Margery Cohen has been sharpening knives since 1974 when she worked at a fish market on the New Jersey Shore. After ten years of working in various fish markets and a move to The Bay Area, she joined master woodworker, Ray Nitta's business, Samurai Sharpening Service in 1984 at the Berkeley Bowl in Berkeley, CA.
Shortly after that, Nitta moved back home to Kauai and Margery took over the business. She sharpened at that location for 12 years before her move to New York City where she opened Samurai Sharpening Service at The Chelsea Market in 1997.