Meet Michael Behn | Edgesmith

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Behn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Well the goal from the start was to create a job that afforded me the opportunity to have balance for the first time in my life. Working as a chef my entire career I lived in the kitchen. It’s a demanding field that doesn’t reflect in the pay and after the years I became demoralized and felt defeated. In August of 2020 with one whetstone and a nervous energy Moshi Moshi knife sharpening was started and in February of 2022 we are expanding in North Carolina, Denver and soon Duluth. The dream of the business right now is to have skilled, specialized sharpener in every city.

So now that the business is a little bit established, and we have booked out calendar that is when you can start to be nicer to your self in my opinion. I do my hobbies now! Chess in the mornings with coffee, playing with the dog through out the day and guitar at night. I have a 4 day work week, and I’m always kind to my self when it comes to working.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Moshi Moshi knife sharpening is ran by chefs and people that work with knives. We know what we are talking about, because we have the years of experience behind it. We use a mixture of fine whetstones and jig assisted water cooled machines like the Tormek to create seriously serious edges. There is a big gap in the Atlanta market for knife sharpening at a high level. We filled the gap, and the people are responding.

We are proud of the ability to have the freedom to control our lives! Each Moshi Moshi branch is essentially their own business, with their own hours and rules and processes. I want the people who are dedicating themselves to me and the craft to be able to fully express them selves and have as much fun as possible.
We arrived where we are professionally by being idealists. Core values of having strict cut off times when work is over, and intentionally trying to create balance. Not to say we don’t take what we do seriously, the most ‘on brand’ statement about Moshi Moshi is simply SHARP.

The lessons I’ve been learning is simply how to be kind to my self while maintaining a very high level of execution. There have been days where the stars weren’t aligning, where the burrs weren’t forming and I would just shut it down!

What people should know about Moshi Moshi is that we are a group of former chefs who know we deserve more professionally. I’m just doing things differently and putting the people first.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Probably go to one of the many restaurants I sharpen for, Little Bear, The Chastain, Gigis Italian Kitchen, 8arm or some banging tacos at Supremo and show my face, say hello and enjoy some fine cuisine.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Love this! For sure my fiancée Jenna, the absolute source of my power and Moshi Moshi’s CFO. It helps that she is a CPA and is incredibly smart, it was her grand plan to franchise out the business. She’s a constant source of inspiration and my bff.

Website: Moshiknives.com

Instagram: Moshiknivesatl

Image Credits
Ryan Fleisher