Knife Aid Sharpening Service

G

Griffin Goeddel

Feedback: +4 / =0 / -0
Joined
Jul 3, 2020
Messages
24
DONT DO IT! I made a grave mistake thinking this company was a professional sharpening service that could be trusted. They do have a unique and easy method for sending knives in, but what was returned to me was a total hack job. My two year old could have done a better job with an orbital sander. None of the original blade geometry was considered. None of the factory edge profiles were considered. Everything was rough ground to a new “edge” and profile. There were scuffs all along the blades. My biggest mistake? Sending in two fairly expensive knives in my Damascus Bradley folder, and my Southern Grind Bad Monkey folder. Even the simple pairing knife was hacked...
I’m sick to my stomach, and frankly not sure how to recover these blades. Any ideas? I am not into sharpening myself, but I am leaning towards getting a WE and getting started.
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
First ... what, who, and where are you talking about? And if you would like some help (if possible) please post some pictures, and explain a bit more.
Click to expand...
Hi There!
https://knifeaid.com/
This is the company I am referring to. I will try to get some pictures up of the blades they “sharpened”. Appreciate the help.
Aside from the help, I really just want to make sure nobody else makes the same mistake.
 
I looked at their website ... looks like they use grinders exclusively and only air not water cooled. They don't look as bad as I thought they might but they definitely buggered them up. There are some skilled sharpeners on the forums and there may be several that can help you. I would recommend contacting Josh with REK Knives REK Knives ... he has recently limited what services he offers as he is starting to produce his own knives, but if he is as good as it gets IMO. I tagged him to this thread but you should PM him or go to his website and contact him. He is great to work with and I bet he can help you out.
 
I can fix the edges up for you no problem op... and yeah, that's a terrible hack job wow. I made a jig to use at specific angles and my belts are water cooled during grinding. It's a little messy (not too bad) but temper is preserved for sure:

i-dCM9cwP-M.jpg
 
I rarely trust a new company the first time that I use them, for anything. I always make a small purchase or whatever to check them out first before I spend much or use them for more expensive services or products. I even made small purchases the first time with Midway and Brownell's, two very well known and popular companies.
 
It looks like they have good reviews and they respond to them.... have you reached out to them to see what may have gone wrong? I dunno what the heck they did to your tip on that southern grind, they should at least offer you an apology/answer.

*edit: actually if you pull up the lowest star reviews it's pretty terrible and others have had the same issues. that's disappointing man, ugh
 
Last edited:
I was looking at their site and reading also ... it sounds kind of like a hit or miss and that may be because many people don't know much about sharpening or what a true sharp knife is, and most don't care about grinds or if a bevel is uniform etc...

I think they did bugger up your edges and they don't look crisp at all so I doubt they are real sharp, but they aren't as bad as I thought by your first post. I think you'll be pleased with Josh's work if you decide to go that route. Check out some of his work ... https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/knife-modification-refinishing-services.1671375/
 
Thanks everyone! Knives are boxed up and ready to ship out to Josh this evening.

To clarify: I did reach out to the “owner/CEO” immediately after I received the knives back. I heard nothing. I recently responded to one of the advertisements on Instagram to ensure others had a buyer beware. They gave me the standard “so sorry to hear, I’ll customer service will reach out” nothing for weeks. Interestingly enough, they reached out via DM on Instagram today. I let them know I am having. To send them to a true professional to rework the edges at a minimum. Let’s see what happens.

looking forward to working with Josh!
 
***UPDATE***
Already received the knives back from Josh at Razor Edge Knives. What incredible work! Not only are all of the edges SCARY sharp, but the profiling has all been refinished and back to how they should have been - or better. Josh is a true pro and over communicated through the process. Turnaround was very fast as well!

Now on the the conclusion of my KnifeAid experience-
I did finally get a hold of their customer service team. They initially offered to resharpen the knives, and apologized. Mentioned they have had “significant turnover” since my knives were sharpened and felt that they are in much better shape today than they were. I let them know I was not interested in having anyone there touch my knives again, and thought that they should refund the original sharpening costs and pay for the service from Josh to refurbish the terrible work and provide true sharpening. They refunded my original charges, but said they would not provide any further compensation than simply extending option for another sharpening package. I won’t make that mistake again- but at least they refunded the original cost.
Will use Josh and REK in the future!
 
Griffin Goeddel said:
DONT DO IT! I made a grave mistake thinking this company was a professional sharpening service that could be trusted. They do have a unique and easy method for sending knives in, but what was returned to me was a total hack job. My two year old could have done a better job with an orbital sander. None of the original blade geometry was considered. None of the factory edge profiles were considered. Everything was rough ground to a new “edge” and profile. There were scuffs all along the blades. My biggest mistake? Sending in two fairly expensive knives in my Damascus Bradley folder, and my Southern Grind Bad Monkey folder. Even the simple pairing knife was hacked...
I’m sick to my stomach, and frankly not sure how to recover these blades. Any ideas? I am not into sharpening myself, but I am leaning towards getting a WE and getting started.
Click to expand...
This might be the reason for some of the problems people are having with this company (I didn't read any reviews or look at any pictures). This information is copied from the KnifeAid website (I have never used this company and have no other information):

FROM THE FAQ

"What happens to the bolster on my knife?

Our experience is that it is best to reduce the bolster to be at least in line with the blade of your knife. This ensures that the whole length of the blade will be in contact with what you are cutting. A smaller bolster will also make it easier to hone your knife at home before your next professional sharpening. If you for some reason do not want us to reduce the size of your bolster, please let us know before you send your knives to us."

I guess the company expects people to know this. I would be pissed if they did this to my knife. I would hope they inform each customer that they may "reduce the bolster".

Are all knives sharpened the same way?

"No! No two knives are identical. Our knife smiths will determine which angle your knife’s blade should be sharpened to. Bevel angles can range from 10 to 30 degrees. Most kitchen knives have an angle between 17 and 22 degrees. Depending on the material of the blade (i.e. Damascus steel, carbon steel, stainless steel or ceramic), the sharpening - and if necessary grinding process - will be performed on different machines using varying belts or wheels with varying grits. Even the final stropping or polishing will be done according to the type of knife and blade. Don't worry, our knife smiths know what is necessary to achieve the best result, you will find more details on the sharpening process on this page."

I would question - are the knife smiths arbitrarily changing knife angles ? That is how I read this sentence.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top