The man used copper and bronze for the elaboration of his weapons and utensils until the Iron Age, when he began to use this metal. The Sharpeners (men who sharpen knives and other tools) and sharpening are as old as the use of metals and are necessary to maintain the tools in the best conditions. Currently, in the process of making a cutting instrument, grinding constitutes the final master touch for that inert piece to take its useful life.

The work of the sharpener, who sharpened folding knives, scissors and other agricultural, ranching, domestic or industrial tools, was different from the work of the knife maker. Moreover, the sharpener carried out his job directly with his client, whether he was a neighbour or a stranger from another near or distant country: sharpeners moved hundreds or thousands of kilometers, for a few days or for years.

The process of sharpening, whether it was occasional or regular, happened from time to time throughout the life of a knife. The trade of sharpener had its peak in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and practically disappeared in the twentieth century.

In the sharpening process, the sharpener was as important as the tools used (sharpening wheels). As in many other craft trades, this small mobile workshop was an extension of the sharpener’s hands and the testimony of an intense life history that originated in Galicia. From the North of Orense, the trade of sharpener became a complement for the economy of the rural families. Sometimes, the specialization and the expertise as well as the lack of other resources, determined that these craftsmen were devoted exclusively to this activity. Those master sharpeners departed from the lands of Ourense towards Castile, becoming Gallegos of the roads throughout the peninsular geography.

As a seasonal worker, from town hall to town hall around his native Galicia, or from villa to villa around Castile, the sharpener always returned home, until he had to take advantage of the opportunities that his trade offered beyond the ocean and reach Cuba, Venezuela or Argentina to settle definitively.