Knife FAQ

I guarantee my work to be free from manufacturing defects under normal usage and will repair a knife/problem as necessary, as long as I continue to make knives. Natural handle materials (such as stag, bone, wood, pearl and ivory) may shrink, crack, and/or discolor with change in temperature, humidity or age. This is normal wear and tear, and is not covered under this warranty.

Common sense needs to be observed with knives. If you are using a knife outside its intended purpose and you experience a failure, I will do my best to fix the knife but will not replace the knife.

For only the cost of shipping, you can send your knife back to be sharpened/cleaned up to best bring your knife back to its original appearance.

Stones

I recommend DMT diamond stones or rods for sharpening. These stones cost a little more initially, but stay flat, sharp, and last a long time. Sharpening by hand takes a lot of practice, but you can sharpen a knife back to a razor sharp edge with stones. If your knife is really dull, you might need to have a professional sharpen the knife or send it back to me to reestablish the edge.

Strops

Stropping is the best way to hone the edge to bring the knife back to a hair-popping sharp edge between sharpenings. You see lots of barbershops using this method on their straight razors. This is usually done with a leather strip and a compound on it. This compound comes in many different grits. I use green buffing compound on a leather belt to strop the edge. When doing many knives at a time, this works best for me.

Most of the knives I make are usually made of stainless steel. Stainless steel does stain occasionally, but is much more forgiving then carbon steel blades would be. If a blade does get a stain on the blade, you can use a scotchbrite pad to remove the discoloration. Remember when doing this that it is best to go from the spine of the blade to the sharpened edge with the blade on a flat surface to help prevent cutting yourself.

When your knife is dirty, a little warm soapy water and wiping should do the trick. Don’t let the knife and handle sit in water, as this can damage the knife. Depending on what the handle is made of, this can cause the materials to distort and loosen over time. Putting your kitchen knives in the dishwasher is also not a good idea. Over time the hot water in the dishwasher will temper the blade, removing hardness from it and the knife won’t hold an edge as long. The dishwasher is also extremly hard on knife handles. Ever get a wood handle steak knife and the wood handle feels like it is going to fall off? This is because the steel of the tang will expand with the heat of the water, stressing the glue joint that holds the handle to the tang.

Carbon steel requires more maintenance than stainless steel. The steel needs to be rubbed with oil or another protectant from time to time. One of the products I like a lot is Renaissance Wax. This wax keeps a protected layer over the steel to protect it from oxidizing. To use Renaissance wax you rub your finger on the wax. The heat from your finger will be enough to melt it. Rub the exposed surface with your finger like you are buffing your car. When the wax has a haze on it, buff it with a towel. I prefer using Scotts blue shop towels for this job, but any soft fabric like material would work.