The Critical Edge

Called Bob Wednesday, and made an appointment with him Thursday morning to drop off a block of knives to have sharpened before the holidays. Bob assured me that I would be able to get my knives very quickly, within one hour after dropping them off. I was running a little bit late and Bob accommodated me and was able to get me my knives back exactly on time. Bob is not only professional but also passionate and caring and loving. He has a lot to offer as far as knowledge in conversation and he also gave me a bag full of fresh citrus off of his trees in the front yard. I recommend that you support your local knife sharpener in Pleasant Hill and visit. I will definitely be recommending this place to all of my family and friends, & I will be back as long as bob is in business. His wife, Jill, is very nice as well!

Bob has sold his truck to another craftsman and does only work through his home in Pleasant Hill by appointment. That being said, he did a wonderful job on five garden sheers/​loppers for us today, on time, on budget. They are so sharp my wife won’t leave the garden/​lawn because the cutting is so much easier than earlier. I call that a win-​win.
John D.

Amazing Work! I used an expensive Shun knife to «saber» several bottles of Prosecco at a party a few weeks ago and nicked up the blade quite a bit. I read about Bob online and called Lunardi’s to find out when he was going to be there next — they told me when and where to find him in their parking lot and suggested I get there early. Bob arrives about 7:15 in the morning and I think he fills up his orders for the day around 9:00. I also took in two paring knives that had the tips broken, plus one more knife that just needed sharpening. They were all ready to pick up at noon and they looked like new — better than new, because the blades had never been so sharp! The repairs and the best sharpening ever? $ 30. I call that a deal. I will be going back.

Located at Lunardi’s Thursdays or Sundays at Farmer’s Market in Walnut Creek. I dropped off 3 chef knives, 2 slicers, and 1 paring. Bob was a thorough madman and these knives are so sharp that I’m positing that they would cut the hand of God. I mentioned to Bob, to which he replied, «he might not like that!». Indeed he wouldn’t, Bob. Indeed he wouldn’t. Using these knives return results like performing a Jedi Mind Trick on some lowly Stormtrooper in the ass-​end of the galaxy: consistent and near instant.
Cash only. It was $ 47.50 for all six, but one had to be re-​contured.

My Shun knife set needed to be sharpened. After one year of ownership and usage, these knives were not sharp as they were when I bought them.
Bob is at the Walnut Creek Farmer’s Market every Sunday. You’ll have to get there early. I got there on ⁸⁄₈ before 8:45 and was the last guy in line!
Bob’s wife promised to have the knives finished by 1 PM and so it was.
I got home and made myself a sandwich. The knives are cutting the tomatoes like butter now, ever better than when they were new.
I’ve had my entire knife set sharpened (6 knives) which came to $ 43 but was worth every penny.
If you’re in the East Bay, drop by the Farmer’s market early and bring your knives to Bob.

I’ve gone to Bob for knife and garden tool sharpening for years. His prices are competitive, and his service is outstanding. I happen to like his politics, too.
Strongly recommend The Critical Edge. We go to Bob a couple of times a year to stay sharp!
David Ogden
Walnut Creek

We have some fancy pants knives that needed a real sharpening and when I was at the butcher counter at Lundardi’s, I noticed a flyer with information on The Critical Edge.
Bob works out of his truck at Lundardi’s in Danville at least twice per month, the Lundardi’s in Walnut Creek a couple times a month, the Walnut Creek Farmer’s Market on Sundays and the Ferry Building from time to time. He is super nice and very efficient and even remembered my name when I came back later in the day to pick up my now sharper than ever knives.
Thanks Bob and I will be seeing you again in about 6 months!

Most people who know me, know that I am super anal about most things in my life; my knives are no different. So recently when it was time to sharpen our abused knives, I looked to Unilocal — our new neighborhood did not ofter many options, if any, for the type of service I was looking for. After looking on Unilocal for a few moments, and especially after reading the excellent comments fellow Unilocalers were leaving about The Critical Edge, I decided to make the trek to the Ferry Building.
The knives: Not only are they the SHARPEST they have ever been, but Bob’s service and professionalism is top-​notch! He is a true craftsman with a wonderful sense of pride; I will certainly be a longtime customer. Thank you Bob!

Bob rules! Every fall I take my kit down to the WC farmers market and a little while later I get back my prize possessions better than new! If you enjoy cooking you need to visit this guy.

When i saw my knifes after Bob has sharpened them, i jokingly told my husband «i would not want to use the knifes. they look too sharp! i am scared to touch» :)
I am able to cut like those infomercial presenters on TV now.
In 2009, they come to Pleasant Hill Farmers Market on the first Saturday every month.

I would give five starts, but I never do that for anything. Bob and his service is the best I have had when it comes to knives in the Bay Area. Cooking at home with a set of mixed knives (vintage/​antique/​newbies) I never fear bringing him anything. Even the blade tool from a 30 year old food processor came back to zip through pistachios like butter, which I was making… Like new is nothing, the knives come back better than new, just be careful, as you are warned! Find Bob and give him your business!

On a 104-​year-​old oak kitchen floor, how much of the total surface area do you suppose is consumed by nail heads? One one-​hundredth of one percent maybe? Mas o menos? So what do you figure are the odds of dropping a chef’s knife and having it land point down right on one of those nail heads? I can answer that question: 100%.
So when one of my favorite knives (one for which I made a special excursion to a special knife shop in Stuttgart, Germany, just to buy) suffered that cruel fate. .. its tip bent and sad. .. well, I took it to Bob Kattenburg’s «The Critical Edge» knife sharpenning stand to have the tip ground off.
I said «I can come back and get this next week, or I can come back later today — whichever you prefer.» Bob says «I’ll have it done in 15 minutes.»
Wow!
So I roam the Ferry Building for a few minutes — ogle seven million different kinds of silicone rubber kitchen implements at Sur la Table, and mosey back over to The Critical Edge to reclaim my knife — now slightly shorter, but no worse for wear. If you didn’t know it used to be a quarter inch farther to the tip, you’d never realize it had undergone surgery on the grinding wheel of Bob.
5 stars for quality work, good customer service, and a friendly smile.

I’ve only had my knives sharpened by him once, but I definitely will revisit this fellow. I went to his booth at the Walnut Creek market early. I was expecting a multi-​hour delay, etc. Nope. Maybe 45 minutes later I had four sharp knives, and I wasn’t even the first on the list. I suspect he does see long lines later in the day. He did an excellent job on our Globals and Shun.

update: december 13^th, 2007. I’ve used critical edge three times so far — and it has been *consistently* the best knife sharpening I’ve found in the city. if you care about your knives and use ‘em a lot, this is *absolutely* the guy to go to. super-​nice people and flawless work. I won’t let anyone else touch my knives.
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great work. I take my knives down to the ferry building farmer’s market for sharpening (he has a truck with all his gear there on tuesdays and saturdays).
he put a perfect edge back on six of my knives, and even beveled back the blades a little bit. nice touch.
extra bonus: when he saw I was taking my knives out of a knife roll, he asked me if I worked in a restaurant. I told him no – that I use ‘em while volunteering at project open hand’s kitchen. he gave me the same professional discount anyway. really nice guy!
one quick tip: show up early in the morning. his services are in high demand (for good reason) and he books up quickly for the day.

I stopped by his stall at the Ferry Building farmer’s market and got my chef’s knife sharpened, then later got a honing steel. The owner is sweet, careful and knowledgable. If you have knives that you want to take care of, take them here.

One look at the cuts on his hands will tell you — this man knows knives.
I had my entire Henckels set sharpened at the Walnut Creek farmers market (Sunday mornings), and let me tell you, they work a lot better.
He even managed to sharpen the serrated knife, which the people at Henckels told me could not be done.
He’s also at the Ferry Building during the week, as noted in another review.
Quick, reliable, reasonably priced. Sharp.

I only see this guy at the Ferry Building Farmer’s market on Saturdays. Before I got my own knives done I’ve seen his work on my sous chef’s knives which were so badly abused that I advised that she just abandon them and get new ones. Not only did he restore their edges but he managed to do it without removing so much steel as to make them all look like boning knives.
I usually tend to sharpen my own knives but my babies needed a little love so I decided to take them to the Farmer’s Market for the knife equivalent of a «spa day.» I was a little disappointed when I got to their booth, and before I could even say anything, they said, «Sorry no knives today.» Apparently they were swamped and couldn’t accept any more work.
Maybe it was the crestfallen look on my face but I think it was my inimitable charm paired with boyish good looks that made him say, «Alright, I’ll do ONE.»
Immediately that «Loving Spoonful» song starts playing in my head as I look at my knives. «Did you ever have to make up you mind… pick up on one and leave the other behind… it’s not often easy and not often kind… did you ever have to make up your mind?» Maybe he got tired of me standing there and silently bobbing my head to a song that only I could hear or maybe I’m just a charming bastard but he finally said, «Alright I’ll do them both.»
Regardless of his motivation, he totally hooked me up and I had two RAZOR sharp knives within a half an hour AND they give you a free pen with every sharpening. SCORE!