Hello Cutlery Fans,
If you are reading this, then chances are that you are a person who owns and/or appreciates nice knives. Sharpening and maintence is an essential part of owning high-performance cutlery. In addition to improved cutting performance, sharpening your knife gives you control over the geometry of the cutting edge – allowing you to adjust your knife based on your cutting needs.
Some of you may already be familiar with Master Bladesmith Murray Carter. For those of you that are not, please watch the following video:
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Murray Carter, the 17th Yoshimoto bladesmith, has written several comprehensive essays that teach you about basic metallurgy, knife maintenance, and motivate you to learn about freehand sharpening. Carter Cutlery is proud to offer these Knife Care Tips for free. Whether you are an experienced sharpener or have never sharpened a knife in your life – these tips have something for everyone.
Simply enter your name and e-mail address in the sidebar area that reads “Free Knife Care Tips”.
What did other people have to say about our Free Knife Care Tips?
“I want to thank you for the extensive Knife Tips email series. Receiving something of “value” in my inbox is becoming a rarer experience, and I do want to thank you for the time and energy you put into those communications.
Upon reading your materials, there are 2 areas that have me “rethinking” my approach to knives. These areas include blade thickness and hand sharpening. First, the fixed blade that I have typically gravitated too has been somewhat “thick.” I’m not a survivalist, yet I’ve fallen prey to the belief that I need a knife that will overcome everything short of a nuclear bomb. I have several such knives and they sit at home because a small folder is more comfortable to carry and it generally cuts better. Moreover, fixed blade knives can draw unwanted attention where I live, and if seen with one you’re immediately labeled as a wacko to be watched (slight exaggeration). Thus, while I do like fixed blades, mine sit at home too much for the aforementioned reasons.
Regarding sharpening, I was totally convinced that I could never sharpen by hand. All of my internet research concerned which “system” I was going to buy (edge pro, weps, worksharp, etc.). Since a consistent angle seems to be the key to a sharp knife, then surely a tool is better than my hand. Your website and emails have me rethinking this approach. Admittedly, I am a person that looks for a tool or crutch to help me overcome my deficiencies. Often I have bought a tool thinking it would make me a “craftsman,” not realizing how much effort the tool still required to learn correctly. Therefore, given that time will be required with or without a system, why not learn free hand given its advantages? The debate continues within my head, and you’ve given me much food for thought.
I thank you for your time and wish you and your business all the best. It is a pleasure to see such craftsmanship in your products, and I greatly admire your dedication to your trade. The email series was most beneficial, and I hope others find as much pleasure in your knowledge as myself.”~ Garret H.
“I think I have chosen a great sampling of your work. I will give some more in depth reviews and photos soon. I really enjoyed your knife tips! You are a fantastic teacher and have a great way of making very complicated things easy to understand. I actually enjoyed the tips so much I purchased the media package and I am now on my way to learning your freehand sharpening techniques. The Kitchen Cuts Nakiri video was fantastic. This was my first Nakiri so the video really helped me understand and feel comfortable using the knife.
The best piece of advice I took from your tips was, “Once a high performance blade is bought, put it to the most use possible. Each use lowers the cost and raises the value to you.” I have had the pleasure of owning some high-end knives in the past 25 years. I often fell into the trap and only used the knife on rare occasions because of the high dollar value. When I got bored with the knife I would end up selling it at a loss and never really got to enjoy the knife.” ~ John R.