Sharp Edges

My Father has worked in sales for Dexter Russell, a high-end cutlery manufacturer in Southbridge, MA, for the better part of the last 40 years. They produce knives and commercial cutting equipment of the highest quality and distribute all over the world. When I was younger, my father arranged for me to spend a summer working in the maintenance department. The job consisted of keeping the grounds mowed and tidy, keeping the shop and manufacturing plant clean, washing the grime off the windows (where I learned newspaper is an incredible cleaning tool), and greasing the machines. Generally speaking, I loved it, although one summer was enough motivation to thrust me into getting my lifeguard certification heading into the following season. You choose greasing machines in a hot, muggy factory or sitting in the sun teaching kids to swim and guarding the docks.

I never realized just how dirty and tedious the work was to create a sharp edge. The machines needed constant calibration and maintenance to produce the blades to the right specifications, the hardness of the steel tested, the materials' temperature just right, the specific mix of chemicals and fittings had to be greased. It was a constant process, took careful attention, and it was dirty work.

Mike Hardwick has a mantra (and a book) of Keep Chopping Wood. It's a belief around the value of perseverance, getting up every day, and executing on the right daily disciplines, over time, without quitting when things get tough to produce the results you desire. Just keep chopping wood, don't quit, and you'll get there. Chopping wood is tough work. 

Ecclesiastes says: "Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade."

Sharpen the blade! If you want to continue chopping wood, you also need to continue sharpening the blade overtime with success. Continue learning, continue growing, continue seeking counsel from others, continue practicing your craft, and continue feeding and working on you. That's a never-ending process; it's hard work, dirty, sometimes takes constant calibration, and is often messy, but it's so important. Before the above verse, Solomon warns, "when you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax."

Whatever ax you are chopping with, keep it sharp!