Vulcan Knife LLC — Attraction in University Place

I entered the store and it was empty. Someone quickly came out and helped me. I informed him that I was here to get a knife sharpened. It had a few nicks in it and he asked if I knew that would cost extra. I had no problems with his pricing and believe it was a fair price for the condition of the blade and type of blade. Then he asked me where I got the knife, as if that really matters. I informed him it was forged by Forseti Steel and he seemed confused as he has never heard of them. Since this is a Damascus blade I informed him it was 1095 steel and a high carbon steel, I couldn't remember the second material. Damascus like this can be difficult to sharpen properly. He took my blade to the back and sharpened it for me.

While I was there several other people came in and it became a tad busy. When he returned with my blade he showed me it cut a piece of paper, and I paid, trying to get out of the way. Even left a tip. Since this place is located in a very public area I didn't exactly want to examine my blade outside.

After running a few errands and coming home I got a good look at my blade. This is where the fun begins. See, I know how to sharpen blades but I had a very large nick in it which is why I went to a professional.

I should have realized from the get go this was going to not work correctly. They never asked what blade geometry I wanted. I didn't even think about it as with the type of blade it was it's an obvious it should have either a Scandi or a Sabre grind, like what it came in with. What I got was.... neither of those. They sharpened it like it was a kitchen knife. So a flat grind.

This is the type of blade that only the very edge gets sharpened. What they did was bring the entire edge to a point instead of a bevel like it's supposed to and like how it came in. You can see from the pictures below how shiny it now is You can also see how uneven the shine is. This blade is not sharpened evenly. In fact, I couldn't get a picture of it due to lighting, but the edge is also uneven and is closer to a razor grind where one side is a sharper angle.

Not only that but any point on the blade was rounded. I now have a rounded tanto, which is supposed to be square. The blade in the belly is supposed to have a sharp edge to it, they ground it to where it transitions with a rounded point.

So not only is the blade sharpened with the incorrect edge it's also re-profiled to be rounded off. They also ruined the acid finish by the edge. I went from having a very nice looking blade to one that is in need of resharpened, reshaping, and refinishing.

Attached is a picture from Forseti what the blade originally looked like and you can see the sharp edges and profile it used to have.

I will not be coming back, I don't give second chances. I cannot recommend this shop to anyone that is looking to get anything other than kitchen knives sharpened. The two stars instead of one is simply due to how quickly they sharpened it and me being kind.

EDIT TO RESPOND: Functional edge? This edge won't last very long at all. It's completely uneven. Both sides are different angles. Not only that but you rounded squared portions and re-profiled to a profile that will not hold it's edge.

It's so uneven that the transition from the top blade to the belly is two completely different cuts on each side. If you look at it straight it looks like a child sharpened this.

You took a blade that was still sharp but had some notches and turned it into a blade that will dull the first time it's used to do anything other than cutting vegetables! I use this knife in the wilderness. The type of edge you put on will roll the instant it hits a single vine or root. The Scandi grind it had before was more than sharp enough to cut through small roots. The only reason it had nicks in the first place is from hitting metal and rock. This blade has survived 3 years and still held it's edge with a few nicks. Now I am afraid it will roll just by looking at it!

Future potential customers, see their response and how they ignore most of what is said...

So I’ve been using Vulcan Knife for years to sharpen my knives and have always been satisfied until today. I live in Kent so it’s a drive to make it all the way down to Tacoma to have my knives done so I’ve always utilize the drop off service with the expedited fee and I’ve always been able to come and get my knifves sharpened within 20 or 30 minutes, pick my knives back up so that I can head home. Unfortunately, today, the gentleman at the counter told me that they no longer do that only on Saturday, even though there is nowhere on their website that says that. It still says that it’s an expedited service for a fee and no restrictions are listed at all. That’s very disheartening for them to have that posted on their website and then after a customer drives that distance to be a loyal customer to be told no even though that misinformation was due to their own generated website. Very unfortunate because now I’m going to have to find a different shop to have my knives sharpened at and the six other people that I have gotten to come here from Kent to have their knife sharpen I’ll be sure to let know to no longer come because the service is not what it used to be or what is stated on their website and I don’t want my friends making a trip all the way down here to be turned away. Because of today’s experience, I have no other option but to leave a one star review so that other people will possibly be able to see this and know that they’re not able to actually have drop off service. I’m including a screen grab of their website showing what they profess to offer and then no longer...

Back in March 2025, I went to Vulcan Knife to have 2 of my shaving straight razors sharpened paying $101.53 (including tax) for this service. When I got them back, it became clear when I tried to use the razors that they did an abysmally deficient job. The razors were less sharp than when I brought them in and were completely unsuitable for shaving. I sent them a message requesting a refund and stating I would not post a negative review if Vulcan Knife would do so.

However, the owner interpreted my message as a threat. He insinuated that I was attempting to “blackmail” or “hold hostage” his business. This was a complete mischaracterization of what I was conveying. Rather, I was providing an opportunity for Vulcan Knife to correct their mistake. A refund would have returned everything to the way it was as if I had not engaged their services at all, eliminating any justification for this negative review. I also wanted to assure Vulcan Knife that if they refund my money, I would not go and post a negative review anyways. The owner’s response was sharp and discourteous. He said Vulcan Knife would “not refund a dime” unless I returned to the shop to give them an opportunity to inspect the razors and attempt to correct their mistake. Due to how poorly they had sharpened my razors, there was just no way I was going to let them touch my razors again.

I took my razors to another business which had to correct Vulcan Knife’s faulty work costing me more....