Shipping & Packaging

Yes! Once you have placed an order, we will send you our customized, prepaid, and registered knife envelope. This envelope will also include a safety sleeve for each of your knives, further protecting them to ensure they reach us safely and securely. Even better, all shipments are insured and 100% trackable during the journey. Shipments are insured up to $400 - we may require photos and/or purchase receipts of your knives to support the claim. Choose between USPS (the Post Office) and UPS for shipping.

Every package price includes free USPS shipping.

You can upgrade your delivery service to UPS Ground for an extra $10. When you choose this shipping option in the checkout process, we will send you your empty knife envelope via UPS Ground with all the materials needed for you to send us your dull knives. Pack up your knives in the pre-paid UPS return envelope, and drop it at your local UPS facility or UPS Drop Box location. Once your package is received by our workshop, we will sharpen your knives and return them to you via UPS Ground.


When you choose UPS shipping, you can track their progress in real-time, or choose to get proactive notifications.


USPS and UPS shipping labels are valid for 12 months. Should you decide to use your Knife Aid envelope more than 12 months after ordering it, please reach out to contact@knifeaid.com, and we will provide you with new shipping labels.

** Proof of Delivery is provided for every shipment.**

If your blade is wider than the safety sleeve, don't worry! Just make sure that the sharp part of the blade is aligned with the closed part of the sleeve, and that the adhesive sticks well to the blade.

If the blade is longer than the safety sleeve, you can either use pieces that you might have cut off other safety sleeves, or you can use old newspaper to wrap around the heel of the knife (the part of the blade that is closest to the handle), all secured with adhesive tape. Make sure the tip of the knife is secured against the closed part of the knife guard.

We can only accept knives that fit our special knife envelope. The knife envelope guarantees secure delivery of the knives and is required by our mail carriers. Knives longer than 16 inches will not fit the envelope.

We do not accept or sharpen swords.

We sharpen most kitchen knives, scissors, and outdoor knives. We do not sharpen daggers, switch blades, or power tool blades. A more detailed list of what we sharpen and we do not sharpen is provided below.

What we sharpen:

  • Kitchen knives of all types such as chef knives, paring knives, or steak knives, both steel and in ceramic. This includes serrated knives, such as bread knives, as well as larger knives, such as meat cleavers and butcher’s knives
  • Outdoor and hobby knives, such as pocket knives and Swiss Army knives, hunting and fishing knives (we charge per blade)
  • All major knife brands, high value and economical, such as Wüsthof, Victorinox, Cuisinart, Buck, etc.
  • Most types of scissors with a straight edge to the cutting surface, such as sewing scissors and kitchen scissors

What we don’t sharpen:

  • Straight razors and hair-cutting shears or scissors
  • Micro serrated blades of any type; micro serrations are tiny square indentations along the edge of the blade. These square indentations will make the edge look and feel rough rather than smooth
  • Swords and other blades longer than 16 inches
  • Meat slicers, lawn mower blades, and any other handleless blades found in power tools
  • Mandolin or vegetable peeler blades, and other handleless blades found in kitchen tools
  • Pinking shears and other shears or scissors without straight edge cutting surfaces
  • Wavy blades as found in some decorative or ceremonial knives and swords
  • Daggers or switch blades and other knives with an edge on both sides of the blade

If you are unsure about your knives, please get in touch contact@knifeaid.com

The easiest way to ship your envelope is to use your own mailbox. If the envelope doesn't fit into your mailbox, you can drop it off at the nearest USPS mailbox or post office.


!! UPS !! If you chose UPS as your shipment method, please make sure NOT to drop your envelope off at USPS. Please only drop off at a UPS office or drop box.


The shipment is prepaid. Any additional charges will be billed to our account.

We include an additional red sleeve in the packaging material for all customers. This sleeve is there in case you end up finding one more knife that you'd like us to sharpen.

As per the instructions on the sleeve, you can simply send us an extra knife (or a pair of kitchen scissors!) in that sleeve, and we will invoice you via email once we receive/inspect your knives, and before we sharpen them. The extra knife is only $10, so it is well worth using the sleeve. 

Sharpening

Definitely! Cheaper knives are often made of decent quality steel. Many of these knives have stamped blades that are mass produced, and their edges are machine finished. They are lacking the hand finish that turns a good knife into a great knife.

Popular brands such as KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Chicago Cutlery Company, and Calphalon are absolutely worth sharpening and will come back sharper to you than when you bought them.

  • We sharpen most knives, such as chef's knives, paring knives, meat cleavers, serrated bread knives, and more.
  • We sharpen all types of steel (stainless steel, carbon steel, Damascus)
  • We work with all major knife and store brands
  • We also sharpen outdoor knives, such as Swiss Army style knives, folding knives, hunting and fishing knives
  • We sharpen ceramic knives ($10 surcharge)
  • We sharpen single bevel knives ($30 surcharge)
  • We do not sharpen micro-serrated knives, swords, daggers, and blades for kitchen and power tools, such as meat slicers or lawn mower blades
  • Find out more about what we sharpen on this page.

If you are unsure about your knives, please contact us at contact@knifeaid.com

Of course! Our talented knife smiths will create a new tip, shortening the blade as little as possible in the process. We charge a maximum of $10 per blade for blade repairs and will contact you for approval before we start the repair.

Absolutely! If the tip of the blade is extremely bent, we might have to cut a new tip. Extremely bent blades might never go back to being 100% straight after sharpening, but they will be fully usable again.


The repair of extreme bends might result in slight hammer marks on the blade. If the bend in your knife is excessive, we may have to charge up to an additional $10 per knife.


We will always contact you before any repairs are carried out.

No! No two knives are identical. We sharpen according to manufacturers' recommendations. If there are none, our knife smiths will determine which angle is the best for your knife's blade.


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, 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 what's best for the type of knife and blade.


Find out more about the sharpening process on this page.

Yes! We can sharpen asymmetrical edges, such as 90/10 or 80/20, if your knife was designed with such an edge, or if you ask us to do so.

We also sharpen single bevel knives and charge a surcharge of $20 for the additional labor involved. Before we carry out any billable work, we will contact you via email.

In our experience, it is best to reduce the bolster to be in line with the blade of your knife. This ensures that the whole length of the blade will be in contact with whatever you are cutting.


A smaller bolster will also make it easier to hone your knife at home before your next professional sharpening.


If you don't want us to reduce the size of your bolster, please let us know before sending your knives to us.

Unfortunately, we can't. We specialize in knife sharpening only.

How often knives need to be professionally sharpened depends on the type of knife, the use, as well as the frequency of use.

For the average home cook, we recommend sharpening your knives twice a year.

A clear sign of your knife needing professional sharpening is that your honing steel or slide-through sharpener at home only have limited effect, and that slicing (e.g. a tomato) becomes tricky. Your knives should cut easily and smoothly through a tomato or chicken filet without force and without any compressing or shredding of the produce.

Luckily, our customers are usually very happy with the quality of our sharpening and repairs. If, for any reason, you should not be happy with the results, we will of course resharpen your knives free of charge!

Ordering & Subscriptions

Count the number of knives and/or scissors you want to send to us for sharpening. Click on the GET STARTED button and choose from a 4, 5, 7, 10, or 14 knife sharpening package. Follow the steps on the website, and your knife sharpening envelope will be on the way to you in no time, all packaging material and return shipping label included. 

Save money, time, and cross one more thing off your to do list: Choose a knife sharpening subscription on the order page. Every subscription package saves you 10% on your first and all recurring orders. Not sure about intervals? This is what we recommend: 

  • 90 days: You cook 2-3 meals a day. You’re a pro!
  • 180 days: You cook 1 meal per day. You’re an avid home chef!
  • 1 year: For the occasional cook who prepares meals at least once a week. 

Gift Cards

You can redeem your physical gift card or your electronic gift card code on our website. Once you have added the desired sharpening package to your cart, proceed to checkout and enter your unique gift card code in the section to the right (under the list of contents of your cart).


If you want to upgrade your sharpening package beyond the value of your gift card simply enter your payment details on the left.


You will receive an order confirmation and shipping details per email once you have finalised your order.

Walk Ins & Drop Off

Yes, we offer drop-off and pick-up at our Agoura Hills workshop. The address is:


28378 Roadside Dr, Agoura Hills, CA 91301


We are open from 8am to 4pm Mondays to Fridays. Any knives dropped off before noon are sharpened and ready for pickup on the same day.


We offer a walk-in discount.