Use your knife only for its designated tasks.

A kitchen knife is for slicing, chopping and dicing fruit, veggies and meat. No bones or frozen foods, that is what a cleaver is for.

Hunting knives are used for processing game, skinning and other cutting tasks like cutting rope.

Camp knives are the workhorse for the campsite; use those for making tent pegs, splitting small branches for a fire, and a good combination of meal prep and hunting.

Tactical knives can defend you, make shelters and process small game.

Clean your knife with mild soap and hot water. Always hand wash your knives. Do not put them in the dishwasher as it is the fastest way to rust your blade and ruin your knife. Always wipe your knife dry after you clean or use it.

Carbon steel is pone to rust, but use will begin to establish a patina on the blade (good oxidation). As a general rule, you should always at least wipe your blade off if you were using it on something wet or with moisture in it. If you don’t want to develop a patina you can polish your knife with a gray Scotchbrite pad or #000 steel wool.

I ship out your knife as sharp as I can get it. To maintain a sharp edge I suggest using a ceramic rod ( I use a Work Sharp ) and a leather strop with polishing compound. I made mine, but you can get them commercially. If you use your knife often, cleaning it and making sure it’s dry should be just fine to keep your knife rust free. If you store your knife for long periods of time, I recommend putting some sort of food safe oil or wax on the blade before storage. I use both Axe Wax and Eagle Tears Blade Guard Paste