Knife Care, Maintenance & Sharpening

Care & Maintenance

It is not recommended to wash your knife in a dishwasher. The performance and lifespan of your DBx knife depend on proper care. Please follow these guidelines to maintain peak performance:

  • After each use, wash the knife by hand with warm water and a mild- to medium-strength soap. Rinse thoroughly and dry immediately with a soft towel.

  • Never wash DBx knives in a dishwasher. The high heat and rapid temperature changes can cause the handle to warp or deteriorate, the blade edge to dull from contact with other items, and harsh detergents to stain or pit the blade.

  • Do not soak or submerge the knife for extended periods. Prolonged exposure to chlorine or bleach-based products can discolor and pit high-carbon steel. If the blade comes into contact with chlorine or bleach, rinse it off immediately.

  • Avoid galvanic corrosion. Leaving the blade in contact with other metals—such as aluminum pans or stainless steel sinks—for long periods can cause pitting due to electron transfer between the metals. Remove the knife promptly from condiments or food stored in aluminum or stainless steel containers.

  • Store the knife in a knife block, sheath, or blade guard when not in use to protect the edge and prevent accidental injury.

  • Hone the blade regularly with a honing steel to maintain edge alignment, and sharpen periodically to preserve cutting performance.

DBx Handle-Centric Pinch Grip diagram showing finger positions (index, middle, ring, little) and thumb contour on handle top view, plus a hand-over-handle overlay outlining hand profile, visible vs. covered handle portions, and knuckle joints.

Sharpening Guide

Sharpening protocols provide guidelines to contextually balance performance and durability.

Contextual deviations generally increase cut force requirements and reduce cutting edge stability.

Your tolerance for increased cut force is an individual decision.

Thinning the blade bevels behind the micro-bevel cutting edge grind, with 5° to 10° blending bevels, is all that's necessary to restore like-new, near-optimal performance.

This preferred grind effectively reduces the highest levels of cut force encountered in daily food preparation.

It's also the easiest grind to reproduce — often producing insignificant burrs and eliminating the need to strop.

Fortunately, it's one of the most durable grinds as well, producing 2x to 4x resistance to the most common dulling forces that cause cutting edges to roll over.

DBx knife sharpening protocol: hand sharpen 15-20° off parallel with edge-leading strokes using 180-600 grit diamond stones. General purpose angle chart shown at 10° thumb side, 34° finger side for high density tough foods like sweet potatoes.
DBx specialty grind angles: 10° thumb side, 24° finger side at 180-325 grit for high density brittle foods like carrots and radish; 10° thumb side, 20° finger side at 325-600 grit for dry cured meats and fish like pepperoni and salmon.
DBx grind angles for beef and fish with tough muscle: 16° thumb and finger side thinning bevels at 325-600 grit. Beef hone every 2-3 cuts, fish every 5-10 cuts. Edge specs: 0.00005" radius, 0.0001" thickness, 300-400 gram BESS.