KNIFE CARE
All carbon steel blades will oxidise (rust) and be affected by damp and corrosive environments.
It is therefore advisable to dry the knife and oil the blade after use.
wooden handles can be coated with a thin layer of linseed oil.
Clean and dry the blade with care to avoid personal injury.
Knives in carbon steel must not be washed in a dishwasher under any circumstances.
The aggressive dishwasher detergent will react very badly with the blade and wooden handle.
Sharpening
The best way to keep your knife sharp is to use a leather strop.
A thin piece of leather glued to a flat piece of wood will give you a good strop.
you will need a mild abrasive on the leather to get the best results
autosol metal polish works well.
give your knife a quick strop at the end of the day and it should stay nice and sharp.
you should only need to use a sharpening stone after alot of use or if you damage the edge.
there are some good videos on youtube showing how to sharpen a knife.
The Scandi Grind
This type of bevel has superior wood carving characteristics compared to other types of bevels. However,
it is more prone to edge rolling (compared to thicker, secondary bevel type bevels)
Using a strop will over time slightly convex the scandi grind which will add strength to the edge.
If you want to use your scandi ground knife for heavier jobs it may be a good idea to add a small secondary bevel.
I recommend you do not batten a scandi ground knife.
Storage.
Please store your knife at a comfortable room temperature with as little humidity as possible.
Never store fixed blade knives in there sheaths for long periods of time.
It is recommended sheaths made from leather should always be stored in a separate area away from the knife itself.
Leather will retain some moisture creating a humid condition,
especially within an enclosed area such as a display case or storage cabinet.
Generally it is a good idea to store knives where it is dry, well ventilated, and where the temperature does not vary much.
If you store knives in a wooden storage box,
check to make sure the inside is finished with some type of sealant such as polyurethane.
Unfinished wood can also retain moisture which may cause your knife to rust.
Battening.
This is the act of placing your knife on the top of a log and striking the spine/back of it with a "hammer" (usually another piece of wood) in order to split the piece of timber.
Whilst all knives, to some extent or another, will stand up to it there is a bit of a "fashion"
(for want of better word) for using a Bushcraft/Survival knife almost as a daily tool for log splitting instead of a specialised splitting tool such as a splitting axe or wedge.
Unfortunately there are many makers out there that profess that their knives a indestructible and battening is perfectly fine.
This gives the wrong impression because usually the timber being used is far too thick and dense and there are too many forces,
in too many planes acting on the blade.
It may split a similar log 1000 times without a single issue but one day even the strongest blade will break eventually.
It is fine if you are splitting small pieces of straight grained wood (without large knots) for fire lighting (2" thick or smaller), as you will likely never experience an issue
but anything bigger you have to ask yourself , "Do I need to split this?" If you do then it is better to use an axe or wedge.
For this reason I recommend you do not batten with your knife.