Curbside sharpener goes green

It’s Saturday morning and Maitland resident Lance Brannigan, 51, is pedaling around Dommerich Hills, ringing a bell to notify residents that his business is in full swing.

But it’s what’s attached to Brannigan’s bicycle that grabs passersby’s attention — many times stopping their vehicles for a closer look at what he is selling.

A cart with a belt sander, a drill bit sharpener, a knife grinder and a bench grinder all powered by solar panels is wheeled behind him, allowing him to sharpen equipment such as kitchen knives, garden tools and saw blades on-the-go.

He’s left power generators and cords in the dust and made his business, Lance’s Sharpening Service, green.

“I can sharpen anything that has an edge on it,” Brannigan said. “If I can’t do it, I have someone else who can do it.”

Brannigan starts his morning at the home of Maitland resident Sylvia Micalizio, 79. Micalizio inquired about his services after reading his flyer and watching him ride down the street, tools in toe.

Micalizio’s garden equipment needed sharpening, and after her tools are buffered up, she exclaimed how sharp and brand new they look.

“He’s the new sharpener in the neighborhood,” Micalizio announces as she receives her garden tools back. “They look brand new.”

As Brannigan cleans up his workstation, a neighbor in a van drives by and stops when she spots him.

Michelle Ruggiero, 48, asks him to stop by her house a few streets away. She also has some dull garden equipment.

Brannigan’s mobile sharpening service is only two months old, and he’s keeping busy. A nearly full receipt book is proof.

“It’s a real word-of-mouth kind of business,” he said. “The more I get out there, the more they seem to talk about it.”

Entrepreneurship seems natural for this New Zealand native, who is combining his two passions: cycling and saw doctoring.

His wife, Melanie Brannigan, 48, said she didn’t think he was serious about the sharpening service at first, but now that it’s up and running, she thinks the combination is brilliant.

Brannigan has cycle toured all over Europe and the United States. He also went to a trade school after graduating high school where he completed a saw doctoring apprenticeship in the timber industry.

He’s cycle toured from Victoria, British Columbia to San Diego, Calif., where he pushed 100 miles a day for two and a half weeks with a constant stream of rain hovering over him for the first 10 days of the trip. He’s also cycle toured in Europe from Munich, Germany to Austria to Northern Italy, and all over Australia.

“I think the best part of cycle touring is the people you meet,” Brannigan said. “And you get to see and smell everything, because you’re out there, and you’re not driving by stuff.”

After leaving Ruggiero’s home, Brannigan pedals to the home of Sharon and Bryan Verhoef, who Brannigan calls his original customers. They have more garden tools for him to sharpen. Another neighbor wanders over to the Verhoef’s home, where he talks to Brannigan, leaves for a few minutes, and returns with tools that need to be sharpened.

“As far as sharpening goes, it’s a very rewarding kind of a career,” Brannigan said. “Some people may think not, but it’s fun taking things that people don’t think work anymore and making them like brand new.”

Dull tools?

Contact Lance Brannigan at 407-756-6575.

Prices range from $3 to $15.