Gone are the days of the nineties where fun nights out were limited to roller rinks and bowling…read morealleys. Whilst I don't have strong objections to either of those activities, variety is the spice of life right? Lesser known is the saying, "Standing in front of a 2000 degree forge is also in fact the spice of life." But I assure you, that's one spicy tamale. Located off of Parklawn Dr., White Flint Creations hosts small Blacksmithing workshops in a converted industrial garage bay. The night I went, I was one of eight amateur Smiths who learned how to harness the almighty power of the forge, anvil, and hammer. The appreciation of the Smiths surely runs deep now. "Take me out [to White Flint Creations] tonight" #Anyone? During the class period of around two and a half hours, Smithing expert Drew led our guild in making bottle openers out of thin square rods and rebar. We had a choice of using either canvas with Drew explaining that rebar would be a bit more difficult to shape, and me expeditiously grabbing a square rod to start my journey. Drew was an expert teacher. Both guiding us when he saw us faltering or requesting aid, but giving us a serious amount of autonomy to learn and grow. I had such a fantastic time during the course. Safety was observed, emphasized, and overseen. You might be asking yourself, what is the going rate of a night of blacksmithing at your local forge? Quite surprisingly, I only ended up paying $40 dollars for the class. So it was both unique, affordable, and quite fun. Caveat: the cost does depend on the size of the class so prices may vary. I can't wait to take my next blacksmithing course most honestly. It was challenging, fun, rewarding, and relaxing all at once. Drew plays music while you're all working on your project, and the garage doors are open to allow the massive heat created by the furnaces to escape - so it's quite a perfect little activity on a nice night.

This is an awesome woodshop! The co-founders, Brendan and Richard, built this as a community…read moreresource for woodworkers to express their creativity and learn from one another. This is an upbeat, professionally run place where hobbyists can design and build whatever they can imagine. The shop has heavy-duty, industrial-level equipment, including two high-end SawStop table saws, a 22" Powermatic planer, and a 16" Powermatic jointer. It's also fully stocked with hand tools, clamps, and jigs. And to top that off, Brendan and Richard are innovative problem-solvers, always looking for ways to optimize the shop and enhance capabilities.

The knives are sharp now and it only took a day from drop off to pick up for the job to be done…read more Good prices as well. Service was the opposite but my brother covered that in his review and John decided to text me after the fact wanting his review to pertain only to the knife sharpening so here that is. Also for the sake of accuracy the refund he mentions in his reply took 5 hours not 1. Not a huge deal.

I will start by saying that all the knives we had sharpened looked great and were extremely sharp…read moreafter using this service. This is a very mixed review because, up until we got our knives, the entire experience couldn't possibly have been easier or more pleasant. For some context, I live out of state, so all of my communication was over the phone or over text. The owner was extremely friendly on the phone and I arranged to pay in advance to sharpen 6 knives (the price was very reasonable). As this was a gift for family members, I gave him the name of my father as the recipient of the knives. However, somewhat confusingly, I then asked my brother who lives in the area to bring the knives in to be sharpened. The owner charged my brother for the service and my brother paid, both clearly misunderstanding that I paid in advance. This is where the entire service became unbelievably disappointing. The owner went back and forth with my brother about how unlikely it would have been that I paid in advance given that he normally asks customers to pay after he completes the sharpening job. After I sent screenshots of our earlier conversation and of my payment, the owner agreed to pay my brother back for the double payment. All was well and good except the owner sent my brother a text message saying "You all couldn't have made this more difficult". I concede that we weren't entirely clear in our communication but this is simply not any way to talk to customers who, lest we forget, had just paid for your service and apologized for our mistake. I was genuinely so excited to work with a small local business who, up to that point, was extremely friendly and helpful. Based on other reviews this is almost certainly an outlier which made it all the more bizarre. So, aside from a single completely unacceptable comment made in response to a common customer mistake, the service was everything we could have wanted and I hope he continues to provide great service in the future.

All parts of my transaction with Potomac Sharpening was smooth. From reaching out to Matt to then…read morecompleting the work and picking it up. The quality of the work is precise and worth every penny that you spend to have your knives honed. I do it once a year and Matt is my go to. I tell everyone about him, including Reddit. Come to Potomac Sharpening, you will not be disappointed. You have contactless drop-off and pickup. Virtual payment. Pleasant communication. What more can you want?

Matt is the knife whisperer. I had a couple of problematic blades that I had been putting off doing…read moreanything about for some time. One was a Vietnam war era combat dagger. The Gerber Mark 2 was a thing of beauty when I first acquired it years ago. But my sons had ruined the blade doing what teenagers do when they get into things that don't belong to them. I thought the blade was a goner, but held out hope that someone might be able to restore it. The other one was a cleaver I had purchased thinking it would have the same functionality as a chef's knife only to find out that the edge profile was more suited to chopping firewood. Matt worked some magic. I wish I had taken a "before" picture of the dagger so you could appreciate the extent of the damage he had to address. The "after" picture (see below) was truly remarkable. It was literally like nothing had ever happened to the blade. As for the Wüsthof cleaver, Matt reshaped the edge profile so that it more nearly resembled a wicked sharp Asian cleaver. Just what I was after. Fabulous work. Matt didn't just sharpen my knives. He completely reshaped their blades AND sharpened them. Highly recommended.

I'm a hair stylist and brought my left handed shears here. They cut better than new. Very satisfied…read moreand prices are reasonable. A+

Great job, fast and reliable. Sharpened all my garden tools for the season. It's a drive from the…read moreArnold area, but worth it.

They are fast and friendly. Would recommend. I will be going back. They also have a good selection…read moreof knives folding and kitchen.

Bought five knives from this place. Recommend this place to my friends for a great knives…read more First time I ever have an issue and I asked for help and get brushed off. I spent nearly $300 on this knife and it breaks on the first use. Get it that the knife cut a lemon, onion and shallot. So unless that is a fancy chemical combination this place refuses to address a broken knife. A place that advertises as a premier cutlery place, heavily lacks in the customer service department. They actually imply it was user error! First time I ever had an issue with a knife from here. Last time I will have an issue as this place lost a customer.

Billy did a fantastic job sharpening a set of kitchen knives as well as cleaning them up…read more Had them picked up the next day and took them home to cut some root vegetables and was just amazed how effortlessly they cut! And for only $8 too! Its also nice that its nearby so definitely will be returning with more knives

Note: Levine's is a mom and pop shop, located in a building behind a home in residential Arlington…read more 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.

Great service, reasonable price and reliable. Make sure you catch them at a good time though…read morebecause 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.