Business Spotlight - Downeast Sharpening

For 23 years, Glenn Gisel has been keeping the region sharp, or at least their tools. When he retired from the Navy he was looking for something to do. “There was nobody around here that does sharpening,” Gisel said. “I like it. It’s challenging at times. There’s a need for it.”   He went to school for saw and tool sharpening.

Soon he was asked if he could tune up the lawnmowers and chainsaws, so he returned to school so he could do minor repairs and tune ups for small engines.

He can sharpen most items, he said, as well as do small engine repair for lawn and garden mowers, tractors and rototillers. He has specific training in many brands like Briggs and Stratton, which he holds a master service technician certification. “You have to do it right, or you’re done. You won’t get the repeat business,” he said. Most of his business is repeat business and word of mouth business, he added. People travel from as far away as South Portland and Lisbon Falls for his services.

He works with one other man and his wife and to say he is busy doesn’t come close. “Busy is an understatement,” Gisel said.

Downeast Sharpening is open year-round and Gisel also services and sharpens snowblowers, he said. From small knives to ice skate blades, anything that can be sharpened he has the right tool.
Downeast Sharpening has 24 different sharpening machines.

The normal turnaround time at the shop is two weeks, but they try to get work done in one.
The shop is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. They are closed on Sundays.

Gisel’s future plans involve retirement, but he doesn’t see that happening anytime soon. “I’ll probably be out here in my walker,” he said.

For more information on the types of products they sell, service and sharpen, visit www.downeastsharpening.com or call 655-4635.