How To Become A Tool Sharpener: What It Is and Career Path

What is a tool sharpener and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a tool sharpener. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.22 an hour? That's $42,063 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 3,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreTool SharpenerUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $42,063

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 6.69%

Black or African American 10.61%

Hispanic or Latino 18.37%

Unknown 3.92%

White 59.71%

Gender

female 0.00%

male 100.00%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tool sharpener

Explore tool sharpener education requirements

Most common tool sharpener degrees

High School Diploma

30.8 %

Certificate

30.8 %

Bachelor's

15.4 %

Start to develop specific tool sharpener skills

Skills	Percentages
Sharpen Tools	100.00%

Complete relevant tool sharpener training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tool sharpeners learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a tool sharpener based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tool sharpener resumes.

Research tool sharpener duties and responsibilities

wire EDM operator/programmer, general industrial mechanic as needed.
Used Zoller precision measuring and computer programming.

Prepare your tool sharpener resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tool sharpener resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a tool sharpener resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable tool sharpener resume templates

Build a professional tool sharpener resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your tool sharpener resume.