Knife sharpening on the North Shore

Anyone know a good place to bring in some knives for sharpening? I used to used Chef's Catalogue on Skokie Blvd., but they closed down. I good use a good sharpening before Thanksgiving.

Thanks,
Jonah

I think you can get it done at Sunset Foods. I'm pretty sure the butcher shop in Northbrook does it. Call first just to be sure.

My go-to place is Northwestern Cutlery. It's in the city, on Lake just off Halsted. They sharpen while you wait and, if I recall correctly, charge about $3 per knife.

I'm not familiar with any places on the North Shore that sharpen while you wait. Perhaps someone else can help with that.

Northwestern Cutlery
810 W Lake St
Chicago, IL 60607
312-421-3666
http://www.northwesterncutlery.net/

HI,

I second going to Northwestern Cutlery. You can then visit the Peoria Packing down the street for added interest.

The local hardware store sends their knives out for sharpening. I believe Mutual Ace in Highland Park's schedule is drop by Wednesday and it returns the following Wednesday. I've never used them.

There is an Italian guy with an old fashioned foot powered spinning stone. Picturesque, but otherwise a poor job.

If you want the job done right and quickly, then go to Northwestern Cutlery.

Regards,

Lake Forest Hardware on Waukegan in the Sunset shopping center periodically has a guy with a sharpening truck come by. You can drop off, or you could call them (847-615-8949) and find out when the guy will be there and he will do it while you wait, I think. I have never used him myself so I cant vouch for the quality, but he advertises sharpening anything, from shovels to knives.

-Will

I just PMed a fellow Evanstonian asking the same question. It must be that time of the year - everyone is getting their tools ready for TDay and beyond.

I don't have time in the near future to head towards the default choice of Northwest Cutlery, so I've opted for my local Ace Hardware - LeMoi in Evanston on Davis Street. They send it out Wednesday and it returns the following Wednesday. I haven't used them before so I have no recommendations to offer - my choice is merely based on location.

ChgoMike wrote:I haven't used them before so I have no recommendations to offer - my choice is merely based on location.

Mike,

In my experience Northwestern Cutlery does a far better sharpening job than any place, not just Chicago, I have ever used. The whole process is done by hand with close attention to detail. Knives look better when you get them back from Northwestern, not all scratched up from a high speed machine.

If you simply can not get to Lake St. I suggest doing as a few out of town Northwestern Cutlery fans of my acquaitence do, send them the knives UPS for sharpening.

Enjoy,
Gary

Cathy2 wrote:
If you want the job done right and quickly, then go to Northwestern Cutlery.

Agreed.

Thanks to everyone for their recommendations. I slipped out of work this afternoon and went to Northwest Cutlery. It not only looks like they do a great job, but it's a way cool store browse around in. I wish it were more convenient for me, but I'll probably continue to use them.

Jonah

Northwest is great but it can be a hike.

Just in case it comes up in the future, my Wilmette-based butcher recommends Superior Knife in Skokie (not technically 'on the shore' but close). I've never been there, but since the recommendation comes from someone who uses his knives to earn his living, I trust it. I'm not sure if they offer while-you-wait service or not.

=R=

Superior Knife, Inc.
8120 Central Park Ave
Skokie, IL 60076
(847) 982-2280

Major thread bump here .... Any other suggestions other than Superior Knife (even it is 30-40 mins away) on the north shore 7.5 years later ?

I cannot get down to NW Cutlery on a regular basis and my knives haven't been sharpened in over a year.

There's a knife sharpening vendor every Saturday morning at the Evanston Farmers' Market.

Here's the website for Dave who travels to many locations on the North Shore:

http://www.sharpeningbydave.com

Hi,

There was (maybe still is) an Italian with a stone wheel who roams around the North Shore. He once stopped within half a block of my house calling out to sharpen knives. I had him sharpen a bunch of knives, which I later regretted. It was just too rough.

My frequently used knives, I tend to sharpen them myself. Every once in a while, I will take them to Northwestern Cutlery. I tend to wait until I do something stupid like chip a blade or bend a tip, then I feel like my knife rose from the dead.

Regards,

If your knives are good enough to warrant sharpening, you owe it to yourself to get a sharpener and DIY.

I use the Chefs Choice sharpener along with a steel. I also have a couple diamond sharpening stones but honestly I rarely use them anymore for anything other than chisels which require a razor level of sharpness.

It's so easy to do and the results are so good. The cost is about the same as one good chefs knife.

I totally agree with Octarine's view, but differ re: tool. I used the Chef's Choice sharpener for years, with inconsistent results. (Probably my own fault.) But a couple of years ago, Cook's recommended AccuSharp's device, I tried it, and haven't looked back. Three or four times a year, I sharpen my knives (= also Cook's recommendations: Swiss Army! : ) with the AccuSharp, then lightly steel them before first use. After every succeeding use, I steel again. Keeps my knives wonderfully sharp.

Geo

Iv'e used the Italian knife sharpener with mixed results. We have used Superior Knife in Skokie with wonderful results. Getting my Ikebana shears sharpened has been a challenge so i am assuming kitchen shears is also difficult as no one wnats to take them apart.

Just ordered an accusharp from Amazon. $0 with $5 gift card and cc points

^^^^^^Like!




Geo

Should point out the there are comments on Amazon for the Accusharp that it is not a good option for Japanese knives, which have a different blade angle than German and similar knives.

Cathy2 wrote:There was (maybe still is) an Italian with a stone wheel who roams around the North Shore. He once stopped within half a block of my house calling out to sharpen knives. I had him sharpen a bunch of knives, which I later regretted.

Ongoing frustration with the sharpness of my Global knives lead me to search LTH this week and I came across this thread.

Years ago, when my husband gifted me with four Global knives (Santoku, Utility, Paring, and Serrated), I was a frequent Williams Sonoma shopper and I asked one of the associates in charge of the classes for a rec on a great sharpening service. They recommended this Italian guy with a stone wheel who attends many area farmers markets. After using him for a couple of years and feeling that my three main knives (Santoku, Utility, Paring) were never sharp enough and lost what little edge they had quickly, I asked another WS associate for a rec and they echoed the praises of the same man.

Flash forward to the present and I am concerned that my knives have been damaged by years of improper sharpening technique. Due to my job, cooking is currently a luxury that I get to indulge in twice a week if lucky. Only the paring knife gets used 3-4 times a week and that's to cut fruit for the kids. This being said, my knives never seem sharp, even a week out from maintenance, and while at a cooking class in Kohler WI this weekend I learned that they take special sharping technique that some old school sharpeners don't know.

Is it possible that they have been harmed? Also, can this be repaired or do I need to start with new knives?

Thanks,
Kim

I would take them to Northwestern Cutlery. They can answer your question and properly sharpen them.

I'll second Northwestern. It's not North Shore, but you'll be pleased with the results, I think.

Kim3 wrote:Is it possible that they have been harmed?

Yes. Knives can be permanently damaged when sharpened incorrectly. Do they at least seem sharp right after you have them serviced?

=R=

Darren, Lucky, and Ronnie,

Thanks for the replies.

Ronnie, my knife only stays sharp for about a week after being serviced, which seems odd since I don't use them that much (1-2x a week)

I'll try to take them to Northwestern sometime in the next few weeks. It looks like a fun place to browse.

Kim3 wrote:Ronnie, my knife only stays sharp for about a week after being serviced, which seems odd since I don't use them that much (1-2x a week)

If they used to stay sharp longer, it may just be that the most recent sharpenings were not done well (and may not necessarily mean that they've been permanently damaged). Do you hone them with a steel before you use them? If the metal is relatively soft, that can definitely help. And if it does help, it's a good indication that they're probably not damaged permanently. In any event, you should know after you have them sharpened at Northwestern if they need to be replaced or not.

=R=

We had a couple of knives sharpened at one of the farmers markets, and they didn't seem all that sharp and didn't last all that long.

Since then, we've had several knives sharpened at Corrado Cutlery when they had a retail store on Main in Evanston; they did a wonderful job, and they were a HUGE improvement. Note, they no longer have a retail store, but they still do sharpening; you can ship them the knives or leave them at their new Evanston location (which is not a retail store). You'll find details on their website here.

Based on the recomendations upthread , we bought an Accusharp. I cannot say how it compares to professional sharpening, but for very little expense and very little effort, our knives are now a whole lot sharper.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

There was (maybe still is) an Italian with a stone wheel who roams around the North Shore. He once stopped within half a block of my house calling out to sharpen knives. I had him sharpen a bunch of knives, which I later regretted. It was just too rough.

My frequently used knives, I tend to sharpen them myself. Every once in a while, I will take them to Northwestern Cutlery. I tend to wait until I do something stupid like chip a blade or bend a tip, then I feel like my knife rose from the dead.

Regards,

This guy came through our neighborhood today. I hadn't seen him in a couple of years and it was nice to see he's still out there doing his thing. I don't think he does nearly as good a job as Northwestern Cutlery, but it's very cool to see this old school blast from the past still going strong.

Hi- I really needed to get both my chef's knife and my paring knife sharpened. They are both Chicago Cutlery. Northwest Cutlery is a hike for me, and so I decided to go to Superior Knife on Central Park in Skokie on Thursday. They only charged me $6 for the two knifes, and they did a good job, but when I called them up they told me that they were open until 5:00 and so I should come no later than 4:30. When I got there at 4:00 on Thursday, the receptionist said that she would have to check and see if somebody in back could still sharpen my knifes. The front office is open until 5:00, but the guys who do the knife sharpening in back come in at 6:00 am, and she was not sure if they would be available to sharpen my knifes. It took them approximately 15 minutes or maybe a little less time to sharpen my knifes, and they did a good job, and they are the cheapest around, and they are a whole lot more convenient for me. They are only open M-F, and try to get there earlier in the day than I did. Hope this helps, Nancy