In Print » August 2011 » Features » Best Merchandising Ideas

Spurred by tips from their favorite celebrity chef-hosted cooking shows, consumers are driving many of today's kitchenware trends. Take cutlery, for example. Historically, European-style knives with a 20-degree factory edge were the knives that both professional and home chefs used to slice, dice and chop. Most American consumers weren't even aware of another option — namely, Asian-style knives with a 15-degree edge — until now.

Today, even traditional European knife manufacturers have adopted a smaller 15-degree edge angle in response to consumer demand for a blade that they perceive as sharper. With this diversity of cutlery styles on the market, service-oriented retailers are doing their part to ensure that customers purchase the right sharpener to maintain the proper edge angle on their best knives.

Five Degrees of Separation
More cutlery choices mean more education is required to sustain satisfied customers. Do your customers know that the original factory edge is lost after the first few uses of any knife? Building a sharpener display that addresses this fact as well as the differences between European- and Asian-style knives is a great way to keep customers informed. Retailers who support that display with regular weekend demos, during which they show customers how to care for their knives with the right sharpener, are well on their way to establishing themselves as destination cutlery stores.

Customers may want to know which knife stays sharper longer, but they also need to know that a knife edge at 20 degrees has more metal supporting it and, thus, resists dulling longer than a 15-degree edge, the knife still needs regular sharpening to maintain optimal performance. It also is important to note that quality, professional, multi-stage sharpeners significantly enhance the durability of the 15-degree edge. These sharpeners create a multi-bevel "gothic arch" shaped edge that resists the edge folding over, resulting in a sharper and more durable knife edge.

For those customers who own both Asian- and European-style knives, point out professional electric and manual knife shapeners that can be used to resharpen both kinds of edges. When customers purchase knives with a 15-degree angle from your store, find out if they already own a sharpener for 20-degree angle knives. If so, they may want to purchase a manual sharpener for their new 15-degree edge knives.

Cooking demos provide an excellent opportunity to illustrate the different uses of knives with the 15-degree edge and the 20-degree edge. For heavier chopping and cutting, a traditional European-style knife is the cutlery for the job. When lighter paring, peeling and slicing is involved, home chefs may prefer a knife sharpened at 15 degrees. After using both types of knives in your cooking demo, be sure to show customers how to resharpen them using the proper sharpener.

Cut School
In recent years, concerns about the economy have led more consumers to forgo restaurant meals. This is where kitchenware retailers can show their customers how to recreate the restaurant experience — even a sushi feast — at home for a fraction of the cost of eating out.

When it comes to sushi, a sharp knife is almost as important as a fresh cut of fish. Consider hosting a sushi class or simply staging a demo that teaches customers about Japanese knives for sushi-making and how to keep them sharp. A traditional Japanese knife is single beveled and has a large primary blade bevel along the lower section of the front face of the blade that deflects the food away from the blade as it cuts. The most popular example of this type of blade is the sashimi knife. When sharpening traditional Japanese blades, it is critical to maintain the 15-degree edge and sharpen only its 15-degree beveled side. Quality, professional electric sharpeners are designed with the ability to sharpen only one side of these knives.

Let customers know that there are a variety of professional electric and manual sharpeners for Asian-style knives, including sharpeners designed to convert knives with 20-degree edges into 15-degree edge knives. These multi-stage sharpeners can actually improve the 15-degree factory edge by creating a multi-bevel, gothic arch on the blade, providing more metal support for the edge and, thus, greater edge durability.

Producing Sharpener Sales
Of course, there are many jobs that call for a perfectly sharpened 20-degree blade. Foods such as meat and more fibrous vegetables demand a heavier, thicker knife, sharpened with sturdy 20-degree facets. These European/American blades are universally double-beveled and sharpened on both sides of the blade.

One way to capitalize on a popular trend while educating your customers about knife sharpening is to partner with a local farm to bring fresh fruits and vegetables into your store. Plan a cooking demo around the fresh produce, and be sure to show off the importance of having the proper cutlery to prepare the season's best.

Show the benefits of chopping heartier fresh vegetables with a knife featuring a 20-degree blade as well as the efficiency of slicing more delicate tomatoes and scallions with an Asian-style blade. After using both types of knives, demonstrate the versatility of today's high-quality, advanced technology electric sharpeners that can restore and recreate both a traditional 20-degree edge for European- and American-style knives, and a 15-degree edge for Asian-style knives. These multi-stage sharpeners begin by sharpening and honing the knife blade using 100 percent diamond abrasives and finish by stropping or polishing the edge to create a super sharp, microscopically flawless polished edge.