Red Forgeworks

Knife Care

How should I care for my knife?

First of all, be careful, these blades are extremely sharp! To preserve the quality of the blade and wooden handle, our knives should be hand-washed. Dry thoroughly after washing or rinsing. For non-stainless steel knives, we recommend coating the blade with a high quality food grade oil before storing.

To maintain the handle:

Each handle arrives at your doorstep sealed with food safe butcher's block oil and a mixture of natural beeswax & walnut oil. It will stay beautiful with an occasional reapplication of beeswax and/or high quality oil, such as walnut or mineral oil.

To sharpen & maintain the blade:

To maintain the finest edge, we recommend using a 900 or 1200 grit hand-held sharpening stone (available in our store) in place of a traditional "sharpening" steel, followed by a few strops. Maintaining the edge in this manner should keep the knife from having to be fully re-sharpened. End-grain cutting boards are easier on knives, and we recommend them. Glass cutting plates are harder than steel, and are not recommended, as they will dull the knife’s edge.