SNN_August 2022 Issue_web low res

NEW ZEALAND SPINAL TRUST 14
What Can I Do?
Our new column which highlights ways people can help
HEART OF GOLD: Cyril Murray is all about providing a good service and helping others.
What Cyril Did
People choose to support NZ Spinal Trust (NZST) for all
sorts of reasons—they may have gone through the Spinal
Unit as a patient or whānau member; they may work with
spinal patients; they may have a friend of a friend of a
friend in a wheelchair. Very rarely though does it involve
an appreciation of a sharp knife …
NZST’s CEO, Hans Wouters, likes a sharp knife for in the
kitchen and he found a complementary spirit in Cyril
Murray, who enjoys the craft and satisfaction of
sharpening blades. And given that they both also enjoy a
good conversation, it was inevitable that the subject of
“What do you do?” would come up.
Cyril started his working life as a butcher—a trade where
a sharp knife was vital to being able to do the job well, so
he learned how to take care of his blades. Although he left
the trade after a few years, he kept the blade skills he’d
—Cyril Murray
I’d like this article to
encourage other businesses
to do the same.
learned and used them to help out whānau and friends
when they needed knives sharpened. In 1996 he set up
‘Sharpen Up’ and this became a full-time job. It dropped
back to a ‘side hustle’ when he was offered a position
selling Kubota machinery.
When Cyril retired in 2014, ‘Sharpen Up’ became his
full-time interest, sharpening blades, dress making
shears and garden tools along with selling quality tools