Kerrville transplant is keeping knives sharp at Gibson’s kiosk

Bob Cordes likes keeping things sharp — in his past career, he helped sharpen marriages as a therapist, and now he spends a few hours a week sharpening knives at Gibson’s Discount Center.

Cordes and his wife, Estella, moved to Kerrville about two months ago. This is retirement, but keeping busy is how Cordes keeps himself sharp. What started as a hobby for Cordes has turned into a part-time gig at the landmark Kerrville store.

“It’s going well,” Cordes said as he worked through a pair of hunting knives for a retired police officer. He’s at Gibson’s three days a week for about five hours daily.

For a store with everything, Gibson’s General Manager Doug Hetzler figured Cordes’ services were a natural fit and positioned the Texas transplant’s side hustle next to the store’s expansive inventory of knives and firearms.

Cordes came to Texas in a circuitous way. After calling Seattle home for more than 40 years, they had grown weary of the damp and cold weather and the traffic. The couple considered other retirement destinations along the Oregon and northern California coastlines, but they were too expensive and just as cold. They pressed further south and wound up in Albuquerque, but a friend in Kerrville told them about this quaint spot on the Guadalupe River.

“I love Kerrville,” Cordes said with a glimmer in his eye. The Kerrville Greeter, a service connecting newcomers, led to Hetzler and Cordes’s meeting.

Cordes started sharpening knives and scissors as a hobby, frequently helping at senior centers and retirement homes. He’s invested his money in a new grindstone that allows him to return a blade to almost good as new. He’s not afraid of the edges.

“I can tell how sharp it is by shaving a bit of my fingernail,” Cordes said as he gently scraped his nail. He sharpens everything from knives to axes. He’ll even sharpen a lawnmower blade. The basic package is $7 for sharpening.

So, wander into the Kerrville store, hang a left and head toward sporting goods; hang another left, and you’ll find Cordes there Monday, Tuesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. And don’t be surprised if you find yourself transfixed by a man dedicated to making the world a bit sharper.