The fifth- and sixth-generation owners of Heimerdinger Cutler in Lousiville, Ky., are proud of their store’s heritage. But they face some challenges—such as the need to repeatedly explain the store’s name.
“People ask me what kind of stuff we sell at our store, and I tell them, ‘Cutlery,’” says 15-year-old Nicole Heimerdinger. “And they look at me and say, ‘What’s cutlery?’”
“It’s kind of an old-fashioned term,” adds her father, Carl, 55, “and I think that’s one of the challenges that we in the cutlery business face.”
“It cuts stuff,” Nicole explains. “Get it? Cutlery. Cut-lery.”
The Heimerdingers’ store features a display of antique grass and sheep shears, scissors and straight-blade razors that their ancestors manufactured and patented. Their collection is large enough to start a museum, something they have considered.
Carl’s great-great-grandfather, German immigrant August Hei-merdinger, first opened a cutlery and sewing machine repair business in downtown Louisville in 1861. Carl attributes the longevity of the store to its ability to respond to changes in the business environment, and to its diverse customer base.
Through the 1920s, Heimderdinger manufactured and sold butcher supplies to the meatpacking industry. The store also had a hardware component. “We were called the Tool Store of Louisville because we had so many tools,” Carl says. After World War II, customers included returning soldiers who were being retrained.
In 1969, Carl’s father, Henry, spun off the cutlery side of the business from the barber/beauty supply section, which an uncle continued to run as a separate entity under the same roof until the early ’80s.
When that business closed, it was a prime time for Heimerdinger Cutlery to relocate. The Heimerdingers focused their search on the east side of Louisville, home to most of their customer base. Eventually, they moved to their current location on Shelbyville Road.
Heimerdinger’s repair department sets the store apart from other retailers; they use belts not just to resharpen blades but also to remanufacture them—a traditional technique that creates a better cutting edge, according to the Heimerdingers.
“When Carl sharpens blades, he’s doing it all by hand,” says Carl’s wife, Glenna, 58. “It’s not something you can learn overnight. There’s an art to it.” Carl creates the edge without machinery assistance. “There are 167 steps to making a pair of scissors,” said Glenna, “and Carl probably makes 50 of these steps all over again” when he sharpens them. This makes the blades fit together better and the scissors work like new, she says.
Nicole says her parents haven’t pressured her into taking over the operation. “They aren’t going to disown me if I say I don’t want to. But I feel like I have an obligation to all of our customers to continue this.” Many customers are second- or third-generation clients.
The company added an online business presence more than a decade ago. That “has proved to be a business-saving decision, because business has changed so much,” says Carl. He says the website (www.heimerdingercutlery.com) accounts for 50% of gross sales in a typical month, and some months online sales exceed walk-in sales. The business’s Internet niche is scissors, knives and shaving -supplies.
As for the future of the cutlery business in general, Carl describes it as “cloudy.” Cutlery stores are becoming fewer and fewer, as are companies that make cutlery. But Heimerdinger boasts a loyal clientele, and Carl says he is always broadening his knowledge about his business and the tools. “I think that’s the passion that I have: learning,” he says.
Sally M. Snell is a writer based in Lawrence, Kan.