichardson@yahoo.com or visit ljknifesharpening.com.