June Is the Month Your Kitchen Has Been Waiting For
Summer cooking starts in June.
Strawberry season. Grilling every weekend. Longer dinners that actually deserve a sharp knife.
If your knives have felt sluggish this spring — dragging through tomatoes, crushing herbs instead of cutting them — that’s not a technique problem. That’s a sharpening problem.
June is one of the busiest months on the Erik the Blade Sharpener schedule. Multiple markets, multiple locations, every week. That means more opportunities to get your blades professionally sharpened — but also more competition for open appointment slots.
Don’t wait until the last week of the month and wonder why there’s no room.
This Month’s Sharpening Opportunities
June is packed. Here’s where you can find Erik the Blade Sharpener this month.
Farmers Markets
Briargate Farmers Markets — Wednesdays, June 3, 10, 17 & 24. Four consecutive Wednesdays in Colorado Springs. Drop off your knives, browse the market, pick them up sharp. This is the most consistent weekly stop of the month. If you’re already a Springs Farmers Market regular, you know where to find the sharpening station.
Backyard Market, Black Forest — Saturdays, June 6, 13, 20 & 27. Every Saturday this month. The Backyard Market is where Erik the Blade got started — and it’s still one of the best stops on the route. Black Forest regulars know the drill. If you’re new, bring your knives and arrive early.
Parker Farmers Market — Sundays, June 7, 21 & 28. Three Sundays in Parker this month. If you’ve been putting off your sharpening, the Parker market gives you multiple chances to get it done before summer hits full stride.
Banning Lewis Ranch Community Market — Thursdays, June 4, 11, 18 & 25. Every Thursday, east side. Fast turnaround. Bring your kitchen knives, your outdoor blades, your pocket knives — whatever needs work.
Woodland Park Farmers Market — Fridays, June 5, 12, 19 & 26. Opening day is June 5 — the first Friday of the month. The Woodland Park market runs through September, and Erik the Blade will be there every Friday. If you’re up the pass, this is your weekly stop all summer long.
Pop-Ups
The Exchange — Sunday, June 14. Parker Farmers Market goes dark during Parker Days. Erik the Blade doesn’t. The Exchange steps in as the June 14 stop so Parker-area clients don’t lose a week. One date, one location — don’t miss it.
Mobile / House-Call Appointments
Can’t make a market? Book a direct appointment.
Erik the Blade Sharpener offers mobile sharpening for homeowners who prefer the convenience of at-home service. Ideal for larger collections, specialty blades, or clients who just don’t want to haul a knife roll to a Saturday market.
→ Schedule your mobile appointment here
Limited-Time Seasonal Service
Summer is prime season for outdoor and kitchen sharpening. Fillet knives, boning knives, carving sets, BBQ tools — if it has a blade and you’re using it more this summer, now is the right time to have it professionally sharpened.
Slots at peak market days fill early. Don’t assume availability the week you need it.
Why Professional Sharpening Is Not Optional for Quality Knives
You spent real money on your knives. A Wüsthof, a Shun, a Miyabi — these aren’t disposable. They’re tools built to last decades when maintained correctly.
Here’s what happens when you don’t sharpen them:
Performance degrades fast. A dull blade requires more force. More force means less control. Less control means worse cuts — and a higher chance of the knife slipping somewhere it shouldn’t.
Honing is not sharpening. Your honing rod realigns the edge. It does not restore a lost edge. If your knife can’t slice a ripe tomato cleanly, honing won’t fix it. A whetstone session with a professional will.
Wrong tools destroy edges. Pull-through sharpeners and electric gadgets remove metal fast and unevenly. They can ruin the geometry of a high-quality blade in a few uses. Professional sharpening uses the right abrasives, the right angles, and the right finish for each blade.
Longevity depends on consistent maintenance. Knives sharpened regularly last longer, need less metal removed per session, and hold their edges better between sharpenings. Neglect is expensive in the long run.
A professionally sharpened knife is a safer knife. A more efficient knife. A knife that actually performs at the level you paid for.
→ Learn more about how professional sharpening works
Authoritative Resources on Knife Care and Maintenance
- Cook’s Illustrated — The Right Way to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife — Trusted culinary publication with detailed testing on sharpening methods.
- Blade Magazine — Understanding Steel and Edge Geometry — Authoritative resource for blade enthusiasts on metallurgy and edge maintenance.
The Father’s Day Gift That Actually Works
Father’s Day is June 21.
Every year, well-meaning families buy Dad some kind of sharpening gadget. A pull-through. An electric grinder. A whetstone kit he’ll never use correctly. They mean well. The results are rough.
Here’s the problem: most of those devices remove metal unevenly, wreck the edge geometry on quality blades, and leave Dad thinking his knives are sharper when they’re actually worse. Erik the Blade sees the aftermath every summer.
Skip the gadget.
Get Dad’s knives professionally sharpened instead — or give him the Gift of Sharp: a sharpening credit he can use any time this season at any market stop.
A professionally sharpened knife is a better gift than another drawer gadget that collects dust. Dad gets knives that actually perform. You get credit for finally solving the problem.
Parker Farmers Market runs June 21 — Father’s Day itself. Show up, hand off the knives, and give Dad the gift that keeps his kitchen running the way it should.
Text ‘Sharp’ to ask about gift options.
Closing
June has 17 scheduled stops across the Colorado Springs area and surrounding communities.
That’s 17 chances to finally get your knives where they belong — sharp, balanced, and ready for the kind of cooking summer demands.
Spots book fast at popular markets. Walk-ins are welcome when space allows, but regulars know better than to count on it.
Text ‘Sharp’ to book. Or schedule online here.
Don’t let another month of summer pass with dull knives. June is your month.
