Columbus Cutlery

I’d been coming to Columbus Cutlery for years, first on the recommendation from some chef acquaintances, and thereafter because of the consistently excellent sharpening jobs and shop’s quirky, only-​in-​SF vibe.
Sadly, I just had what will probably be my last experience there. The business has changed ownership, and it’s definitely not the same.
The shop space itself is currently torn down, in what I assume will be a renovation. So the set-​up was a little dubious, but the man at the counter said he’d been working for the old owners for a while, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
I used to pay $ 5 a knife, and the blades came back so sharp I could do the classic «slice a single sheet of paper in half» test afterwards with ease. Now it’s $ 8 per, and although the blades are slightly sharper than when I’d dropped them off, I can still press my thumb against my paring knife with pressure and not even break skin.
Times change, and businesses come and go, but I’m particularly sad to see this classic go.

When I experience places like this, I want to sign every petition there is that tries to put a halt on San Francisco’s gentrification. A shop like this is what makes up the San Francisco I grew to love when I moved here many years ago: run by a Chinese man who cares about quality work but not about increasing sales or his profit margins.
Before I get to cynical here, let me tell you how I ended up here: I had bought a nice meaty bone for my dogs and when I took it out of the fridge I thought that I might as well cut it in half and make it last longer. I took out the cleaver I’d gotten from the mother-​in-​law and chopped it up… well at least I tried to, but the first attempt resulted in the blade showing a hefty dent. Note: I’d successful performed this action on chicken bones before, which is why I event dared to try it with a pork bone.
Anyways, I was hiding the evidence from my other half — who already thinks of me as the eternal clutz — but eventually I had to face reality and get it fixed. I turned to Unilocal and found this place. Reading through all the passionate reviews, inward quickly convinced that I’d found my guy. Last week I finally managed to make a trip to North Beach, l; I work in SoMa but I sneakily scheduled a meeting at Caffè Trieste so that I would at least kill two birds with one stone.
I dropped off the knife and the shop owner told me that it would cost 10 bucks and that it would be ready in two days. He asked me to write my name and phone number onto a piece of newspaper, which he them used to wrap the cleaver in.
Today I went back and picked up my knife. It’s beautiful and might sharp. I can’t wait to cut up some bones again ;-)

I have been going here for 25 years, and yes, the wonderful older gentleman lovingly sharpened my knives for me when I was a culinary professional. Recently, I had a farmer’s market vendor sharpen them, but sadly, he used a machine. I am heading back to CC post-​haste for their artisan hand-​sharpening. Here I come!

Sharp knives are a lot safer than dull ones but for some reason there seem to be few places to take your knives to be sharpened. I finally found this place on Unilocal and it was the real deal. A very small well located store that only has knives and other sharp things in it. First hint this might be a good idea. Note however they only open on certain afternoons. The guy was very nice and when I returned he could cut paper with my knives like you see on TV. Be very careful after you get yours back!
Low prices especially for making cooking fun or at least not annoying.

The best.
Wanna meet Michael Mina standing next to the non-​english speaking dim sum master from china town looking to get their gear in top form?
Columbus Cutlery is an institution. The old couple used to take care of my knives when I was a stage at Masa’s cooking with chef Julian Serrano and Co. are gone but the legend continues at CC.
Second generation leaves nothing behind.
Took my first chefs knife (which I bought at CC) to a place on Bush st bc they convinces me using a flat stone not a wheel was the proper way to sharpen a knife. Now my 30 year old first chefs knife that has traveled the world and seen so many kitchens needs to be done all over. I will probably loose another 1/​8″ off the blade to correct what the Bush st outfit (you figure out who they are) left my blade with a reverse slope.
God bless CC. May you live forever and never change what you do.
One of the very last old world, old school shops left if SF.
THANK YOU FOR 30 YEARS OF SHARP KNIVES

I’ve been coming here for about 17 years, and have always been pleased with the service and quality that they offer. Hands down best knife sharpening service in town! They also carry tons of cool cutlery! You will not be disappointed!

Nadia is the best! She’s never disappointed me with a recommendation! If she doesn’t carry something she points me in the right direction to find it elsewhere. Plus, she makes my knives ninja sharp! Not to mention she is adorable! I always go here first. Love this place!

Nadia does a great job running this shop. I’ve been a customer for many years and really appreciate that they always have high quality, and not always easy to find cutlery. They are easy to find– on Columbus Street, right across from Café Grecco. Here’s wishing you continued success!

Calling all cooks in sf, you must stop by here to check out all the great knives and tools that every cook/​chef needs. Columbus cutlery is this small little shop, but as they say looks are deceiving and this is no exception. Very small but packed with many goodies. This is definitely a hidden gem a must sight to see.

This business is great. Honest and skilled. Our knives were pretty dull, and they made them work better than they even did brand new! Husband and I had way too much fun testing out how well they cut on all kinds of fruits and veggies– I could cut straight through a soggy tomato without even applying pressure! They did an excellent job — and are a small business worth supporting.

Step back into time and enter Columbus Cutlery, where you will receive old-​fashioned service in a wonderful atmosphere. They have no Internet presence except for reviews.
PLEASE do not go here to use this place as a showroom. If you don’t want to pay a reasonable price for good merchandise go straight to the Internet. But if you want to learn about the product, see a demonstration on proper use and care, this is the place for you.
I took an old friend in who wanted a very small pair of scissors for close work cutting paper. Nadia took very good care of him, including warning him not to destroy the scissors by attempting to sharpen them at home. This was not a sales ploy — she knew he did not live close by and making the shlep was not a casual journey — but she told him that because of the precision fit of the two blades, it would be very difficult to sharpen them at home without ruining them.

I signed up for Unilocal entirely so that I could give five stars to Columbus Cutlery. This place is a tiny gem, full of every kind of sharp thing you could possibly desire — kitchen knives, pocket knives, scissors, nail clippers — anything smaller than a woodsman’s axe, they have it. I picked out a beautiful Kershaw folding knife, but Kershaw doesn’t make the one I wanted with half serration — so for an absurdly tiny sum, Columbus half-​serrated the blade for me. Now I have a red and black knife with a row of wicked little teeth, the only one like it in the world.
…AND they are the nicest people in town. Smart, helpful, kind, and quick (you will have to come up with some questions to ask if you want an excuse to linger, which you probably will). This place has ten times the personality of Williams-​Sonoma or Macy’s — every dollar you spend here is a vote for family business, and local history, and quality handcraft, and the VERY SOUL of San Francisco. And if that doesn’t make you want to pay them a visit, consider that right now they’re selling a Wusthof chef’s knife for $ 43.

A teensy shop, standing area might have been 5 feet by 9 feet. You might be able to see everything in the entire shop if you stay an hour. Since almost everything we do incorporates a cutting implement, we truly appreciate a fine tool. This is one of the finest selections we have seen in a while. Jenny, the owner, is tremendously pleasant and enjoyable.

I didn’t know my knives could get this sharp! Makes doing prep so much more enjoyable again! Really happy with the results and the price, and enjoyed the kind and friendly service of the shop owner (?)
I read the negative review of the guy who was unhappy with the inch of grind on his Shun knife — so I knew that the fancy pattern on the side of the blade would be affected. But I’ll take performance over appearance any day. And now my knives look like they’re well-​worn and professional like!

Four well worn knives, my favorite 8″ chefs knife I feared was completely ruined by me. Not so! Brought them home last night, I was happily chopping away enjoying the joys of a truly sharp implement. In a flash blood on the cutting board and a very sore index finger! This is clearly the case of operator error. But damn, the knives are perfectly honed and razor sharp. You need sharp knives, bring them to Columbus Cutlery, they know their knives, they know how to sharpen them. They offer good, old fashioned friendly service and I hope to continue to have their services for many years to come. They’re fabulous, go there without hesitations. Now I need to go get the pool of blood off the cutting board.

Been looking for a 10 in Chef’s knife for literally the last 6 months and all the standard stores, williams-​sonoma, crate and barrel, etc. have had very limited or no selection at all, lots of 8 in but nothing bigger and if they did they wanted an arm and a leg for it. I walk into Columbus Cutley on a whim and meet Jenny and tell her what I am looking for and boom she has 6 different of them on the counter and is breaking down all the differences in steel, manufacturing, handles and company reputation etc… Result: I walk out with a better knife then I wanted at less than ½ the price and a lesson on sharpening that will last me a liftime.

We walked into Columbus Cutlery merely by chance as we were looking for parking in the area. I needed a small knife for a cub scout, but I don’t know much about knives. The owner took her time and patiently showed us several options, letting my child try each of them out until he found one he could handle. While it seems to be simple, customer service and customer care are fading arts. We appreciated the personal service and attention. We will be returning when possible for cutlery needs and referring friends and family to Columbus Cultlery.
Verdict: Positive experience makes me think «Woohoo! As good as it gets!»

A friend of mine, also a recent graduate oft Le Cordon Bleu, told me that this was THE place for knife sharpening.
I finally made it in, not for the sharping but in search of a serrated knife and a paring knife.
The place is small and can feel cramped when there’s a few people in it.
The selection of knives ranged from better known brands to comparable less expensive but same quality brands.
The owner was SO NICE. She and I chatted for a while about knives and she really knows her stuff. She sold me on f. dick for both knives and I’m already so happy about the choice.

Pretty straightforward: I took my dull knives in and they came back sharp.
I don’t have fancy knives or anything (well, one fancy knife, but my other one is from Target), and I didn’t get any sense of snobbery, which was knice. Ha ha, see how I did that?
Also: super cost effective. I will come back here.

It has been a couple of months since I brought several knives in for sharpening, I’ve been holding off on the review to see if I felt any differently about the work that was done but it’s gone from bad to worse.
The knives are sharper than when I brought them in, but they aren’t any easier to actually cut with, and they’ve now reached the point where they are worse than pre-​sharpening.
I don’t know what this means in the world of knife sharpening but I’m looking at one of my favorites-​a Wusthof Dreizack Grand Prix, and there are visible divots along the edge of the blade and a noticeable gradation on the surface near the edge.
Not good.