Knife sharpening options?
Hello! I have a decent set of knives (chef's 8-in, serrated, boning) that are 13 years old. When I bought them, I only had a honing rod and that is what I used over the years to maintain the edge. Now, I'm not sure what to do because they need serious sharpening (especially the chef's knife). I am considering some options: 1) mail-in service to sharpen knives (about $45 for 3 knives), 2) take to hardware store and get them sharpened (not sure of cost, but maybe $10 per knife?), 3) buy a whetstone and learn how to sharpen the chef's knife by myself, 4) buy a new set of knives because it could be time to just upgrade. I have heard that sharpening your own knives on a whetstone can risk ruining the knife if you're a beginner. Also, electric sharpeners can take off too much of the knife. Our family almost exclusively eats at home, so I'm an avid home cook but not professional. I don't need sushi-grade knives, but I just want to know what others recommend in my situation, based on cost of learning how to sharpen knives/getting them sharpened/buying new knives. Thanks!
Parent Replies
We’ve been happily using the sharp brothers the past few years for knife sharpening. Pricing is transparent on their website and appointments can be easily booked online, though they make house calls and are regularly at some farmers markets. https://www.thesharpbrothersca.com/services
Highly recommend sharpening via https://www.thesharpbrothersca.com
They show up at farmers markets in the area, but you can also do a quick drop off at their garage via an appointment. Fast and affordable, less overhead than learning to do it yourself, and really accessible!
Austin at https://www.thesharpbrothersca.com/ has been sharpening my knifes for years - good service and fair prices. You can tell he loves what he does. They are at various farmer's markets in the Bay Area.
I recommend The Shaver & Cutlery Shop in Oakland. It's very affordable and they usually sharpen them in about 15-20 minutes. Best to have a professional sharpen them if you're not familiar with using a whet stone and you want to preserve your knives.
Sur La Table on 4th Street will sharpen your knives for $5/knife. Bring them in and leave them for about 4-5 days. (Don't wait until Thanksgiving week to do it!). Also Hida Tool on San Pablo sharpens knives, but I'm not certain what they charge. Kensington Farmers Market often has a knife sharpener guy present, for on the spot sharpening, but he's not there every week.
I take my knives to The Sharp Brothers. You can book a time slot online, pull up to their home garage shop and they will come to your car window to collect your knives. Same for pick up. They take awesome care of my knives, I am a professional cook.
https://www.thesharpbrothers.com
I've had my knives for 18+ years and I see no reason to replace them (J.A. Henckels Professional "S" series). If you take good care of them they should last for decades. I do get them professionally sharpened every year or two and I think it makes a big difference. The Sharp Brothers come to our block party every year and do an excellent job. Many farmer's markets also have knife sharpeners come. I usually pay $8-10/knife.
I've gone to Hida Tool & Hardware (https://hidatool.com/) at the recommendation of neighbors and I think they do a great job. IIRC they've charged about $8-$9 per knife which I think is reasonable. They are in Berkeley near the Whole Foods. In my experience it takes a few days (~5 or so) for turnaround, so just be prepared for that.
Hida Tool (https://hidatool.com) in west Berkeley offers a sharpening service:
By the way, I'd like to suggest that when asking about a service, posters mention their town or immediate area; I imagine someone who lives in Danville doesn't necessarily want to drive to Berkeley twice in a week.
I had a great experience with Hida the tool and knife sharpening shop at 1333 San Pablo in Berkeley. Excellent sharpening, reasonable price--definitely lower than the person who sharpens knives at the Berkeley Farmers market.
You can check out an electronic knife sharpener at Berkeley Public Library Tool Lending at Tarea Hall Pitman/South branch. Worked wonders for our tired knives!
Hi there. Avid home cook here. I learned how to sharpen before children, but never put it to use, really. My partner did a couple times, but, honestly, I still take them to get sharpened— once or twice a year. I go to Bernal Cutlery in SF. I highly recommend it. They even have loaners you can use if your wait is longer than a day.
There's a guy who sharpens knives at the Berkeley Farmers Market.
https://ecologycenter.org/farmersmarkets/fmvendors/all-things-sharp-2/
You might want to get his opinion.
I was also warned about sharpening myself, instead I was highly recommended to have Hida Tool on San Pablo sharpen them for me: I was told this is where local chefs send their knives when they need sharpening (I also like them for their unique selection of uncommon tools).
Get them professionally sharpened. You'll be shocked at what a difference it makes. There's likely a sharpening service or hardware store in your town that can do a great job for about $10/knife.
Once they've been restored to full glory you can invest in whetstones or get an electric sharpener or just go back to the pros regularly. They all work for the knives, it's just a question of what's going to work for you. The electric sharpener is probably the one that will result in you sharpening your knives most reliably. Sure it takes off more than a whetstone but you'll still get many years of use out of the knife. And it will be sharp the whole time
Easy fix: go to Hida Tool, 1333 San Pablo Ave. near Gilman (Hida is on East side / hill side of San Pablo Ave.). They do a great job. I've used them for years for kitchen knives as well as garden tools. 510-524-3700 I believe they're open until 5:00pm.