Care & Maintenance
Care
Always keep your knife dry and clean!
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. We find paper towels work the best.
Storing your knives on a magnetic wooden strip, keeping it protected in a leather sheath, or storing them in your knife roll.
Carbon Steel Knives
Carbon steel is particularly reactive to high acid products. Therefore, it is imperative 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.
Any home cooks who own carbon steel knives will also need mineral oil. There’s a lot to learn about carbon steel knives, but, unlike rust-resistant stainless steel, carbon steel is vulnerable to moisture. It's not as simple as drying them well after washing, either—stored for enough time in a humid environment, the knives will eventually rust. The solution is to rub them lightly with food-grade mineral oil after washing and drying them. The oil forms a protective barrier on the blades, preventing moisture in the air from corroding the metal. Even kitchens with stainless steel surfaces can benefit from a mineral-oil treatment. While the stainless steel doesn't need a coating of mineral oil, the oil can still be used to clean and polish the metal, giving it a gleaming finish.
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 belt or 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 structure of the steel.
