The afilador has been part of Spanish street life for generations, traveling by bicycle or on foot and playing a small flute, often called a pito, to announce his arrival. Housewives would bring knives and scissors down to the street to be sharpened on his pedal powered wheel. As the trade declined, recordings of the call circulated online in nostalgia videos, documentaries and soundboards, where the sound now works as instant shorthand for traditional Spain, old neighborhoods and manual trades.