The Bow Tie Guy (904) 662-1786

Mobile sharpening · Northeast Florida

The man in the bow tie sharpens where you work.

Gabe Urban runs a sharpening bench out of his van. He parks at your animal hospital, grooming shop or salon, services every instrument on the premises, and leaves you cutting clean the same day. No shipping. No loaners you have to chase.

Surgical instrumentsGrooming shears & A5 bladesBeauty shearsKnives

Who we serve

One visit covers every blade in the building.

Priority accounts

Animal hospitals & veterinary clinics

Surgical instruments, suture and bandage scissors, and every clipper blade in prep and treatment, sharpened on a schedule so nothing goes dull between visits. Gabe keeps an instrument log per clinic and sends one invoice a month. Multi-location groups get the same sharpener at every site.

  • Mayo & Metzenbaum
  • Iris & suture
  • Bandage scissors
  • A5 & #40 blades
  • Nail trimmers
  • Instrument log

Grooming shops

Straight, curved and chunker shears, plus the whole blade drawer. Big shops get a standing visit every six to eight weeks so no groomer is fighting a pulling blade on a Saturday.

  • Curved & straight shears
  • A5 blades, all sizes
  • Drive & socket check

Salons & barbershops

Convex Japanese steel sharpened on a wet wheel and polished, not ground flat. Tension set, ride line checked, tested on hair before he hands them back.

  • Convex & beveled
  • Thinning shears
  • Clippers & trimmers

Restaurants & home cooks

Chef knives, cleavers, serrated and boning knives. Kitchens get a route stop; home cooks text a photo and get bundled with a nearby visit.

  • Kitchen knives
  • Serrated
  • Pocket & hunting

Not on the bench: mower blades, chainsaws, axes, hedge trimmers, skates. Gabe will tell you who does those well.

Gabe at a clinic bench, bow tie on, instruments laid outDrop photo here
The van, side door open, wheel runningDrop photo here
Close-up: a convex shear on the polishing wheelDrop photo here

Account program

Standing service for places with a lot of steel.

Built for animal hospitals, multi-chair salons and grooming shops that would rather never think about sharpening again. Text to set one up; the first visit sets the baseline and the rotation.

Text to set up an account
1

Walk-through and count

Gabe inventories every instrument and blade, flags what's chipped, bent or past saving, and tags each piece in your clinic's log.

2

Rotation that fits your schedule

Every 6, 8 or 12 weeks, same day of the week, timed between surgeries or around your busiest grooming days. You don't call; he shows up.

3

Sharpened on the premises

Nothing leaves the building. Instruments are wet-ground, honed, tested and back in the drawer before the next appointment.

4

One invoice, your way

Monthly invoice by email, paid by card or bank transfer. Multi-site groups get one statement across locations.

BEVELED Flat facets, a visible line. German-style shears, knives. CONVEX Clamshell curve, no line. Japanese steel, surgical scissors. ON THE WHEEL Water-cooled. Steel never heats, temper never softens. A convex shear ground flat is a ruined shear. He checks which you have before the wheel turns.

The edge

Sharp is easy. Sharp and right takes the right wheel.

Most sharpening damage happens when someone treats a surgical scissor or a convex shear like a kitchen knife. The angle gets flattened, the ride line disappears, and the pair folds hair or crushes tissue even though it feels sharp.

Gabe sharpens on a water-cooled wheel system, matches the factory angle on each piece, resets tension, and tests every pair before it goes back in your hand. Chipped tips and bent blades get a straight answer before any work starts.

What clinics and shops say

★★★★★

Sample, replace with a real review
"He comes every eight weeks, does the whole surgery drawer and the clipper blades in treatment, and the techs stopped complaining about dull Metzenbaums."Practice manager, animal hospital, St. Augustine
Sample, replace with a real review
"Six pairs of shears between my clients. The convex pair I'd given up on cuts like new."Stylist, Jax Beach

Had Gabe out recently?

A Google review is how the next clinic finds him. It takes about a minute, and you'll be able to spot his bow tie in the photos.

Leave a Google review

Something wasn't right? Text him first. He'd rather fix it than read about it.

Service area

The route runs the coast, Fernandina to Daytona, and inland to Ocala.

Based in St. Johns County. Beaches and the St. Johns corridor most weeks; Flagler, Volusia and the inland towns on rotation. Text your zip and Gabe will tell you his next day there.

  • Fernandina Beach
  • Yulee
  • Amelia Island
  • Jacksonville
  • Orange Park
  • Fleming Island
  • Atlantic Beach
  • Neptune Beach
  • Jax Beach
  • Ponte Vedra
  • Nocatee
  • St. Augustine
  • Palm Coast
  • Ormond Beach
  • Daytona Beach
  • Port Orange
  • Palatka
  • Lake City
  • Ocala
Fernandina / Amelia Jacksonville Orange Park · Fleming Island Beaches · Ponte Vedra St. Augustine home base Nocatee Palm Coast Ormond Beach Daytona Beach Port Orange Lake City Palatka Ocala Solid: weekly coast route · Dashed: on rotation

Questions

Before you text.

Can you sharpen surgical instruments to a clinical standard on site?

Yes. Surgical scissors are sharpened to their original bevel on a water-cooled wheel, checked for burrs under magnification, and tested on suture material. Instruments that are pitted, sprung or past their edge are flagged for replacement, not forced.

How often should a vet clinic or grooming shop have blades done?

Most clinics settle on every 8 weeks for clipper blades and every 12 for surgical scissors. High-volume grooming shops are usually 6 weeks. The first visit sets the baseline; the rotation adjusts from there.

Do you sharpen convex (Japanese-style) shears?

Yes, on a wet wheel with a polishing step. If you've had a pair ruined by a knife sharpener, that's usually a convex edge that got ground flat.

What happens to a chipped, bent or rusted blade?

He looks before he starts and tells you whether it's worth repairing. Some tip and chip repairs are quick; some blades aren't worth the money and he'll say so.

How do accounts pay?

Monthly invoice by email, paid by card or bank transfer. Walk-up customers tap a card at the van.

Book a visit

(904) 662-1786

Texting is fastest. Send a count or a photo of what needs an edge and the name of your clinic or shop.

Text Gabe Call
Hours
Mon–Sat, 8am–6pm. Clinic and shop visits by appointment.
Owner
Gabe Urban
Based
St. Johns County, Florida
Look for
The bow tie. Every visit.