Frequently Asked Questions
ARE THE KNIVES HAND FORGED?
Yes, all of our items are handmade.
WHO MAKES THEM?
Reynol Villarreal, as well as all of us in the Villarreal team work together to produce all of our items.
WHERE ARE THEY MADE?
We are based out of Mission, Texas U.S.
WHAT STEEL ARE YOUR KNIVES MADE OUT OF?
All of our standard catalog knives are made from leaf springs, which are a 5160 steel.
This is a RIGID, high carbon steel.
All of our knives are 100% finished and ready for use, meaning that yes, they are heat treated and pre sharpened.
We also have semi flexible knives, such as our flexible fillet and paring knives, that are made from the band saws from our tree cutting machine, these knives are also high carbon steel.
Last but not least we also make knives with Alabama Damascus steel, produced by Brad Vice in Alabama U.S. (this is also a high carbon steel) and 420 Stainless steel.
WHAT ARE YOUR KNIFE HANDLES MADE OUT OF?
All our traditional knife handles are made from locally available RGV native trees (mesquite and ebony) that we have processed ourselves.
All of our handles are 100% natural wood.
We also make knives with imported South American Cocobolo wood; custom all-natural Axis antler handles and mammoth ivory.
Custom natural antler handles are available by pre order only, please send us a MESSAGE if you wish to order one.
WHAT KIND OF TANG DO YOUR KNIVES HAVE?
All of our knives have either full tangs or 3/4 tangs for the lighter models.
WHERE IS YOUR STORE?
Our flagship store is located at 200 S Bryan Rd #121, Mission, TX 78572
We also offer CURBSIDE pick up in CONVERSE TX, and have two authorized franchises, one in Edinburg TX and the other in Brownsville TX.
Please keep in mind that each location is subject to its own pricing structure, and can offer different deals, discounts as well as have varying turnaround times and exchange or return policies that may not apply to or be honored at a different location.
Please refer to our events file to see other locations and upcoming events.
We ship to anywhere in the U.S as well as worldwide via USPS Priority.
WHERE CAN I SEE PICTURES & PRICES?
You can access our full range of items in the Store tab here on the page, through our Facebook and Instagram posts and stories, or in person at our locations or vending event booths.
For any specific items or custom works please send us a MESSAGE VIA OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, INSTAGRAM PAGE OR EMAIL.
HOW DO I BUY SOMETHING?
To place an order, you can purchase it directly from our store tab here on the page, or send us a message via our Facebook page, our Instagram page, or via email at villarreal_knives@yahoo.com
Please send us a list of the items you’d like to purchase, or a brief description of what you need items for so we can provide recommendations for you.
For your own personal safety we DO NOT accept direct card payments OR take any orders over the phone due to the possibility of credit or debit card fraud or identity theft.
We also have to send you photos for approval as well as order costs and final invoice of the items you want to purchase, which cannot be done in a phone call.
All customer interactions are saved in our Facebook and Instagram messenger system or in our email so that each of our customers orders can reviewed if necessary, as well as to make sure there is no lost information or miscommunications when orders are placed, sending out packages or organizing local pick ups.
We appreciate your understanding and look forward to personally helping you with your order via Facebook messenger, Instagram chat or our email.
WHAT TYPES OF PAYMENTS DO YOU ACCEPT?
Cards (in person in select local stores only) PayPal, Cashapp, Venmo, Zelle, Google Pay, Direct Bank Deposits, Checks, Money Orders, Cash.
CAN YOU HOLD MY ORDER?
WE DO NOT DO HOLDS.
Since we have a limited amount of items we do “First Come First Serve”.
If there is NO payment made NO items will be set aside.
You can pay for your order and we will hold all paid for items for pick up or shipping at a later date.
THE ITEM I WANT IS OUT OF STOCK?
Most of our standard catalog knives take about 3-4 Weeks to be put back in stock after they are sold out. Custom items such as Damascus steel or axis handles are by pre order only.
LOCAL PICK UP?
Flagship store - 200 S Bryan Rd #121, Mission, TX 78572 - Monday-Friday 11AM-5PM (by appointment only outside of store hours)
Curbside pick up in CONVERSE TX - by appointment only, hours and location to be determined at thime of sale, depending on the day and time.
Curbside pick-up means you have let us know what you would like to purchase via message, we have sent you pictures of the items and let you know the total, processed your payment, then set up a time for you to pick them up at the agreed upon location.
For those of you that cannot do local pick up, we ship to anywhere else in the U.S. and worldwide.
UPCOMING EVENTS?
All our upcoming events are updated and listed in the Events Tab here on the page.
IF A LOCATION IS NOT POSTED IT MEANS WE DO NOT HAVE ANY UPCOMING EVENTS IN THAT AREA.
ITEM PRICES?
ALL PRICES ARE FIRM.
PRICE LISTED IS FOR THAT ITEM ONLY, IT DOES NOT INCLUDE SHIPPING OR OTHER ITEMS UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED.
We offer wholesale vendor discounts only on orders of $1,000 or more.
CUSTOM WORK & BLANKS?
Yes, we do sell knife blanks, handle materials and pins.
We DO NOT make folding knives.
We are not accepting any custom work orders at this time.
WOOD ITEMS?
Each wood item we make is priced individually depending on how difficult it was to acquire the wood, any additions that were made (such as our epoxy detailing) and the final work that was put into the piece.
You can find examples of our wood items in the "leather & wood examples" photo album on our Facebook page, and approximate prices by sending us a direct message with what you are looking for in one of our platforms.
ORDERING A WOOD ITEM:
Please send us a message with the exact size measurements for the item you want (Length, Width and Height) and we'll provide you with an “approximate price” quote.
We cannot guess the size of an item from a picture.
Approximate price quotes for wood items are based off of the raw wood cubic foot price ($30 per cubic foot).
Please keep in mind that these items are HEAVY and shipping is usually $25-$65 depending on the packages size, weight and final destination.
DO YOU SHIP?
YES WE DO!
We ship via USPS Priority every 1 -2 weeks depending on our order volume and events.
USPS Priority includes a $100 insurance and takes 2-3 business days to arrive once the package is shipped.
If you require a higher insurance or faster delivery that can be arranged for a higher shipping fee, please let us know at time of check out that you wish to add this to your order.
Shipping starts at $10 and ranges depending on where and what we are shipping and can sometimes even be included for FREE under certain promotions.
All exact shipping costs are calculated at checkout based on your final order and destination.
Just like in store all of our items are FINAL SALE once shipped.
if a package is lost or damaged during transit it will be your responsibility to utilize your package’s shipping insurance to cover the loss.
There are NO refunds, returns or exchanges once a package has been shipped.
If a return is accepted each item that is sent back will be subject to a 10% restocking fee, and you will be responsible for the cost of shipping it back.
SHARPENING & REPAIR SERVICES?
We offer sharpening at our mission location only, it starts at $5 per item.
Prices vary depending on services and items.
We are not offering any further repair services at this time.
KNIFE CARE?
Since all of our blades are made from high carbon steel they will rust if not taken care of properly.
We have made a written KNIFE CARE guide that fully explains this process that can be found here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sqSXeqreWhrLnCv2oMESqa7jxHHSiZOGs50I5l-9uBo/edit?usp=sharing
DO YOU OFFER ANY WARRANTY?
ALL of our items are final sale.
We do not offer any refunds or exchanges once an item leaves the shop, whether it be locally or via shipment.