Taking care of your knife

Our maintenance tips

The golden rule

Protecting your knife

Ceccaldi knives have a lifetime guarantee. However, to take advantage of this guarantee, you need to follow the maintenance tips below, and of course never put the knives in the dishwasher.

Taking care of the steels

Carbon steel

In the course of time, this steel will oxidise and form a greyish patina. Its advantage is that it can be easily sharpened, which is important when choosing a day-to-day knife. Be careful: it is more demanding to maintain carbon steels than stainless steels.

It is compulsory to clean the blade after using it. It can be cleaned under water but it needs to be dried immediately after, and put away from humidity. If you do not use your knife frequently, remember to oil the blade before putting the knife in a dry place.

“Stainless” steel

The perk of stainless steel is that it is easier to maintain than carbon steel, which is ideal for table knives or occasional pocket knives. Sharpening is less easy, so it needs to be done more often, before the blade becomes blunt. You will thus ensure the sharpness of the blade throughout the lifetime of the knife. It can definitely be cleaned with water.

Damascus steel

The technique to make this material is based on the stacking of steels with different hardnesses: the block that is obtained is stretched, sometimes twisted, folded upon itself… These operations are repeated until several hundreds of layers are obtained. Acid treatment will then reveal more or less geometric lines and motifs.

To maintain this steel, you must use the same technique as for carbon steel; it is however important to clean the blade immediately after using it, without scratching it, to preserve the lines on the blade.

A necessity

Sharpening

Water stone, oil stone, sharpening stone, Japanese or American stone, the choice is yours. The most important is that the constant angle is comprised between 20° and 30° to ensure a satisfying sharpening of the blade.

If, however, you are not able to achieve a satisfying sharpening, our workshops in Porticcio and Paris are available to sharpen your Ceccaldi knives for free.

Taking care of the wood

The types of wood

All the woods used by the Ceccaldi company are dry and healthy. Since it is a living material, it is possible that it dilates and forms a patina over time. To minimise this phenomenon, it is imperative not to plunge the handle in water.

It is also necessary to oil the handle, once or twice a year, with olive or almond oil for instance.

A delicate material

Animal horn

The ram’s or cow’s horn that the Ceccaldi company uses is also a living material. Maintenance is the same as for wood. It is important to be careful not to leave the horn in water and oil it regularly, so that it does not dry up.