Editor's note: This is one in a weekly series of profiles on locally owned and operated businesses in Southern Oregon.

What do you do and how long have you been doing it?

We're a retail cutlery business. We do sales and service for kitchens, professional chefs, household, outdoorsmen, hunting and pocket knives. We do manicure, pedicure and scissors as well. I started in 1967 and had more extensive cutlery supplies since 1969.

How long have you lived in the Rogue Valley?

I was born and raised right here and went to Phoenix High School.

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What inspired you to go into this line of work?

I was in welding prior to this and I could see the logging and timber industry was coming to an end. I saw a need in our community for fine cutlery for people's households and personal needs. Someone to have knowledge of products and merchandise, a full knowledge of usage and what they're made out of. There are a lot of knives available and a lot that aren't very good. I wanted to fit a particular need.

What decision or action would you change if you could do it again?

We very carefully placed our steps and took a considerable length of time to get where we are. I took little steps to where we are now, stocking a lot of items. We've got a good location and we're easy to find; not in a big mall someplace lost in the clutter of others. We' re a destination type shop and we own our own property.

What's the toughest business decision you've made?

We've been very careful to choose the products we sell. I analyze them and determine what their real worth is for the value and money of my clientele. Sometimes I get samples and we check them all over and test them and find them lacking. We've focused on not selling our products over the Internet. We felt we wanted to be more in the community and not be a mass-merchandiser, I wanted to be one-on-one and help them with their purchase and not be a peg-board store where stuff was hanging up. I ask customers what they plan to do with their purchase; some people have different needs and we address that.

I feel people don't get the full benefit of getting a product that they can use by just buying over the Internet or mail order. For the most part people have a hard time understanding what the cutlery can be used for. If you misrepresent a product, the product eventually tells its own story and tells its own truth. Some of the inventory is fairly expensive and I don't want people to buy something that's not going to work for them. Some have minimal needs and don't need as an expensive of an item.

Who are your competitors?

There are a lot of places that sell cutlery but not to the extent we do. We have much greater depth and width. Some stores sell pots and pans and other kitchen supplies. They'll have a narrower selection. Merlo's Cutlery is in the Rogue Valley Mall, but their operation is entirely different and selective in the amount. If we carry a line, we try to carry a larger depth, even if it's a slower seller. Cutco Cutlery is overpriced and sold house to house. But where do you take it after some college student sold it to you? I like the idea of people able to buy whatever they can afford. If they can't afford the best, then we have something down a peg.

How do you define success for your business?

The start-up period was over a five-year period and then it continued to grow from there. This is a profession and we live it, sleep, eat and breathe it. It's so interesting and exciting, even today. After 40 years, it still remains of great interest to me. We're here 52 weeks a year, we take off every national holiday and we work five days a week during the summer, and during the holidays we work seven days.

What are your goals?

I plan to continue to the end. I like what I'm doing and as long as I am able to do what I'm doing, I will continue on. I have a very large list of customers that run into the thousands. We sell to professional chefs and help maintain their cutlery, but percentage wise, the largest actual dollar value comes from households and outdoorsmen. If had a bigger building, I might be able to put out three times the items I have in storage.

What training or education did you need?

Previous to the cutlery business, my profession was welding, working on farming and logging equipment and all kinds of acute repair problems. I've always been around things that were basically metal. I've worked with steel and exotic metals in my welding. We researched metallurgy and knife manufacturing techniques, the heat treating values and all that, on our own.

What's your advice for budding entrepreneurs?

Be conservative and keep your capital in reserve for a rainy day in case it's needed to keep moving forward. Just because you make a little money one day, doesn't mean you won't need it the next week. You have to be persistent.

To suggest an idea for this column, contact reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com