Maintaining Blades

We are always happy to offer advice or have a product back for refinishing, thinning, or sharpening. Please feel free to get in touch with any questions.

Cleaning Carbon Steel

One of the most important steps in taking care of your carbon steel is keeping the blade clean. That means wiping down your knife directly after use. It may seem tedious at first, but it will keep your blade looking pristine. This is especially true when working with acidic foods like onions, lemons, and tomatoes, which tend to be particularly tough on carbon steel and our 'special black' finish.

A gentle wipe-down with a soft, non-abrasive sponge and hot water is all it needs. Dish soap is fine, but avoid scrubbing the surface finish or soaking the handle in water. Always dry the blade thoroughly and immediately after washing.

Honing and Sharpening

We recommend a leather strop for honing, as it's a little more forgiving than a honing rod (steel), especially on hard edges. Stropping straightens the edge on an almost microscopic scale and should be done regularly to keep your knife sharp for longer. It does not actually 'sharpen' your knife, meaning eventually some material will need to be removed on whetstones.

Please do not use a carbide pull-through or electric sharpener on any knife you care about.

We offer a sharpening service and sell our own sharpening systems for use with full-size whetstones. These are generally aimed at makers or people who do a lot of sharpening, but they make a highly useful part of any toolkit.

Handle Maintenance

A handle should be pretty maintenance-free, but you can help rejuvenate the wood if it starts to dry out by applying finishing oil or wax (do not use cooking oil or mineral oil). All of our knife handles are removeable for repairs and maintenance if needed, but we recommend returning the knife to us for that. 

Finishes and Coatings

Our 'Special Black' Finish

The 'special black' finish we offer for most of our carbon steel blades is by far the best we've found aesthetically, and it is exceptionally rust-resistant. It doesn't stain foods and doesn't explicitly need extra protection, though we highly recommend our KWB Iron-Guard coating to protect against acidic juices.

If any areas lose their colour, the steel will patina naturally over time and continue to protect itself. However, if you don't like the look, just send us a message — all of our handles are removable to allow for easy refinishing. For a knife that will be used heavily in harsh environments, we can recommend alternative finishes.

KWB Iron-Guard

Finally, the protection handmade knives deserve! KWB Iron-Guard offers great corrosion protection and unparalleled durability as well as ease of cleaning and non stick properties. It is FDA-approved for food safety, easy to apply, and lasts up to a year with daily use.

The coating is very thin — similar to automotive ceramic coatings, but of far higher quality and entirely safe for kitchen tools. Note: All of our knives as of November 2025 come with this applied as standard.

Carbon Steel vs. Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is the most common material for kitchen knives; however, carbon steel is often the preferred choice of culinary professionals. Even basic grades of carbon steel can hold an incredibly sharp edge at high hardness while remaining easy to sharpen.

While high-end stainless steels offer excellent edge retention and corrosion resistance, they are usually very difficult to work with. This increases production and sharpening costs. Because of this, we recommend putting your money into a well-made carbon steel blade instead of paying for the extra hours of grinding required for high-grade stainless. That being said, there is a time and a place for stainless steel (the good kind, not the soft stuff lower grade mass produce knives are made of) — if it's what you're looking for, we can certainly make something to suit your needs.