Care & Maintenance

Proper care and maintenance not only helps prolong the life of your knife, it helps maintain a sharp edge and get the best performance from you knife.

Always keep your knife dry and clean! Avoid leaving food stuck to your knife.

Hand wash with warm soapy water. No abrasive sponges.

Never put your knife in the dishwasher or leave it soaking in water.

Dry your knife completely using an absorbent towel. A soft paper towel is fine.

We recommend storing your knives on a magnetic wooden strip, or storing them in your knife roll or wrap.

Apply a little handle wax or a wood-friendly oil to the handle periodically to protect it and keeping it looking good.

Special Care for a Carbon Steel Knife

Carbon steel knives require a few extra steps to maintain your blade. Carbon steel is particularly reactive to high acid products. Therefore, it is important that you rinse your blade and wipe it dry after cutting anything acidic, such as citrus, tomatoes, and onions. If not rinsed, the acid will begin to corrode the steel and damage your blade. After washing and drying your knife, we recommend oiling it with a food safe, neutral oil, such as camellia oil to protect your blade and encourage a slow and even patina. The oil will act as a barrier to help protect against future exposure to moisture and acids. We like camellia oil because it is food safe, has no flavor, no smell, and will not dry out or build up on steel as easily. Apply a pea-sized amount of oil to the blade and evenly distribute in a thin layer from spine to edge. To oil the edge of your knife, apply a small amount of oil to a thick towel and gently run the oiled towel over the edge. Wipe off any excess oil and store.

Maintenance

We recommend a professional tune-up at least once a year, even if you are sharpening at home. If you do not sharpen your own knives, we recommend you have them sharpened when they start to feel dull. A sharp knife is always safer than a dull knife. In between sharpening, a leather strop and honing rod can be used to help maintain a sharp and even edge. Honing rods do not sharpen the knife, but remove microscopic bits of steel helping to true the edge of the blade. We never recommend machine sharpening, as these techniques are often too abrasive, are not able to achieve as fine of an edge, remove too much steel, and can heat up the blade, potentially damaging the hardness of the steel. Apply a little wood-friendly oil (like Camiellia oil) to prevent the wood from moisture absortion and cracking. Using handle Wax is also a great way to protect and restore the luster to your wood handle.