Chapter III
Care Guide
A letter to its first owner.
What follows is not a list of rules. It is a description of how this knife wants to be lived with. If you do these things, it will outlast you.
Each Time You Use It
Wipe the blade with a dry cloth after every task. Onion, then wipe. Tomato, then wipe. The carbon steel will rust in minutes if left wet, and in hours if left with acid on it. This sounds tedious. It is not. After a week it will be a movement you no longer notice, the way you no longer notice closing a cupboard. When you are finished cooking, wash the knife in warm water with a soft cloth, dry it immediately, and put it away.
The Patina
In the first weeks the blade will develop a soft grey-blue patina. This is not damage. It is a stable oxide layer that protects the steel beneath. Do not scour it off. The knife is learning the things you cut. An older knife belonging to a careful owner will be the colour of pewter and rain. This is the beautiful state.
Sharpening
On a water stone, when the edge stops parting paper cleanly. For most cooks this is every two to three months. Begin with a 1000-grit, finish on a 6000-grit. Hold the angle the knife came with — about fifteen degrees, the thickness of two coins under the spine. Five minutes, quietly, at the sink. We can recommend a stone if you ask.
What to Avoid
The dishwasher will warp the handle and dull the edge in a single cycle. Bones and frozen food will chip the brittle core. Glass and ceramic boards will roll the edge in a meal. Use end-grain wood or, second best, a soft plastic. Do not leave the knife in the sink. Do not let anyone else wash it.
The Handle
Once a year, a thin coat of food-safe mineral oil rubbed in with a soft cloth and left overnight. The walnut will deepen toward the colour of old tea. The buffalo horn ferrule may develop fine lines; this is not a fault. The whole object is meant to age.
In Closing
Treat the knife as a working object, not as a precious one. Use it every day. Sharpen it when it needs sharpening. Wipe it when it is wet. Hand it to whoever in your house cooks last. We made it to be used until the blade is half its width — and then to be used some more.