Fine-tuning the ski jump - Part 1

Peter Fox sang about it; in Hamburg’s Schanzenviertel, it’s becoming a reality: everything’s new. On the left, the wine shop where suits pop in just before the weekend to pick up a fine bottle. On the right, a modern optician’s advertising a selection of premium brands. All around, cafés serving up the black gold ‘to go’ in paper cups. Hardly anything reminds us of the past of the neighbourhood around the former abattoir. Except for Friedrich Jürges’s shop, which seems to have sprung from another era. Knives have been sharpened by hand here for 100 years. Everything new?

Friedrich Jürges – light-coloured shirt, dark blue cardigan, white moustache – is sceptical. “And why exactly do you want to do a profile on me?” asks the 65-year-old. Yet he knows the answer best himself. From TV chefs to amateur kitchen heroes, Hamburgers buy their knives from him and have them sharpened. And because Friedrich Jürges the Fourth (the eldest son has been given the same first name for generations) is a wonderful blend of classic Hamburg merchant and modern entrepreneur.

The premises on Schanzenstraße also exude this blend of the traditional and the fresh. Whilst the yellowish light from the display and the advertising signs above it convey a genuine retro feel, modern graffiti adorns the suppliers’ entrance. Inside, innovative knives sit on a shelving unit dating from the last millennium. But we want to go behind the scenes. Past the heavy apothecary’s cabinet, where the finished knives, wrapped in newspaper, await collection. Across the break room with its portable hotplate, which gives off the scent of hearty stews warmed up here at lunchtime. Into the heart of the operation: the grinding workshop.

Handcrafted for three generations

There is a vast array of tools here; equipment is scattered throughout the large room. Sparks fly from the corundum grinding machine. A mixture of oil and worn metal hangs in the air; every step is muffled by dust. When working in this area, the human touch still plays a central role, as there is no all-in-one machine solution for sharpening that could be applied to all blades. “Every knife has different requirements. Our staff are worth their weight in gold – it takes two to three years to master everything,” says Jürges.

He knows what he’s talking about. The popular figure has been working in the family business since 1976. His grandfather, Jürges the Second, learnt the art of scissor sharpening in his hometown of Solingen. Armed with knowledge from a place that had been regarded as the ultimate destination for knife makers since the 16th century, the turmoil of the First World War drove him to Hamburg. In 1919, his ancestor founded the company and made a name for himself sharpening cattle shears. He ensured that cattle hooves could be spruced up, enabling the animals to fetch a good price at auctions at the nearby meat market. “Basically, it was like sprucing up a car before selling it,” says the grandson, though the laugh lines around his eyes suggest this won’t be the only humorous comparison.

You can read in the second part how this likeable Hanseatic man found the love of his life in an unusual way, and why the future for “Messer-Jürges” is uncertain.