Proper care is important and must be maintained to prevent damage. We recommend that you keep the knife blade clean and well oiled. You may clean the knife with a mild soap and water, dry immediately, and coat the blade with a food grade or petroleum oil to further prevent any staining or rusting on the main knife body. If you are going to store the knives for a long period of time, we recommend you remove the knife from the sheath and coat the blade with oil.
Soak a rag in cooking oil and keep in a Ziploc bag. After using your knife in the field use the oil soaked rag to it wipe down. This will help protect your knife from staining caused by contact with corrosive materials.
Blade Feeling Dull?
If your blade seems to just “quit cutting”, try cleaning it with a solvent. This will remove the invisible coating of fat that fills the micro-serrations of the blade making it appear to “dull” all at once. This coating cannot be completely removed with soap and water alone.
Blade Angle
Most of our knives are sharpened at an angle between 18° – 20°. Our hatchet and cleavers are sharpened at an angle between 22° – 25°
Fixed Blade Knives: A hint to help you keep the sharpened angle the same, is to mark it with a marker along the edge prior to sharpening with a handheld steel. If you sharpen such that the marker line is evenly worn, you will maintain the blade angle.
Muskrat: When sharpening by hand we recommend using a sharpening system that will set the angle for you. Set your sharpener up on an 18-20 degree angle. Start from the handle end and drag towards the center of the rounded nose. Turn the knife over and drag towards the center of the rounded nose again from the back side. Then blend the meeting point at the center of the rounded nose.
Gut Hooks: Use a conical sharpener slightly smaller than gut hook opening.
Ulu: If you have ever sharpened a double-bitted axe it is a similar movement. The blade stays put and the stone or steel moves down the length of sharpened edge. Secure the blade on a hard flat surface such as a desk or table. Extend the edge of the Ulu out past the edge of the table while keeping the handle flat and depressed firmly. Now take a sharpener such as our diamond coated steel or a whetstone and stroke the entire length of the blade with the steel or stone keeping the angle consistent with what was ground at our factory. The Ulu is only sharpened on one side, so a sharpening system that sets the angle for both sides will not work.
REMOVING SPOTS CAUSED FROM WATER, RUST, OR CORROSION
Using fine steel wool, place oil on the blade (gun oil, cooking oil), and rub gently. Once you have removed as much as possible, clean with warm soapy water, dry completely, and apply a light coat of cooking oil to the blade.
Depending on the extent of damage it may be necessary for you to return your knife to our manufacturing facility for refurbishing. SEE BELOW
If you are not comfortable with sharpening yourself and your knife is in good shape otherwise, then our Sharpen Service is the option you are looking for. The cost is Free, you just pay to ship to us, and $15 return shipping. $2 return shipping cost is added for each additional knife. US residents only.
How it works:
If your knife needs more thorough attention, consider our Refurbish Service. Each knife is inspected and processed through the 4 stages of production listed below to restore the surface and cutting edge as close to factory standards as possible. The cost is $20 per knife, and shipping is $15 for first knife plus $2 shipping for each additional knife. US residents only.
How it works:
