With a tongue as sharp as the knives he delivers, he has been sharpening scissors since he was 15 and can’t imagine doing anything else.
He lives on the south bank, but comes to the capital almost every day (we haven’t seen him here for a long time), where he already has certain clients.
The last time we saw him was in Bairro Alto and, as he sipped an imperial and sharpened a knife, he began to share the stories and memories he has of this life.
Secret Lisbon (LS): How many years have you been sharpening knives and sharpening scissors in Bairro Alto?
Manuel Loureiro (ML): Wow! I don’t even remember anymore. For years! I’ve been doing this since I was 15, almost 45 years ago. But here, I’ve been coming for maybe 25 years or more.
LS: Has the neighborhood changed much since then?
ML: Very much so, of course. Before, it was really the housewives who lived here. Now it’s just “camones”. At four and five in the same apartment.
LS: Has your work changed much? What are you being asked to do now?
ML: I used to do a lot more work, not least because I used to get umbrellas and there were more scissors. Now I still have two or three tailors, but it’s pretty much just knives.
LS: I’ve noticed that you like to drink an imperial while you work..
ML: Do you know why? The pistons start to run out of oil and the beer helps to oil them.
LS: There are fewer and fewer grinders in Lisbon..
ML: As far as I know, there are only three or four in the Lisbon/Almada region. Me, my brother and two other friends.
LS: What is the secret of a good grinder?
ML: It’s knowing how to grind. For example, knowing how to make a half cane, i.e. how to thin it with a knife or scissors.
LS: How much do you charge for sharpening a knife?
ML: It’s usually 2€/2.5€, but I always give the right customers a discount. And sometimes they offer me lunch too. One hand washes the other.
LS: Can you think of any episodes you’ve been through?
ML: I’ll tell you a true story. I once softened a knife for a gypsy who then used it to cut someone else’s face. Because of the drugs, you see. He told me: sharpen my knife, Manel. I softened up and cut the man’s face right off! True. This happened in Bairro do Pica-Pau Amarelo, on the south bank.
LS: Bairro Alto is full of tourists. What do they tell you when they see you at work?
ML: They take a thousand photos of me a day. I’ve already put a piece of paper saying “1 euro for each photo”, but they won’t pay. They’d better pay up, they would! So, when I go to Belem, the “camones” don’t stop taking pictures.
LS: In addition to Bairro Alto and Belém, do you also pass through other neighborhoods? Where do you prefer to work?
ML: I run all over the city: Bairro Alto, Madragoa, Mouraria, Alcântara… Tomorrow, for example, I’m going to the Fish Market, in Calçada da Ajuda, to sharpen the fishmongers’ knives. I prefer to work in historic neighborhoods, where I’m better known and have more customers. For example, here in Bairro Alto, 50 sharpeners can pass by, but they only give me the knives.
LS: Do you imagine yourself being a sharpener forever?
ML: Of course. I’m in charge here. I’m my own boss. And while other people go to the gym and have to pay, I still get paid to do my fitness, which is spinning the wheel of the bike.
