Caring for your new knife/tool
Patina on a high-carbon steel knife after weeks of heavy use
HELP!!! My knife’s finish has changed! What’s going on?
Your knife is made from high-carbon steel alloys such as Apex Ultra, 1084, 15N20, and W2. Each has characteristics that make it ideal for its chosen application: Holding a sharp edge, resisting chipping, breaking, or rolling, etc.
High-carbon steel will develop a patina as it’s used, somewhat uneven at first, and then becoming a uniform, slightly darker coating with time. The effect can be accelerated if you frequently prepare acidic foods (lemons, tomatoes, pickles), or if you leave food residue on the knife for long periods of time.
Patina can be polished off, but most chefs prefer to leave it as it provides additional protection for the blade. If you prefer to retain the original shiny, bright finish for years to come, however, you can request that your knife be made with a stainless steel alloy.
We’re HUGE fans of Forged in Fire at Nathan Cline Knives; visit the forge when Nathan’s creating, and that’s the show most often playing on the forge TV. It’s a lunchtime staple and we love David, J, Doug, and Ben.
Try a Forged-in-Fire strength test on a Nathan Cline knife, though, and we’ll haunt you forever. ;-)
Forged in Fire tests contestants’ weapons “to destruction,” meaning they inflict as much hell on the knife as they can in the shortest time possible. They are TRYING (hard) to make the knife fail, which is not only a fast way to find a winner but makes for great TV.
In real life, though, the point is to use the knife, not destroy it. Nathan Cline knives are made for seriously hard use, whether in the kitchen or deep in backcountry. Smashing the edge of your knife on a horse skull, or driving it into an ammo box is a good way to ruin a significant and beautiful investment.
Do I need to do anything special to maintain my new knife?
Nathan Cline knives require nothing special in the way of maintenance, but there are a few things you should plan to do (or not do):
- DO store your knife securely, either in presentation case, on a clean magnetic rack (we prefer the ones covered with wood instead of those with metal rails), in a slotted knife block, or in its own slot in a knife drawer.
- DO NOT drop your knife in a drawerful of other kitchen tools (unless it has its own compartment). Letting a good-quality knife bang around with serving forks and meat thermometers could not only damage the handle or sharpened edge, it’s also an accident waiting to happen.
- DO keep your knife sharp, by regularly stropping it on a leather or a steel to enhance the edge. It should be professionally sharpened (or you can purchase a good-quality sharpening system and do it yourself) every year.
- DO NOT let water sit on the blade, or set a damp blade on a magnetic rack: It will rust.
- DO wipe the dry blade with small amount of edible oil or wax every so often. This will help prevent rust and preserve a low sheen.
- DO occasionally apply a coat of oil or wax on wooden handles and buff to a low sheen.
- DO remember that resin handles are beautiful but can scratch. A properly stored knife should be fine, but if your handle gets scratched, you can usually buff it out with a good polish and a soft cloth.
Uhm…that’s a hard NOPE!
A dishwasher is a pretty extreme environment. The detergents used in the dishwasher can attack the metal, causing it to etch, and can sometimes actually affect the knife’s edge. And if the knife has wooden scales, the dishwasher can (at best) dull the finish. At worst, water can penetrate into the wood pores, causing it to swell and potentially crack.
Hand-forged knives–even if made of stainless steel–should always be hand-washed. It’s a great idea to wipe any food residue off the knife before putting it down. Don’t soak the knife, and keep it out of dish water unless you’re actively washing it. Dry it immediately and put it back in its rack or case.
Ordering a Nathan Cline knife or tool
Short answer: Because materials are expensive and a great knife takes a long time to make, and we can only make so many per year.
Longer answer: Knifemaking combines a wide range of difficult skills, from understanding metallurgy to fine woodworking to leathercraft. Learning to do them well can take years of dedicated effort. Learning to do them well so that they are also works of art takes even more.
As with anything else, that knowledge doesn’t come cheap. And the equipment needed to use those skills–anvils and tools, hydraulic presses, heat treating kilns, grinders, forges, drills, and saws–also represents a significant investment. We use the finest materials available–from exotic pink ivory wood and gemstones used in our handles to high-end steels such as Apex Ultra. We recover those costs in the price of the knife.
A Nathan Cline knife takes about 40 hours to make, start to finish, not including design time.
That depends on a lot of things:
- The type of knife you want
- Whether you want an existing design or a new design
- How long you need to approve the final design
- The complexity of the fabrication
- What materials you want (and how long it will take us to get them in stock)
For most new designs, the design process generally takes one or two weeks; fabrication can take anywhere from 3-4 days to 3-4 weeks, depending on the design. Nathan’s currently scheduling new projects at least 6-8 weeks out, and that lengthens in the months leading to major holidays.
Contact us, and we’ll be able to give you a closer estimate.
Yes and no. Nathan does not schedule formal, classroom training in knifemaking or blacksmithing. His shop simply won’t accommodate more than a couple of people, and he prefers to focus on filling custom orders and building inventory for shows and galleries.
That said, he sometimes offers clients ordering custom knives the option of spending a day in his shop, helping him make the knife. This must be negotiated at the time of purchase, and the client must sign a liability waiver before shop time can be scheduled.
If you can’t find exactly the knife or tool you want on the website, ask Nathan to quote a custom creation, hand-crafted just for you.
We’ll need the following information to provide a realistic price and delivery date:
- What kind of knife or tool do you want?
- What is its intended purpose?
- What size do you need?
- Are there special materials you’d like us to use?
- Are you interested in having a set of matching multiples made? (as in a set of steak knives or serving spoons)
- When do you need it?
Please include this information in our contact form; we’ll get back to you in a few days.
I have a [deer antler, my grandfather’s old bayonet, a chunk of wood from a backyard tree, etc] that I’d like Nathan to incorporate into a custom knife. Is that possible?
It depends. If the material is compatible with the knife he’s designing and its function, Nathan will be happy to incorporate it. In some cases, there may be an extra charge for treatment of the material to ensure its successful use. For example, some woods and semi-precious stones must be “stabilized” to prevent crumbling or cracking.
Nathan cannot incorporate someone else’s intellectual property without the owner’s expressed permission.
Knife materials
Patina on a high-carbon steel knife after weeks of heavy use
HELP!!! My knife’s finish has changed! What’s going on?
Your knife is made from high-carbon steel alloys such as Apex Ultra, 1084, 15N20, and W2. Each has characteristics that make it ideal for its chosen application: Holding a sharp edge, resisting chipping, breaking, or rolling, etc.
High-carbon steel will develop a patina as it’s used, somewhat uneven at first, and then becoming a uniform, slightly darker coating with time. The effect can be accelerated if you frequently prepare acidic foods (lemons, tomatoes, pickles), or if you leave food residue on the knife for long periods of time.
Patina can be polished off, but most chefs prefer to leave it as it provides additional protection for the blade. If you prefer to retain the original shiny, bright finish for years to come, however, you can request that your knife be made with a stainless steel alloy.
Short answer: Because materials are expensive and a great knife takes a long time to make, and we can only make so many per year.
Longer answer: Knifemaking combines a wide range of difficult skills, from understanding metallurgy to fine woodworking to leathercraft. Learning to do them well can take years of dedicated effort. Learning to do them well so that they are also works of art takes even more.
As with anything else, that knowledge doesn’t come cheap. And the equipment needed to use those skills–anvils and tools, hydraulic presses, heat treating kilns, grinders, forges, drills, and saws–also represents a significant investment. We use the finest materials available–from exotic pink ivory wood and gemstones used in our handles to high-end steels such as Apex Ultra. We recover those costs in the price of the knife.
A Nathan Cline knife takes about 40 hours to make, start to finish, not including design time.
I saw a beautiful Damascus knife/straight razor on Etsy for $39.95, made in Pakistan. How can they make a high-quality knife so cheaply?
Short answer: They can’t.
Longer answer: There are a number of ways to drive down the cost of making a beautiful, hand-forged Damascus knife:
- Get children to make them for almost no pay, in dangerous, abusive situations.
- Use cheap materials, such as mild steel. The knife may look good, but it will probably be hard to sharpen properly (or at all).
- Ignore good design practice. A knife needs the proper edge geometry to be able to cut or chop as required, strong spine, secure attachment of handle to blade, and above all, be safe. It’s much faster to turn out poorly designed and potentially unsafe knives.
- Take shortcuts. The knife may not go through the thermocycling and heat treatments required to make a strong, hard, durable blade. Or the maker ignores good quality control practices and doesn’t check the knife for flaws before sending it out.
- Commit fraud. Knives advertised as “Damascus steel,” are actually made of a single steel alloy, and the moire patterns of Damascus are stamped, laser-etched, or printed onto the blade. In some cases, the “damascus” actually wears off when you wash the knife.
If you see a knife on Etsy that “normally sells for $300, but today only: $39.95!!” well…you get what you pay for. Be especially aware of Damascus blades coming from Pakistan or China, lately the source of a lot of poor-quality steel.
Other
Yes and no. Nathan does not schedule formal, classroom training in knifemaking or blacksmithing. His shop simply won’t accommodate more than a couple of people, and he prefers to focus on filling custom orders and building inventory for shows and galleries.
That said, he sometimes offers clients ordering custom knives the option of spending a day in his shop, helping him make the knife. This must be negotiated at the time of purchase, and the client must sign a liability waiver before shop time can be scheduled.
Sorry, Nathan does not rent out his shop or tools.