Care & Use

Carbon Steel is for those who take pride in keeping their tools at peak performance through basic maintenance. Day to day, it is as simple as remembering to hand wash and dry after each use. Read on to learn more about helping your knife last a lifetime.

    • Always hand wash and hand dry (never use a dishwasher or leave in the sink)
    • Don’t let it get dull – honing your knife while it still has an edge will prevent you from having to sharpen it often. We recommend a ceramic hone or a leather strop.
    • Don’t use your chef knife on bones, frozen food, or crusty bread – as a rule, if you wouldn’t use your teeth on it, don’t use your chef knife on it.
    • Always use a cutting board – wood, hard-rubber, or a soft plastic are all fine. Avoid cutting on plates, stone, or other hard materials.
    • Keep your edge protected in a block or sheath. Almost any way you can protect your blade should be fine – wooden in-drawer or countertop blocks, soft-front wall magnets, individual sheaths. Avoid wall magnets with exposed metal and storing knives loose in a drawer which will lead to chipping and injury.
    • Always keep your carbon steel knife clean and dry; oiling is not necessary unless it will be stored for a long period of time. Patina is natural and necessary- learn to love it.
    • If rust does occur, it is important to remove it before pitting can begin.
    • When sharpening, we recommend hand sharpening on a waterstone or wet grinding – avoid any aggressive machine sharpening or any draw-through automatic devices.
    • Treat your handle like you would a wooden cutting board. Use a food safe mineral oil or oil/beeswax mix  occasionally or when it will be stored for a long period of time.