Note: Levine's is a mom and pop shop, located in a building behind a home in residential Arlington. There isn't any sign (although, it would be great if they got one because it's initially a little creepy walking up to someone's house and hoping you have the right place). Unfortunately, I think the professionalism is lacking. While the internet says Levine's is open til' 6, twice I went before 6 to find no one around. There isn't even an answering machine for the phone line. Mr. Levine handed me my knives without wrapping them, posing a safety issue. His wife had to remind him to do so. Also, my knife, while a shitty knife, still isn't cutting things well, even after being sharpened. Despite these lapses, both Mr. Levine and his wife are very friendly, and clearly take pride in their work. The prices were reasonable - I had my chef's knife sharpened for $15. I think this is a situation where a few minor changes would really go a long way. That said, I get the sense that this is a side business, and Mr. Levine and his wife aren't really trying to be particularly professional, just trying to make some extra money for a hobby. read more

Great service, reasonable price and reliable. Make sure you catch them at a good time though because phone responsiveness can be a bit off. Also, make sure to call ahead because the business can be difficult to find as it's located in a residential area. Otherwise, very happy with the service. read more

Great shop that takes pride in their work. This place is great. Reasonable prices for sharpening knives and he knows how to sharpen any knife I've given him. Quick turnaround too. I can go during my lunch and get it back before I go back to work. Very friendly and gave me some good tips on how to take care of my cutlery. Highly recommended. read more

As I expected, my very run-of-the-mill kitchen knife set and I had an experience that fell somewhere in between the complainers and the enthusiasts. If you like to support small business, this duo are about as sweet as they come. I would review the pics on how to find the shop. read more

Great job sharpening my chef knife and cleaver. They've never been so sharp. They also do tools including planes and chisels as well as scissors and razors. A wonderful find! read more

The first time I had knives sharpened at Levines it was fine. The last 2 times the sharpening made little difference. Plus, the last time during covid, the owner didn't even wear a mask around me. I won't go back which is a pity because it was convenient for me and he'd sharpen the knives while I waited. read more

Hidden gem. Old time craftsman for knife sharpening. The shop is behind his house. He doesn't know about yelp or google so it is hard to find out about this guy. I was referred to him, and I am his first yelp review. Instead of giving my knives to some minimum wage kid to put through an automated machine at Sur le Table, I will be coming here for all my sharpening needs. My knife came out razor sharp. He has been practicing this trade for decades and it shows. I told him to get on google. We shall see if he figures it out. read more

He's a nice old man and I enjoy talking to him, but his skill level is inadequate. After I took my Spyderco Delica home, the VG-10 steel blade was much worse. The Cold Steel S35VN steel blade was also worse. Luckily, he didn't charge much and I didn't end up wasting alot of money. In order to correct what he did to my knives, I took them to be sharpened by a shop in Washington. D.C. There they inspected the knives and said whoever sharpened these knives totally missed the right angle. The only problem was they wanted $25 per knife. I also had to leave the knives for 2 days, but it was worth it because they came back sharper than the day I got them. If you want to try him go ahead. It's ultra convenient. It's only about $6 per knife, and it only takes him about 5 minutes so he can do it while you wait. read more

This may be an old time craftsman, but he ruined my knives. I took six expensive Japanese knives to him to sharpen, and he claimed he had experience with this type of blade, including one scalloped blade. He gave the knives back to me with ribbons of metal hanging off the blades, and then he became frustrated when I asked him to fix the problems with the knives that he admitted he saw. The scalloped knife, in particular, was ruined. I am still, weeks later, trying to get a refund from him, but have only received rudeness in return. I had them resharpened at a different place at Union Market in DC, with vastly different results. If you value your knives, then do not go to Levine's. He seems to do a lot of work with barber supplies, in which case, the metal and purpose are very different. But do not bring him your knives. read more

I had previously called this shop to inquire about their services. I was told that they would need to see the items to give me a quote and that depending on the items, it could be ready the same day, which I thought was great! I confirmed the shop's hours and at no point did the lady let me know that I should call in advance before coming to the store. I arrived at the location today at around 10:30, well after their "store hours" and found that no one was there. I called the business 3 times before calling the cell phone number that was on their answering machine. No ring, no voicemail option. I'm understand this is a small shop and this may be their side business perhaps, and I'm sure they do a great job--but I think it's a HUGE disservice to customers when they're not truly available during shop hours. I wish they'd note on here that they're appointment only, or at least leave some kind of sign on one of 3 doors at the physical location. I considered knocking on the main house, but who knows if they're the residents of the house?? I wasted almost 2 hours of my time in commute, very disappointed. read more

BEWARE!!!! DO NOT BRING YOUR KNIVES TO THIS PLACE!!!! I had an absolutely terrible experience. I brought two survival/hunting knives to Mr. Levine's "shop" which is awkwardly located in the back of his house and "creepy" as another recent review stated. After having to call him numerous times just to come out back and meet me, I told him I wanted to get a couple of brand new survival/hunting knives sharpened. He didn't seem to know much about the metal, and for the first ten minutes of my arrival railed on about how I should get different blades for whatever reason. I eventually had to cut him off and simply asked if he could sharpen them or not. He said he could, and agreed that they would be ready the next day. Upon my arrival the next day, the shop was closed up and his phones were turned off so it was a complete waste of time. I eventually got a call back later that night (his wife called me) and said he had been busy taking her to a medical appointment - would have been nice to know that the day before. Long story short, my knives were not even noticeably sharper than they were prior to dropping them off, and upon closer inspection when I got back home, there was a huge chip grinded out from one of my knives which clearly happened during his botched sharpening. I was furious and figured that it wasn't even worth the effort to go back to him to get it fixed- I wouldn't even want him touching my knives again and making things worse. I went back to Mr. Levine to ask for a refund, considering that he had damaged a brand-new and rather expensive knife. Not only did he refuse to do so, he denied any culpability and flat out lied to my face, insisting that he didn't touch the damaged part of the knife and that it was clearly an effect of wear-and-tear over time (as I stated before, these were BRAND NEW KNIVES which he was absolutely aware of). He is incompetent, totally unprofessional and furthermore a completely dishonest person. I feel sorry for the next person who doesn't heed this warning - proceed at your own peril. read more

I sent an email regarding replacing a rivet in my paring knife and in a few days sent in my knife. I was surprised and disappointed to find a cut-off screw as the "rivet replacement", with no prior communications of how the knife was going to be repaired. The screw isn't even cut off flush with the handle. If I would have known in advance about the replacement part, I would have used the $25 towards a replacement knife. Never again. read more

Friendly service. Apparently used a grinder to sharpen my knives. No sign in front. Walk down the driveway during open hours to the shop and office in the garage behind the house. read more

Friendly folks and great quality - my knives cut like new. I would definitely get my knives sharpened there again. Just make sure you call before stopping by. read more