As a little boy, I used to follow my mother to the Chowrasta Market in Penang. Sometimes, she would bring along her kitchen knives. Not as self-defense against snatch thieves but to visit the knife-sharpening uncle, to get her knives sharpened.
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The Lost Glitter
Knife sharpening is a process of making the knife or similar tool sharp by grinding against a hard rough surface such as the stone or grinding wheel and then smoothen it further with a leather razor strop. This old trade was popular in the wet market especially in the butcher area.
Today, modern machineries can easily sharpen the knives faster and easier compared to doing it manually. Hence, the trade is gradually dying. But for some people, nothing beats the good old manual way to a more precise and sharper tool.
Apart from knife sharpening trade, I still remember tin smiths were very much sought-after in the past. People would seek their services to repair or fabricate light metal items like kitchen utensils, water pitchers, candle holders and other tinware. Most of this trade was handed down for generations. However, as plastic became more in demand, tin smiths found it tough to sustain their age-old trade and hence, many had ceased from their business.
In fact, the popularity of tin and iron smiths have given birth to a street known as Ironsmith’s Street (Pak Theek Kay) in George Town, Penang.
Surviving Metal Trades
While some metal trades are dying, the locksmith is still very much popular today. Long ago, locksmiths ran their businesses in push carts and would often move from places to places. Today, the locksmiths operate from their shops and keep up with the demand of modern locks, from cars to homes and offices.
Moving on is the scrap metal trade. I remember I was taught in school to collect tin cans for recycling purposes. Well, scrap metal trade seems to be doing well as there are more recycling efforts now. Scrap metals such as copper, brass, aluminium, zinc, magnesium, tin, stainless steel and more have monetary value.
Next, gold trading is one of the oldest trade and compared to the past, we saw the flourishing businesses of gold businesses like Habib Jewels, Wah Chan, Tomei and Poh Kong. As a matter of fact, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling in Penang is thriving with gold traders since colonial times.
If there is one metal that put Malaysia on the world map, it is obviously pewter. Royal Selangor prides itself as the largest Malaysian pewter retailer and producer in the world. The company offers thousands of pewterware from tableware, tankards, tea sets, photo frames to desk and wine accessories.
So here we are, the good old memories of metal trade can be considered worth its weight in gold.
Text by Francis Yip
