The Knife Bus Rolls Onto the Upper West Side: ‘A Trade Since the Beginning of Collective Humanity’

By Andrea Sachs

A new enterprise has rolled into the neighborhood.

Since January, the Green Point Knife Bus has been plying its trade on the Upper West Side. This is the latest chapter of an old story: the practice of skilled knife sharpening spans millions of years, all the way back to our prehistoric forebears.

The industrious owner-operator of the knife bus is Brandon Taylor, 45, a film-industry veteran and an Upper West Side native. Taylor worked for 20 years as a key grip, the technician in charge of moving and setting up camera tracks and scenery in movie or television productions. “I’ve done at least 120 movies, and at this point, they’re all kind of a blur,” he admits.

During the Writer’s Guild strike in 2023, Taylor’s work colleague, cinematographer Ryan White, founded Green Point Knives. “He said that he had just started a truck and was wondering if I’d be interested in working on it the next time I had a day off.”

Taylor was intrigued and, with the flash of a knife, he had found a new profession.

“I quickly realized that I had an affinity for knife sharpening,” he says. “I really enjoyed the process, both sharpening the knives and also the interaction with customers at the window.” On a practical level, it was also apparent he could make more money that way in fewer hours. So, Taylor jumped in feet first and bought a used school bus in New Jersey that June, joining White’s ongoing business as a partner.

While Taylor had sharpened his own knives at home for years, he was far from being a pro. “I learned a majority of my sharpening on the job,” he says. “It was trial by fire.  Much like any artisanal craft or anything done by hand, you never really master it. You are constantly learning, and you get better every day.” Taylor soon discovered that getting cut is an occupational hazard. “I keep a full assortment of Bleed Stop on the bus.”

In January, Taylor inaugurated the UWS branch of the business on the corner of Broadway and West 72nd Street. That was a familiar spot to Taylor from his childhood, when he lived on West 71st Street. (He now lives in Brooklyn.) At that time, his mother was a social worker at Roosevelt Hospital and his father was a set designer on Broadway. Taylor attended Trinity School on a scholarship. “I was one of the poorer kids at the richest school in New York City,” he recalls. Taylor notes that he went to school “with the scions of New Yorks’s elite. It was surreal.”

As soon as Taylor arrived in the neighborhood, Upper West Siders began flocking to the bus, carrying kitchenware and utensils that needed sharpening. “Seventy percent of my business is people who cook, just general citizens,” Taylor says. “Then there are a decent number of chefs from higher-end restaurants. I also do a couple of Michelin-starred restaurants.”

Taylor has since expanded to other UWS locations, including outside the Museum of Natural History, Barney Greengrass, and the farmers market on West 81st Street and Columbus Avenue. His partner Ryan White likewise goes out to locations around the city in his own truck. The bus and truck’s scheduled stops for the week (with the exact times and locations) are posted on the company website, Facebook, and Instagram accounts every Monday morning.

Customers can bring knives, scissors, and tools with edges to be sharpened. The service is same-day, usually taking only an hour-and-a half to two hours. Customers receive a text when their order is ready. Prices can be found on the company website.

It’s easy as can be, like a hot knife through butter.

And if you decide that your current knives no longer make the cut, the Green Point bus is at the ready, selling pricey Kikuichi Japanese knives. They are handmade by master craftsmen who continue a tradition that has been passed down for over 750 years. Can any knife be that special? Says Taylor, “You don’t know flying on a private jet is amazing until you do it.”

Closer to earth, Taylor reveals that his bus is 100% solar-powered and runs on batteries. “There’s no generator ever running while I’m parked. We’re not a noise problem.”

Upper West Siders looking for Taylor and his bus will be able to find him on July 13^th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., parked at West 81st and Columbus at the northernmost part of the Farmers’ Market.

Taylor marvels that he and his colleagues are now part of an international community. “We’ve been contacted through our website and Instagram by sharpeners around the world who’ve shared their techniques. It feels like we’re perpetuating a skill and a trade that has been around since the beginning of collective humanity.”

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