Basic Knife Care

Always use a ceramic honing rod when honing your knife's edge.
Always cut on a plastic or wooden cutting board, never on hard surfaces like glass or marble.
Always hand wash your knife. Never put it through the dishwasher.
Always towel dry your knife after washing it. Never let it rest in water, or with water on it.
Always protect your knife's edge when storing. Use a magnetic strip, wooden block, knife roll, or the edge guard it came with.

Blade & Board Wax

One of the best ways to care for you knives, whether high carbon, or stainless, is to use a quality paste wax. I provide such a wax with each knife I make free of charge. Here are some instructions to help you get started!

Instructions:

Apply a layer of wax using your finger, a cloth, or paper towel.
Let the wax sit of 15-20 minutes (it will be okay if you let it sit longer.)
Wipe away excess wax with a cloth, or paper towel.
Enjoy a refreshed, beautiful, handle.

NOTES:

How much wax to use should be determined by the size of the item you're applying it to. You want a relatively thin coat.

Blade & Board Wax is made with organic, food safe, ingredients.

Waxing of handles, blades, and cutting boards should be done when they lose their luster. Regular application of Blade & Board Wax will prolong the life of your knives, wooden utensils, and cutting boards.

WARNING!

Apply to clean, dry, handles and blades. If the steel or wood isn't dry, you run the risk of trapping moisture under the layer of wax (this is not ideal).

Caring For Hand Forged Knives

Stainless Steel

Taking care of forged stainless steel knives is important to prevent rusting and maintain their quality. Here's how you can do it easily:

Hand wash with hot water: Clean your knives by hand in hot water. This helps to remove any dirt or residue. Make sure the water is as hot as you can handle.

Dry thoroughly: After washing, dry the knives completely with a towel. This step is crucial to prevent rusting.

Apply a layer of Blade & Board Wax: When the handle looks dry, apply a thin layer of blade wax to both the blade and the handle. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then wipe off the excess with a paper towel. This protects the knives and keeps them looking new.

Remember stainless steel isn't stain-proof: Even though it's called stainless steel, it can still stain. So, it's essential to take care of your knives to maintain their appearance and quality.

Cut on softer surfaces: Avoid cutting on hard surfaces like glass or ceramic, as this can dull the blade quickly. Instead, use wooden or plastic cutting boards to preserve the sharpness of the knife.

By following these simple steps, you can ensure that your forged stainless steel knives remain in top condition for a long time.

Carbon Steel

High carbon steel will rust and tarnish over time. Aside from basic maintenance, like sharpening, I recommend using a food safe rust inhibitor like blade wax or food grade mineral oil to coat your knife with after use. Keep your blades clean while cooking, especially if you're cutting acidic foods. High carbon steel will darken or appear blotchy fairly quickly from being used to cut anything from onions, to tomatoes.

Part of the beauty of owning a high carbon steel knife is the patina that develops over time. However, it is important to be aware that this will happen otherwise you might be surprised when you see it. Don't be alarmed though, this is part of the process of breaking in your new high carbon steel knife.

Ideally you will clean your knives after every use and store them as dry as possible to prevent them from rusting.

That being said, rust happens. With a light spot of rust you can scrub it away with hot water and a scotch brite pad. If it's sever you can use wet/dry sand paper, start with a relatively high grit (1000-1200) and if you need something more aggressive move to 800 and continue until the rust is gone.

Sharpening

Learning to sharpen your own knives is time well spent and rewarding once you learn how. It takes patience to learn to do it well, but with proper instructions you'll be sharpening your knives like a pro in no time. Here's a written guide!

If you don't care to learn there are plenty of reputable sharpeners out there that can do it for you for a reasonable fee, a quick google search will turn up a few in your area.

This is one of the better videos I've seen explaining how to sharpen using whetstones. I recommend taking a knife you don't particularly care about and practicing to understand the technique. Then moving onto knives you do care about once you're confident in your newly acquired skill.

How often you end up sharpening your knives will depend on how often, and what you use them for.

Steels are good for knives that aren't super hard, but they only realign an edge, used on a knife that is 61/62 HRC you'll probably put chips in it. So I only recommend using a steel on a knife that hasn't been hardened beyond 57 HRC (relatively low hardness).

For a very hard knife you can use a ceramic honing rod which is good in a pinch, but it's no substitute for properly sharpening your knife.

A leather strop is good for removing the bur from the edge after sharpening, but again not a substitute for actual sharpening.

I do sharpen knives on a machine, but I finish them on stones to get the finest edge. I would suggest staying away from machines and pull through sharpeners as these tend to either do a poor job because they use an extremely low grit or, in the case of a machine, they can heat the blade excessively. If over heated you could damage the structure of the steel.