The Mysterious Pipers of Palermo

[Silvie]

This happens often to Foreigners that don't speak Spanish..!! Try going to a good Ferreteria... !

They do it to people that speak Spanish too.

 

[Girino]

It happened to my FIL ten years ago and to my husband last year. Both born and raised here. And I read about it on local FB groups, too.

 

[Rich One]

It happened to my FIL ten years ago and to my husband last year. Both born and raised here. And I read about it on local FB groups, too.

It must true, however have not heard Pipers in Palermo in the last ten years..??

It's quite common to hear Pipers in small cities in the Provincia. Pipers on a bike that rotate the sharpening wheel on pedal power ...!

I only own very common knives from Coto , never new there is a technique to sharpen knifes?

 

[Jed]

If you cook frequently I highly recommend purchasing a nice chef knife. A good, properly sharpened knife just makes things so much easier and fun. It is also much safer. A dull knife may or may not cut the way it should.

As for sharpening, it is a world in itself and if you're not into it you can just swing by one of the pro sharpening places around town and you'll be good for 6 months if cooking often, possibly longer, especially if you maintain the edge with a honing steel.

Starter western style chef knives: Victorinox, Zwilling, Wusthof
Starter Japanese style knives: Tojiro
Starter sharpening stone: King 1000 grit

 

[notebook.fix]

I started sharpening my own knives, bought the tools , watched some videos. It's good to learn new skills especially now in the current social distancing environment.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I see them around my neighborhood too. The tradition goes back almost a hundred years. Some of them are legit. They work with local restaurants and butcher shops. But like everything else it also attracts the low end of society. It’s an easy way to make a few bucks with low level skills. My advice is not to argue with men that have sharp knives.

 

[Stafford]

Public service announcement. A couple of them just ripped off my native Argentine husband today. We're in Palermo. I was about to post but thought I'd run a search first. Sure enough. It's been covered on this forum.

With him they did the trick of saying a certain price and then multiplying by 10 after finishing the job. Created a huge, threatening scene. Pay up or they take your knives. And by the way, all this is happening while they are holding knives!

It's a shame. I always thought it to be so charming. Agree with an earlier post, that there are legit people doing this. More so in the provincia, maybe.

 

[Stafford]

My "native Argentine husband". That came out wrong. Haha. I meant that he's Argentine and obviously native Spanish speaking