Vulcan Knife LLC

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.

I brought in a 4\8^th straight razor. As soon as I walked in there was no one in the store front. Two woman were in the side room. «Someone will be out in a minute to help you.» It took over 15 minutes for the woman who had just told me someone would come to help. I guess training someone on leather sheath making is more important than a customer.
The price is way over the average for a straight razor, but I like working with local businesses. When I came back for pickup a larger gentlemen with a beard was there. The razor was sharpened very uneven. There were waves in it, and I could tell right away they used a grinder. I asked to confirm, and it was so. I told him I need it straight, and that I can’t be shaving with someone like this. He got a little upset, but kept his cool.
I told him I didn’t expect a 45 $ honing to be ground down. «What did you expect us to use?» Stones, and possibly strop pastes was my reply. «That kind of job would run over a $ 100, if you want a hand sharpening.» Most of the razor honing services online are far less, and do not grind. They hand sharpen.
He took it back twice to try and fix the edge not being straight. I got it back, and it didn’t look too sharp. But, instead of arguing more, and making my ⁴⁄₈ razor a 2/​8, I paid the man and left. Once I got home, the razor would not even shave the hair off my arm. I stropped it quite a bit, and even used a 1 micron diamond spray. I do not have any honing tools, and that was all I could do.
In the end, dealing with Vulcan knifes I was treated with poor customer service, a razor that has been ground down and is still not sharp, and out 45 $ for a job not completed. I can not vouch for there knife sharpening, but if it is anything like my razor… you will have a mediocre edge, and just buffed to look shiny.

Very good knife sharpening skills. They sharpened my japanese kitchen knives back to factory sharpness. The only reason I dinged them one star is because they seem to always be short staffed. leading to long wait times. That being said, they do provide a good, friendly service.

Read an article in the Olympian about Vulcan Knives and decided to bring my Cutco knives in. Called ahead to see if I could wait as I was about 45 minutes away. An accident on I-​5, made me 2 hours late and near the end of the day so asked if I could pick them up next day. After explaining my situation, Paul agreed to do them as quoted.
There was a 95 year old Veteran in the store who was honorably given his Veteran discount! A man came in with two small children, holding one and the other, about 3, walking around happened to bump into a glass case and knocked over a display of expensive knives in the case. This is why this is not a good place to bring small children.
Most importantly, the precision skill that turned my knives to sharper than when I bought them. I can honestly say they are sharper than mailing them back to the factory! Yes, he polished them and they look amazing! It is a pleasure to speak with the owners and learned about the wood splitting axes they recondition and sell also. Yes, he has a good variety of items, including amor which was interesting but not in the market for. The vintage razors and pocket knives were very cool. 5 Stars, *****! Tacoma is lucky to have such a good service!

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.

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.

The couple who owns this shop were so nice. They sharpened my shears for me. The price was great. As I remember traveling people charge ²⁰⁄₃₀ a pair. And this was about half. The owner even let me cut a piece of her hair off haha. I would come back and recommend this place to other stylists.

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!

Great service, friendly and helpful staff. My knifes turned out razor sharp and they have a large variety of items. If you are looking for a knife. This is the place.

A Tacoma location! Yay! Finally, someplace I can go to get my Shun sharpened without having to drive forever. My knife is super sharp now; it took less time than they quoted, and the price was awesome. They also cleaned it up; I think they even oiled the wooden handle. The guy who works at the Tacoma location is a little odd, though. Is very lax, takes his time. Not a bad thing, really. Will definitely come here again.

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.

Stunningly great craftsmen who thankfully make time to sharpen knives for mere mortals… At a great price, quickly and so sharp you can cut yourself just looking at them. I’m finicky about my knives and am so glad to have such a great resource in Ballard — no more schlepping to Kirkland to go to the Epicurean Edge. And next time I need a suit of armor or kitana, Vulcan has those too ;)

I am not too impressed with their sharpening skills. We read Unilocal 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.

These guys are the best!!! Our Wusthof knives were getting kind of dull so I looked on Unilocal to see where I should take them. There was some other shops on Unilocal 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 Unilocal reviews before I made my decision!
Thanks Unilocalers, and thanks Vulcan!

They are extremely nice, informative, and helpful. They go out of their way to help you and do a fantastic job on your knives!
They are also the local warranty rep for Shun knives, which is quite an impressive accomplishment. I highly recommend them for any knife buying and maintenance.

Why not get fitted for a suit of armor while you have you knife sharpened. They claim to have blades finer than Damascus steel. The owner really know his stuff and is a wealth of knowledge on the history of knives, swords, and their military uses. Wide range of prices all quality merchandise.

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!

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.

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!

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!