How to become a metal polisher, wheel grinder or tool sharpener

Official title: Metal polishers, wheel grinders and tool sharpeners

Also called: Knife sharpener, Metal finisher, Metal polisher, Tool grinder

Metal polishers, wheel grinders and tool sharpeners polish and grind metal surfaces and sharpen tools.

Main tasks

• Operating fixed or portable buffing and polishing machines
• Sharpening cutting tools and instruments using grinding wheels or mechanically operated grinding machines
• Repairing, adjusting and sharpening saw blades and metal teeth of cylinders in textile carding machines
• Dressing grinding wheels according to specifications
• Monitoring machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, and stopping machines when problems occur
• Inspecting, feeling and measuring work pieces to ensure that surfaces and dimensions meet specifications
• Selecting and mounting grinding wheels on machines according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: HK$21,000 a month
• About 387,500 people in 2025, and about 403,200 projected by 2028. (+4.1%)
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Metal working machine tool setters and operators
• Blacksmiths, hammersmiths and forging press workers
• Toolmakers and related workers

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Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a metal polisher, wheel grinder or tool sharpener?

Usually not. Only 4% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a metal polisher, wheel grinder or tool sharpener?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026