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KNIFE CARE & FAQs

Never put your knife in the dishwasher.

Immediately dry your knife with a towel after washing.

Use a leather strop to hone your knife.

Use a whetstone to sharpen your knife.

Never borrow someone else’s knife without permission.

A dull knife is not a knife.

Use a knife only for what it’s supposed to be used for.

To take things deeper, here are some guidelines on how to take care of your Nacionale Knives:

Carbon – If you happen to acquire one of our carbon steel knives, please do take note that these types of steel may rust over time. Always keep your knife dry with a dry towel beside you when you prep. They will also develop different shades and color. This is okay and it actually helps the blade not rust over time. Please use food grade mineral oil on your blade if you are storing it for long periods of time.

Stainless – Generally, stainless steel knives are not that hard to maintain. All you need to be mindful of is to always clean all residue and moisture off of your knives every after service or when you need to store it.

Due to our knives having a high HRC of 59-61, we do not advice people to use honing steels or automatic knife sharpeners. These types of sharpening or honing tools only work on soft kinds of steel with a lower HRC since they bend and distort easily. If used on hard steel knives such the knives here at Nacionale, instead of realigning and bending into place, they get damaged and are prone to chipping. Our knives are built in such a way that the knife will also get thicker over time since you sharpen only at one angle consistently. We strongly advise using a sharpening stone for both sharpening and honing since movement is controlled and the amount of steel removed from your blade is much more precise.
Carbon knives are, in general, sharper and easier to sharpen using a whetstone. Stainless steel, on the other hand, has various components blended together that enable it to stay sharp for a longer period. This means less trips to a sharpener. This all relates to the HRC of a knife, HRC or RC is a number that indicates how hard the steel is when it was heat treated. The lower the HRC, the softer the blade is. This means, it won’t stay sharp for long and a honing steel might be beneficial. Japanese knives usually possess higher HRC, and are treated in such a way that they push the steel’s capabilities to the extreme. This results in a hard and solid structure which may be susceptible to breaking. This is why Nacionale does not use a honing steel for these types of knives because instead of realigning the blade, high HRC knives break instead of bend. Our knives carry both carbon and stainless steel knives with an HRC of 60-61.
Kurouchi refers to the kind of finish, not the kind of knife. Roughly translating to “blacksmith’s finish,” Kurouchi knives are made with a protective oxidized coat, giving it a unique aesthetic. No two Kurouchi knives are exactly the same.
A Japanese blacksmith favorite, leaf spring metal, is the type of carbon metal used to create Nacionale knives. Easier to sharpen and has an edge in comparison to the sharpness of stainless steel blades. This knife takes care of you, if you take care of it.

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