I went here about a year ago to see if they might be interested in making a custom tsuba for my katana. The smith was a total jerk and seemed to not know the term "tsuba," either, even though he was determined to make me feel the idiot. In spite of all this I purchased a shiny axe with a dark oak handle from them, in part because I wanted to support a local business and in part because it seemed balanced and looked nice. It was not cheap. Now one year later I see that the chrome plating now has some black spots that will not rub out, even though it has been sitting in my bedroom the whole time and I have not used it to cut anything. A quick google search finds that: "This problem of black spots which you are facing seems related to base material defect which you might have failed to notice during pre cleaning stage and the same is appearing over a period of time once plating is completed." In summary- this blade smith sucks. read more

Vulcan Knife - Knife Sharpening Near Me - Lakewood, Washington

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I took advantage of the mail in service and I'm very pleased and satisfied with the overall service. I was called when my package arrived, I had the opportunity to ask questions and clarify work and then given final total to pay. They worked on two knives. A Benchmade pocket knife hard to sharpen and returned with an nice sharpened blade. The second a Henckels chef knife with its blade seriously damaged and it was returned in a fantastic shape! I was called again when package was being mailed back to me. Thanks to Mick and all involved for a great job. read more

So happy this resource exists in my community. I always bring my knives here to be sharpened and/or repaired. Very fast reliable service, for a great price. Would highly recommend. read more

Fast service and now I have the sharpest knives again! I'll definitely use their services again.

They did a great job sharpening my kitchen knives. Same day service for five knives. Reasonable prices. Slightly odd location across from the light rail station in Tacoma. I'll be back when my knives need sharpening. read more

Quick turnaround and quality sharpening. I didn't want an axe, but now I feel like I need one. The smith is top grade.

So glad Vulcan is in Tacoma!! Interesting store, sharpened 5 knives of various sizes and my Ginger scissors.

Took four Kitchen knives for sharpening. Had them back the next day. When I got them home, I noticed that one knife had a sharp heel. I didn't want to accidentally cut my finger on it. We called the same day, explained the situation. They asked us to bring the knife back in so that they could fix. We did that today and they were absolutely amazing to work with. They looked at the knife, took it in the back, ground down the heel, and stropped it. Moreover, my knives cut like butter, better than when I first purchased them. read more

Found this place on Yelp and after reading the reviews from others and looking at other places, decided this was the best option. Brought my wife's 15yr old Wusthof classic kitchen knife set. Paul and his wife were very friendly and assured I could pick up my knives the same day. They did not disappoint; not only was I able to pick them up earlier than scheduled, Paul showed me how sharp they have become. He even fixed the point of my largest kitchen knife. Price wise, I'd say it is fair for the work performed and they do support military and first responders so that's always a plus. If you need knives sharpened (or other items like axes and scissors), they're a solid bet. read more

Great service today on 2 Very dull kitchen knives. If you need anything sharpened this is the place to go. It's on the bottom floor of Freighthouse square. 5 % military discount read more

Fantastic service and selection. Came in to get my Santoku sharpened up, expecting to wait a day or two, but the owner just sharpened it right then and there. Fantastic service. About $10 to sharpen a damaged 8" blade. I think my roommate was hammering nails. While he worked the lady storekeep showed me their knives, accessories and amiably discussed their upcoming knife making workshops (how cool is that?). She was very knowledgeable about all things knifey. In about 15 minutes my blade was fixed and circumcision sharp! Was so pleased I decided to splurge on a cutting board too. Yes they sharpen and sell knives, but check out their swords, spears, helmets and armor too. Like Arnold, I'll be back. read more

Vulcan Knife - Repaired. So sharp you could split frog hairs. - Knife Sharpening Near Me - Lakewood, Washington

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Vulcan Knife Works is a pretty burly store - where else in Seattle could you find axes, swords, glaives, halbards, armor, and beautiful knives of every shape and size? Paul did a couple of jobs for me, and I'm very happy with all the results. I originally came in to have him fix up my Grandads old KABAR knife, which was tarnished, dinged-up, and cracking along the leather handle. It came out beautiful - and I'm so happy to have it looking good again - it had been on a lot of camping trips with my family, over many generations! The difference between before and after is night and day. Paul also refurbished an old (new to me) straight razor from the thirties. I wanted to try straight razor shaving and found a lovely vintage german razor on ebay. It came out scary sharp, mirror-bright, and with the swivel pin tightened. I'm very, very happy with the results. My F. Dick kitchen knife is also resharpened, and ready to terrorize veggies and meat again. Great place - check it out! read more

Vulcan Knife - My 80 year old straight razor looks brand new. - Knife Sharpening Near Me - Lakewood, Washington

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I'm not sure where that negative reviews are coming from as these people were nothing but kind and respectful to me. I am a hairstylist and I brought in three pairs of shears to be sharpened. When I called to see if they sharpened shears his wife was very pleasant on the phone. And when I came in to drop them off he was very accommodating and explained that they should be picked up no later than 4:30pm or the next day, which was fine. I spent pretty much what I expected to for the price of my shears and yes, they are very sharp and cut well now. I do intend to return to this business for any future sharpening needs. read more

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Great same day service when I arrived at 10am. We've known we needed to sharpen our kitchen knives for months. Finally put it on the calendar and best alarm I've set in a long time. Straight up people there. Good quotes, reasonable pricing, great care in their process. My partner says she doesn't go anywhere else for this knife service. This was my first time, and she was, of course, right. read more

I've had several things sharpened here and never leave without a smile. They create amazing custom goods at better than market prices and are friendly to boot. They're master artisans that have been doing this longer than I've been alive. Very, very cool stuff! read more

Vulcan Knife - Sword in the Vice - Knife Sharpening Near Me - Lakewood, Washington

I needed a place to have our ginormous shears sharpened for work. I happened upon this shop via google. Thank you Google for the great tip. I found the proprietor (Lee) to be super nice, informative and accommodating. I was told they would be ready by end of business the same day and they would cut like butter. I was NOT disappointed. I brought them back to work for my crew to test out-all were extremely impressed by the extraordinary cutting ability and workmanship. Thank you Vulcan for your amazing customer service. I highly recommend this place for all sharpening needs. You have a lifelong customer! read more

Fast service for knife sharpening- brought in 3 chef/santokus (6-8") that hadn't been sharpened in 2 years, and they were done in 15 minutes. Almost exactly $30 total. Very sharp read more

Went to Vulcan for the first time today to get several knives sharpened before I teach a cooking class this weekend. Blown away by the quality and level of service they provide. The price was lower than expected and the job done was much better than any sharpener I have tried before. My knives are hair-splitting sharp and shining like new. I really love that you can drop your knives off as late as 1:30 in the afternoon and be able to pick them up after 4:30, with no extra charge for same day/rush service. Service itself was friendly, welcoming and top notch. And as a repeat customer I got an offer to bring in four knives and get one of the four free. Nice bonus. Tip - Vulcan is located in Freighthouse Square - there are free two hour parking spots on 25th that are almost always full, but you can park in the ramp across the street for up to three hours. Vulcan is located closest to the entrance across from the parking ramp that has both steps and a handicap entrance ramp, turn left after entering. read more

I took my chef knife in to be sharpened. I've been there before for sharpening. Their business card stated $8.95 + tax for that sized knife. When I picked it up, they said 20 something dollars. I asked about the price and the older lady there went off and said it's my covid and my Governor that is responsible for the different price. I showed her the business card with their pricing and she yelled "I'm not going to throw away my business cards because of your Governor.." I had my Grandson with me so I paid their "new" price and let her know that I feel robbed. DON'T GO THERE!! They are rude and theives. They held my $150.00 knife hostage. Again, don't go there! read more

Absolutely blown away by the sharpening services these guys provided to me. I recently picked up a Zwilling Kramer Damascus chef's knife and I wasn't super impressed with the sharpness out of box. I also have a beloved carbon steel nakiri that had picked up some rust over the years. I brought these and a few other VG10 kitchen knives and every single blade came back sharper than I have ever seen them. The bevels are extremely consistent and beautifully done, and the knives that I opted to have polished came out looking... amazing is the only way to describe them. I'm planning to bring the knives that I didn't have polished back in for it because the polished knives are looking better than they have any right to. These guys did 6 knives, at a level that was way beyond my expectations, in about 15 minutes. The Kramer that I was unimpressed with out of the box now falls through a sweet potato like it isn't even there. Wish I could give more than 5 stars. read more

Vulcan did an amazing job on my knives! They really needed so extra love since I hadn't sharpened them in a while. They were super friendly and said they sharpen almost anything. I'll definitely be back! read more

Vulcan Knife - Knife Sharpening Near Me - Lakewood, Washington

Great place! Good prices, friendly, & knowledgeable! Plus an industry discount ! Def recommend

One stop knife shop. They will fulfill any of your knife needs, questions or concerns. Retail/inventory that they have for sale is jaw dropping. If you're a chef/cook you don't want to go anywhere else to sharpen your tools. read more

I am not too impressed with their sharpening skills. We read yelp reviews and brought the knives in but they have become dull fast. More than that, I was quite disappointed when we got the knives back. They had sharpened way up the knife and change the way knife looks. The brush metal look is gone and half way up the knives are all shiny. I expected them to sharpen without affecting the cosmetics of the knives because somehow vendors who work with Kitchen stores can do it without changing the texture of the knives. The sharpness was not as good as when i brought them into a vendor at a kitchen store. Additionally, I would also expect that they would warn me before they change the appearance of the knives. Reviews are 5 on this. I don't quite understand that personally. I have been writing reviews for a long time but this one is way off IMO. I was impressed with one aspect. They buy old used knives and clean them up and sell them. I bought an old Skool sabthier cleaver that is awesome that you can't find any more. I would recommend to get your cutlery here but I just can't possibly recommend sharpening from here. I am sorry. I will not go back to sharpen my knives here again. read more

Decent selection--not the greatest for kitchen cutlery, though they do carry some nice brands. I suppose if I were looking to outfit myself for a Renaissance fair, though, I'd be more impressed. They have a small selection of straight razors, but nothing exceptional. The gentleman who was working (big guy, big beard) seemed to have a pretty piss-poor attitude, so I guess if I were to dig for a positive aspect on that...his unfriendliness suggests that they're not pushy salesmen? Whatever. I can sharpen my own knives and know where to buy proper equipment, but if I didn't know how to do either I suppose I'd start at this shop. read more

I took a 5 inch vintage USA made single blade liner lock folding hunter in that had about a 1/8 inch of the tip broken and explained exactly what I was looking for in repair. If the woman who took the knife in or the man sitting in the chair in the showroom was paying attention it is a well kept secret. Anyway, when I went to retrieve the knife the cutting edge of the blade had been reshaped leaving the newly formed tip about 1/16th of an inch from being buried within the handle, it sticks out much like the barb on a fish hook when the knife is closed. This knife can no longer be used to dress big game animals and folded and dropped safely into a pants pocket when both hands are needed to perform another task because the tip of the knife will now snag and cut the cloth pocket leaving a hole in the pocket and/or cut a hand reaching in to retrieve it. The blade should have been marked w/dykem blue or using another method when closed and then a pattern scribed to work to to ensure that the newly formed tip would bury w/in the grip of the knife when closed. Then the blade should have had material removed from both the cutting edge and from the spine resulting in a slightly shorter blade, but one in which the tip of the blade would be buried w/in the handle when the knife is closed. I have another uninjured example of the same knife in my second kit (I keep a complete field dressing kit in each of my vehicles) and what was done was to simply take material from the cutting edge side of the blade and then resharpened it with no regard to whether or not the newly formed tip would be protected when closed. At this point the thing could probably serve as a pretty decent steak knife, but I don't know if I will keep it around for that or give it to someone to part out. It just simply isn't safe to have a clip blade folding knife around in which the tip of the blade does not bury within the handle when closed. read more

Look, this isn't Sur La Table and if your looking for a guy that's in an $800 pair of shoes to sell you a chefs knife, this ain't the place. But if you are looking for a skilled craftsman that knows his sh*t, go to Vulcan Knife. Today I brought in two damaged kitchen knives that I thought were toast and Vulcan fixed both in just a few hours for next to nothing. The knives now look brand new and are sharp as fook. read more

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First time in here and I was impressed with the selection of knives and axes they had displayed, I was also impressed that they offered knife/axe sharpening services and if you were interested in learning how to make your own knives they offer blacksmith classes too. I did return with my hiking hatchet and poultry shears and they did an amazing job sharpening them; my hatchet was beat up and they made it look new, plus he said it would be done in a few hours; cool!! Everyone was very friendly in here and they even kept my IPhone safe until I returned, since I did lose it for a brief period of time. They will also make any custom knife you want so many someday I will have something fancy made, but until then I can dream. read more

I was just in this shop to get a knife for work and a specific bowie knife I wanted which was a nice amount,"he proceeded to say that knife is expensive look at this one (a knife that was $10.00).I told him I make six figures and he goes "I'm in the wrong business"!!.I kept my cool and continued to look for knives.I saw another knife I liked which came with a sheath and he swore up and down he couldn't find it.As he's looking for it,he leaves to as back room to search more and comes back out with a glock 45 on his hip so it's visible.Still kept me cool...I saw a sheath that should've fit and he goes that's a $900.00 sheath,so I pass obviously and he goes "that's what I thought"!!!!I'm with my girl and she flashed and goes " I'm a just walk out because I don't like that she energy in here"!!ON EVERYTHING HE STARTS SHAKING HIS HEAD!!!!So I check him like "first and foremost your rude and have been extremely bellittling and condescending the entire time,I explained why why I felt that way and told him we're gonna just go elsewhere! SHARE THIS POST 100000000000X.FUCK RASICSM AND WHOEVER SUPPORTS TRUMP.WE NEED TO COMBAT BACK IN A MORE TACTICAL MANNER IN ORDER TO FIGHT BACK OR ELSE THEY WILL KEEP DOING THIS.DONT GET ANGRY AND GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT.HE WOULD'VE SHOT ME IF IF FLASHED.INSTEAD I'M DOING THIS.IM ALSO WRITING REVIEWS AND CONTACTING THE NEWS TRIBUNE AS WELL AS THE BUSINESS OWNERS!!! read more

I walked in to this shop on a whim and talked with Paul for a half hour about straight razors and blade quality. This is something I am just getting into and he offered some great insight into what to look for and how to maintain them. I purchased a couple of old, worn-out razors online and brought them in for resharpening. I didn't really expect them to turn out as wonderfully as they did. The razors were done one day ahead of schedule and when I returned to pick them up the scales and spines were buffed and shined like new. But most importantly, the blades were sharp enough to dry shave with. I mean scary sharp! Paul took two razors, both over 100 years old, and made them new again. I have never seen craftsmanship and service like this at a knife shop before! The prices are excellent and I will be taking all my knives, razors, and cutting tools here for as long as I can. A great local operation and friendly people! read more

My knives are very important to me, so I was wary of sending them to be sharpened elsewhere. My wife kindly took 3 of them as a birthday gift (a Kasumi chef's knife, my favorite Global Santoku knife, and a Global pairing knife) to Vulcan, and I am very happy with the results. I can read small text through the tomato skins I have peeled, and they cut through butternut squash with scary ease. We will be sending more of our cutlery there, including some serrated and one-sided bevel knives, so I will follow-up when they return. BTW, we were at Rain Shadow Meats yesterday, and asked whom they used, and they said Vulcan with firmness. That was a nice confirmation. read more

I've always relied on professional knife sharpening services to keep my mid-range kitchen knives (Sabatier, Henckles, Sur la Table) sharp. But I've never encountered sharpening work even close to what Vulcan provides. My knives were returned not merely razor sharp, but beautiful. The blades were smooth and shining. One knife, with a wooden handle that was getting dried out, had been treated with something to restore a bit of oil to the wood. Pricing is affordable -- about what I'd been paying other sharpening specialists -- and service was same-day. In addition to sharpening blades, Vulcan sells a wide range of knives and bladed weapons. They range from specialty knives for hunting and cooking to excellent French paring knives for less than $10. The owner is a trained blade smith who makes and repairs knives (and swords and axes) in a workshop at the far back of the store. His work is breathtaking. Be sure to check out the website for a sense of what this business is all about. read more

My knives go through a heavy workload on a daily basis. After having a test knife sharpened here, I brought all my "daily" knives in. Superb work! I have since pointed all of my fellow chefs and rabid home cooks here to have their knives cared for. I still have to give my Fujiwara wa-gyuto a pass on the stone at work once a week just to maintain, but I bring my knives in about every 6 weeks or so depending on use. Cool shop! read more

Vulcan Knife - Knife Sharpening Near Me - Lakewood, Washington

Super knowledgeable and very helpful. I learned a lot about knives, and will definitely go back.

I am really impressed with the work and service provided by Joe and Mickey. Excellent restoration of our very old axes. Personable people and professional work. Parking and location are both so much easier in this new location! I highly recommend for knives, axes and other items needing sharpening or restoring. read more

I brought a slew of different kitchen knifes. Old japanese vegetable cleaver to new high end carving knifes. From cheap to expensive. (14 in total) 2 needed repair (broken tip and bent blade at the edge) They made cheap knives worth using. They fixed knives. all for very reasonable prices. I would say you could buy a cheap knife at walmart, take it to Vulcan, and have a knife that is better that some better quality knives... Their edge is smooth, clean, and sharp. Sometimes with sharp edges, they are sharp because they are 'thin' (think razor); but these dull quickly; these edges are clean & strong. They were worth the drive from Shelton to Tacoma. read more

Took our absolutely horrible knives in for sharpening. All came back razor sharp and we're done in a day. The lady told my husband we should be careful, first thing I did was cut myself. Guess I'm not used to a knife that actually cuts. Will certainly take our knives back again when they need it. Price was right too. read more

I took several knives to Vulcan for sharpening, both Asian and Europen. They did such a fantastic job that I came back the next week with my partners knives to be sharpened as well. They maintained the angle on my Japanese chefs knife and sharpened the European knives so that they were actually much sharper than when purchased. They have some beautiful pieces for sale and the customer service was top notch. I can't recommend this place enough. Anyone who loves to cook knows the pleasure of using a truly sharp knife and these guys do an incredible job. read more

These guys are the best!!! Our Wusthof knives were getting kind of dull so I looked on Yelp to see where I should take them. There was some other shops on Yelp that got decent reviews and were closer to our house in South Park - but after I read the great reviews Vulcan got, I decided to go the extra mile or two to Ballard. I wasn't disappointed. The shop has a lot of cool vintage knives, armor, swords....to check out when you're there. I spoke with Dee quite a bit and she gave me many tips on keeping our knives in good condition. I left the knives there and came back to pick them up a couple days later - wow, those babies were sharp!!! They'd never been that sharp before - they are such a pleasure to use now. And they were also polished beautifully. A couple days after I got the knives back I took a huge pizza knife in for sharpening....When I returned Dee said, "we can become addictive". Very true, Dee. I'll definitely always take our knives to Vulcan. They do great work and the people there are fun to talk with - I'm glad I read the Yelp reviews before I made my decision! Thanks Yelpers, and thanks Vulcan! read more

I brought two of my grandfathers knives here for restoration. After a quick consultation and estimate I Was told they could fix them both for 30 bucks. The results were phenomenal. They are sharper than they ever were and look brand new! I couldnt be happier with the outcome. I am so happy to have discovered this place and will be bringing all my knives here for sharpening. Also- they custom make knives, swords, etc...just in case you want a hand forged dark ages sword for your loved one =) read more