Willey Knives: family-run business treats customers like family

Located near Route 16 outside Greenwood, Willey Knives held its annual Case Knives Customer Appreciation Day July 16, and while customers were there to take full advantage of the sale, they were also there to recognize the man who started it all.

Gerald Willey opened Willey Knives in 1970, and the business has been the restaurant industry’s well-known knife-sharpening secret ever since. Gerald’s daughter Geri posted on the Willey Knives Facebook page a few days before the Customer Appreciation Day that her dad wasn’t doing well and that he was now home on hospice care.

The knife shop is famously in the basement of the one-story brick house Gerald and his wife Sylvia, who died in June 2021, shared for decades. Matt, Gerald’s son, said his dad opened the shop while he was still working on Dover Air Force Base as a civilian cook. He’d come home and open the shop at night, he said.

“For being in the basement of a house in the middle of the country, things have gone pretty good,” said Matt, adding they still get new customers every day. “I don’t think he expected the business to get this big.”

Matt said he wasn’t sure how much longer his dad had to live. It could be a couple of days or weeks or months, he said.

Both of Gerald’s kids said he hated missing the event.

“He’s not in too good of shape,” said Matt. “He really likes to talk to people during the event.”

While Matt has taken over the knife-handling portion of the business like his dad, Geri has taken over the numbers side like her mom. However, for Customer Appreciation Day, it was all hands on deck to help with customers; Geri was in the showroom inside an old chicken house that had been converted years ago to accommodate the growing business.

“He just loves his customers,” said Geri. “This was something he always looked forward to.”

Matt said they sharpen the kitchen blades for 90 restaurants in the surrounding area. It’s a good part of the business, he said.

However, and a bit to his surprise given the current economic conditions, Matt said the store is still getting a fair number of new customers. Knives for work are one thing, but a pocket knife is something else, he said.

“We’ve been blessed,” he said.

Matt started working with his dad 10 years ago, and he’s carrying on the knife-sharpening tradition. It took a little while to get good at it, but it came pretty naturally after watching his dad his whole life, he said.

Matt, who built a house a little farther down the road, said he always enjoys coming to work.

“The customers are what make it great,” he said.

Geri has similar feelings.

“You walk into a restaurant to exchange knives and it’s like seeing family,” she said.

It’s clear the business has a loyal following and has been treating its customers right for a long time. There were a number of people who came up and shook their hand or gave a hug to Matt and Geri. There were plenty of let-me-know-if-I-can-helps offered.

Making the drive from Smyrna, Dale Brackin was at the event with his wife and grandson, who was honing his whittling skills on a bar of soap, using a plastic knife. He pretty much summed up the rest of the customers in attendance.

“I try to get here on a semi-regular basis. They’re a real nice family,” said Brackin.

For more information on Willey Knives, 14210 Sugar Hill Road, Greenwood, call 302-349-4070, go to willeyknives.com or email sales@willeyknives.com.