For many years, residents in Beverly, Morgan Park, and Mt. Greenwood have been familiar with the sound of a bell signaling the arrival of Tony Del Ciello’s knife-sharpening cart. Del Ciello would walk through neighborhoods during warmer months, ringing his bell to let people know he was available to sharpen knives for $2 per blade.
Del Ciello earned a reputation for his careful and skilled sharpening work. “Sometimes you wouldn’t see him because he would only come by once a year,” said John Carmody, a Beverly resident.
Carmody recalled seeing Del Ciello at work while driving through the neighborhood several years ago. He quickly went home to gather his yard tools and kitchen knives for sharpening. Upon returning, Carmody noticed a “for sale” sign on the cart. “When I got back, I saw a ‘for sale’ sign on the cart, and my eyes lit up. I said, ‘That’s for me, I could have a ball with that thing,’” said Carmody, who is retired from the Chicago Fire Department.
Del Ciello was preparing to retire to Italy and sought someone to continue his business. Though initially skeptical about Carmody’s interest, Del Ciello allowed him to observe and eventually learn the trade over several weeks. “I started to meet him on a daily basis and would walk the streets with him to learn how to sharpen,” Carmody said. “He didn’t let me sharpen until about a week in.”
Carmody observed as Del Ciello pedaled the antique cart and demonstrated its mechanics. “I wasn’t really asking to try it, I was just waiting,” Carmody said. “I thought he was being clever by seeing my devotion to this. When he did let me sharpen, he stood right next to the cart and said, ‘I don’t think this is for you.’”
Despite some doubts from Del Ciello at first, Carmody persisted until he received approval from his mentor and purchased the cart.
Carmody’s first independent day using the cart came in 2023 at Crescent Park during an Easter egg hunt event where he sharpened 60 knives in two hours after explaining that Del Ciello had retired: “There was an Easter egg hunt going on. People started walking by, and they were stopping and saying, ‘You’re not the same guy,’ I told them Tony had retired to Italy and I took over. They went home and got knives, and I sharpened 60 knives in the first two hours,” he said.
On subsequent outings walking residential blocks with his bell ringing—a practice that initially felt awkward—Carmody soon found himself busy as neighbors responded positively: “It was the first time I went walking down the street, ringing a bell. You feel kind of funny,” Carmody said.
Ringing the bell became second nature as customers lined up with their kitchen tools: “I was starting to think it was going to be a slow day when I heard people from behind me calling out,” he said. “I had a line of people coming out with their block of 12-15 knives.”
Now experienced in his role as Beverly’s new knife sharpener—and still charging $2 per blade—Carmody values both tradition and simplicity: “This toy is so functional, it’s unbelievable. Especially in a day and age of nothing but electronics. This is the total opposite. There were people doing this 200 years ago,” he said.
Currently operating out of his garage due to age—both his own and that of his equipment—Carmody encourages residents seeking sharpening services to call him at 773-735-3296 for appointments: “The machine is pretty old, and I’m getting old as well, so less wear and tear for both of us especially during winter months,” he explained.
During summer weekends however; if demand continues by appointment only remains uncertain according to Carmody’s plans moving forward.
Morgan Park resident PJ Vaughan described seeing “the Knife Guy” for nearly two decades: “I was out mowing my lawn; saw this crazy bicycle sharpener contraption…almost like seeing an ice cream truck as kid.” Each summer Vaughan listened attentively for sound signaling arrival while neighbors gathered together turning visits into social occasions: “It’s awesome…usually all neighbors show up; it’s like little social hour.”
Last Halloween Vaughan even dressed up—with wife Karen—as local icon inspired by tradition surrounding neighborhood service: “We always look for something that is in neighborhood everyone will recognize…don’t think there anything gets people more excited than sound knife-sharper bell.”
Since taking over operations from Del Ciello; Carmody estimates having serviced thousands blades often engaging community members through conversation along way—a sentiment echoed by East Beverly resident Clare Duggan who praised both personality & value provided locally: “He has perfect personality…always delightful chat.” Duggan also noted expansion bringing service beyond original routes expressing appreciation stating; “It’s such good old-fashioned service everybody needs—we are incredibly blessed this available locally.”
