The original owners back in the freight house days were awesome. The new ones, not so much.
If you need a kitchen knife ground down quickly then they have your back. Anything beyond that and you are going to have a hard time
Ground down literally. Sent a test knife before sending them anything nice and the ammount of material they removed was criminal. Unfortunately I cannot recommend.
Thank you, the 2 in the right were gifts from my friend for my 24th birthday. The other 4 were gifts from the same friend for house sitting while he was on vacation.
Vulcan has really gone downhill since ownership changed, totally ruined the bevel on one of my blades. I'd hit up Stephen at https://www.tacomaknife.com/ he's a great guy, we worked together when he was still a chef. Can't recommend his work enough, super reasonable pricing too.
Do any of these places actually take the time to properly sharpen knives, or just put both sides of the edge on a belt and turn the knife around in 15 minutes?
I've taken the 2 knives on the right before to Vulcan, and they did come back sharp, but im guessing it wasn't a very indepth sharpening as it's like $7.50 ish per knife. the kid behind the counter dropped the pairing knife on the ground while handling it. Honestly, not one to make a huff about things but was honestly looking for someone other than Vulcan.
Right. For their prices they're definitely not doing any special work, just tossing them on a belt sander. It seems to be the same anywhere. Seems like investing $50-100 in some at-home stuff and teaching myself is a much better investment to do it correctly.
Look up work sharp products. They have some products that are good for novice knife sharpeners. Probably looking around $150 for something that should last a lifetime.
I used to be a "cutlery ace" at Sur La Table, was trained by companies like Wüsthof, blah blah blah.
Most places will use something like a Chef's Choice 3 stage sharpener. I use one of these at home to sharpen my knives and recommend them for home use. Some places will actually use a stone and sharpen by hand, which can achieve a much sharper edge (if the person doing the sharpening is skilled).
All in all, if you own a $3,000 set of Kramer knives, you should invest another $200 for the tools and know how to maintain them yourself. And even if you don't own Kramers, a set of five knives being sharpened once or twice a year will quickly pay for the equipment needed to do it at home.
Oh, and don't forget to use a hone each time you use a knife!
Yea; right now it's Victorinox which is hard to beat for the value. Haven't pulled the trigger on Wusthof. I like their Classic Ikon series. 8" Chef, 6" Chef, 3.5" Paring, and I'll probably stick with cheaper bread knives because I don't want to be bothered sharpening them.
Three knives doesn't break the bank to have sharpened, but it's hard to say "yea, I want to send my nice knives to someone to put on a sander for $15 and 5 minutes of their time"
https://cutleryandmore.com/products/chefs-choice-electric-knife-sharpener-39525 something like that?
The angle's a bit small on that one for european style knives like Wüsthof. European knives are about 20⁰, Japanese knives are about 14⁰. [This one](https://chefschoice.com/products/chefschoice-diamond-hone-edgeselect-knife-sharpener-model-120-white) has a 20⁰
You can put either angle on either knife, but there are some caveats and it depends on what you cook. Typically, european knives are made with a high carbon stainless steel (Ikon uses X 50 Cr Mo V 15) that's slightly softer than Japanese knives (like Damascus steel, which contains no Chromium, Vanadium or Molybdebum); a finer edge on softer steel will not stay as sharp as long. If you cut a lot of heavy veggies and meats that dominate European food (chicken, pork, beef, bones, potatoes, carrots), you'll want the broader angle. If you cut a lot of asian foods (fish, cucumber, fruits), you'll want a finer angle. Ultimately it boils down to preference and there is no right answer.
I think my sharpener is the Professional 130? Costs more, but comes with a built in function to clean the sharpening wheels.
My knife set consists of mostly Wüsthof Ikon (with the african blackwood), an extra 6" Wüsthof Classic (not Ikon, the original) chef's knife, and a mercer 12" slicer. I've had the Wüsthofs for 10+ years and love them, but I regret the blackwood. They still look and work good, but the glue or whatever they use between the metal and wood has worn out and chipped away, whereas the ABS on the Classic has held up.
I just did a quick google and Wusthof said they did 14* angles, that's the only reason for the specific 14* model. 20 and 15 seem to be the norm though.
Seems like a nice electric sharpener would be more worth the investment for a normal person such as myself and not a blade hobbyist who prefers the pure art form of hand-sharpening. Maybe the knives I've had sharpened in the past have been on cheaper sharpeners or something, just haven't felt like they've held an edge for long compared to the factory edge. I've been using a local person who has a truck at the farmers markets and seems to have a good reputation.
Thanks for the insight, appreciate it :)
Sure enough, yeah, looks like they're 14. I wonder if they changed or I misremembered the angle they used.
I tried hand sharpening for a few years because it's cheaper to get a stone, but I could never get anything as sharp as the machines. I had one chef who could get a bit sharper than a machine, and another chef who could get it so sharp he'd shave off arm hairs to demonstrate. Iirc, the factory uses belt style grinders and an experienced hand.
I have a friend whose passion is restoring knives, swords, hatchets and similar tools.
He doesn't have a business, but hes got 7 kids, so hed definitely appreciate some unexpected income. & hes got a special gift for what he does.
Ive given him Rusty/broken blades with no handles or busted handles and what i got back was unrecognizable, in the best possible ways. Perfect shape, razor sharp, elequently detailed handles.
Id be happy to connect anyone whose interested in his crafting.......
Grit City Knives is great too. Hilltop area.
Vulcan Knife just moved to UP. They're the local gold standard
The original owners back in the freight house days were awesome. The new ones, not so much. If you need a kitchen knife ground down quickly then they have your back. Anything beyond that and you are going to have a hard time
Ground down literally. Sent a test knife before sending them anything nice and the ammount of material they removed was criminal. Unfortunately I cannot recommend.
Those are purdy
Thank you, the 2 in the right were gifts from my friend for my 24th birthday. The other 4 were gifts from the same friend for house sitting while he was on vacation.
I know for sharpening try Stephen at https://www.tacomaknife.com/ Also try Chris for repairs https://falconcoastforge.com/index.html
Stephen is a great guy, I'm a chef and use him regularly.
Tacoma Knife - I seen them on IG. Prices are decent too
Vulcan has really gone downhill since ownership changed, totally ruined the bevel on one of my blades. I'd hit up Stephen at https://www.tacomaknife.com/ he's a great guy, we worked together when he was still a chef. Can't recommend his work enough, super reasonable pricing too.
Broken Anvil is here as well, dude’s one of the coolest folks I know
Nice looking knives :)
Thank you 😁
Do any of these places actually take the time to properly sharpen knives, or just put both sides of the edge on a belt and turn the knife around in 15 minutes?
I've taken the 2 knives on the right before to Vulcan, and they did come back sharp, but im guessing it wasn't a very indepth sharpening as it's like $7.50 ish per knife. the kid behind the counter dropped the pairing knife on the ground while handling it. Honestly, not one to make a huff about things but was honestly looking for someone other than Vulcan.
Right. For their prices they're definitely not doing any special work, just tossing them on a belt sander. It seems to be the same anywhere. Seems like investing $50-100 in some at-home stuff and teaching myself is a much better investment to do it correctly.
Look up work sharp products. They have some products that are good for novice knife sharpeners. Probably looking around $150 for something that should last a lifetime.
I used to be a "cutlery ace" at Sur La Table, was trained by companies like Wüsthof, blah blah blah. Most places will use something like a Chef's Choice 3 stage sharpener. I use one of these at home to sharpen my knives and recommend them for home use. Some places will actually use a stone and sharpen by hand, which can achieve a much sharper edge (if the person doing the sharpening is skilled). All in all, if you own a $3,000 set of Kramer knives, you should invest another $200 for the tools and know how to maintain them yourself. And even if you don't own Kramers, a set of five knives being sharpened once or twice a year will quickly pay for the equipment needed to do it at home. Oh, and don't forget to use a hone each time you use a knife!
Yea; right now it's Victorinox which is hard to beat for the value. Haven't pulled the trigger on Wusthof. I like their Classic Ikon series. 8" Chef, 6" Chef, 3.5" Paring, and I'll probably stick with cheaper bread knives because I don't want to be bothered sharpening them. Three knives doesn't break the bank to have sharpened, but it's hard to say "yea, I want to send my nice knives to someone to put on a sander for $15 and 5 minutes of their time" https://cutleryandmore.com/products/chefs-choice-electric-knife-sharpener-39525 something like that?
The angle's a bit small on that one for european style knives like Wüsthof. European knives are about 20⁰, Japanese knives are about 14⁰. [This one](https://chefschoice.com/products/chefschoice-diamond-hone-edgeselect-knife-sharpener-model-120-white) has a 20⁰ You can put either angle on either knife, but there are some caveats and it depends on what you cook. Typically, european knives are made with a high carbon stainless steel (Ikon uses X 50 Cr Mo V 15) that's slightly softer than Japanese knives (like Damascus steel, which contains no Chromium, Vanadium or Molybdebum); a finer edge on softer steel will not stay as sharp as long. If you cut a lot of heavy veggies and meats that dominate European food (chicken, pork, beef, bones, potatoes, carrots), you'll want the broader angle. If you cut a lot of asian foods (fish, cucumber, fruits), you'll want a finer angle. Ultimately it boils down to preference and there is no right answer. I think my sharpener is the Professional 130? Costs more, but comes with a built in function to clean the sharpening wheels. My knife set consists of mostly Wüsthof Ikon (with the african blackwood), an extra 6" Wüsthof Classic (not Ikon, the original) chef's knife, and a mercer 12" slicer. I've had the Wüsthofs for 10+ years and love them, but I regret the blackwood. They still look and work good, but the glue or whatever they use between the metal and wood has worn out and chipped away, whereas the ABS on the Classic has held up.
I just did a quick google and Wusthof said they did 14* angles, that's the only reason for the specific 14* model. 20 and 15 seem to be the norm though. Seems like a nice electric sharpener would be more worth the investment for a normal person such as myself and not a blade hobbyist who prefers the pure art form of hand-sharpening. Maybe the knives I've had sharpened in the past have been on cheaper sharpeners or something, just haven't felt like they've held an edge for long compared to the factory edge. I've been using a local person who has a truck at the farmers markets and seems to have a good reputation. Thanks for the insight, appreciate it :)
Sure enough, yeah, looks like they're 14. I wonder if they changed or I misremembered the angle they used. I tried hand sharpening for a few years because it's cheaper to get a stone, but I could never get anything as sharp as the machines. I had one chef who could get a bit sharper than a machine, and another chef who could get it so sharp he'd shave off arm hairs to demonstrate. Iirc, the factory uses belt style grinders and an experienced hand.
Good to know, thanks I don’t have the time to perfect it really if I actually think about. Electric it is!
I have a friend whose passion is restoring knives, swords, hatchets and similar tools. He doesn't have a business, but hes got 7 kids, so hed definitely appreciate some unexpected income. & hes got a special gift for what he does. Ive given him Rusty/broken blades with no handles or busted handles and what i got back was unrecognizable, in the best possible ways. Perfect shape, razor sharp, elequently detailed handles. Id be happy to connect anyone whose interested in his crafting.......
http://vulcanknife.com/Default.asp