As always, treat something right and it will treat you right. This is the same with knives, especially. The most dangerous tool to use is a dull rusty knife… Dull knives are especially dangerous because more force needs to be applied in order to cut something, thus increasing the probability of a slip or injury occurring. A rusty knife is dangerous because if just, ingesting, breathed, or introduced into the body can be quite dangerous to a person. Put those two together and you have a dangerous combination. So this is why we put together our preferred ways to keep a knife clean and sharp!
Cleaning a knife is important, generally most bare steel knives will need to be cleaned after use. Most forms of cleaners are ok to use on knives, however avoiding water based cleaners is best. Isopropyl alcohols work well, but if a water based cleaner is used dry extremely well and oil.
Polishing a knife is important from time to time if your knife becomes lightly scratched or patinas. A patina is a form or rust but is only a surface oxidation and can generally be polished away. A number of polishes can be used, most soft metal polishes such as magnesium or aluminum polishes work well on for lightly cleaning steel. Please remember when polishing a blade do not put your hand on or above a blade even if there is a cloth in the way. polish from the sides or the opposite side of the blade. never put your hand in front of the blade.
Buffing is another option instead of polishing a knife, or if you need a slightly more aggressive way to clean a knife or remove deeper scratches. Buffing using a buffing wheel and a high grit buffing compound can clean up a knife and bring back the shine well. buffing can also bring back and edge on a knife but is not the recommended sharpening method. Buffing services, or knife cleaning services are offered, please see services pages.
Oiling is one of the most important things to keep up with for a high carbon knife. Oiling a knife protects it from water and humidity, either slowing the degradation of the steel or stopping it. Our butchers block polish or other thick knife oils are good for keeping high carbon steels, especially if they are not coated. If you intend to use your knife on something that is eaten or ingested, use a food safe oil, our butchers block polish is also food safe.
There are a lot of sharpening methods, and for the most part wet stones are the way to go. If you have a preferred method of sharpening go for it. We do also offer sharpening services for most blades and our own.