Misen Warranty Registration

Knives Use & Care

Homemade sheet pan pizza cut into squares with salami, mozzarella, and red onion on parchment paper
Helpful Tips for Your New Knives

Our knives are easy to care for and built for a lifetime. But a few tips & tricks will keep them at their best.
  • Use Your Knife Properly & Safely
  • Keep Your Knives Clean & Dry
  • Store them Safely
  • Sharpen & Hone When Needed
Proper knife grip techniques: pinch grip on blade and claw grip for guiding food safely
Master the Pinch & Claw
The duo technique that enables you to cut almost anything safely and comfortably.

The Pinch Grip: The professional grip that gives you greater knife control and cutting performance.

  1. Pinch along the knife’s bolster with your thumb and forefinger.
  2. Wrap your remaining three fingers around the knife’s handle.

The Claw: The best way to keep your fingertips safe from the blade and guide your cuts.

  1. Curl the fingertips of your non-cutting hand under your knuckles into a claw-like shape.
  2. Keeping that shape, set your fingertips on the food you’re cutting and let your knuckles guide your knife’s slices while your fingertips stay out of the blade’s path.

Need more help? Watch our instructional video.
Hand drying a chef's knife blade with a white kitchen towel after washing
Clean Your Knives Properly
  • DO hand wash your knives only.
  • DO dry them immediately after washing.
  • DON'T put them in the dishwasher or let them soak.

Though our knives are made with high carbon stainless steel, that doesn’t mean they’re immune to rust. The bottom line? Keep them clean and dry when not in use.
Miser red-handled steak knives organized in kitchen drawer with individual blade guards
Keep Your Knives — and Yourself — Safe with the Right Storage

Proper storage helps protect you and your blades. Misen offers three thoughtfully-designed, elegant knife storage solutions. Regardless of your kitchen size, storage setup, or personal style, we have something that works.

Check out our Modular Knife Storage to build your perfect system.
Misen chef's knife blade condition guide showing honing vs sharpening differences with microscopic edge diagrams
Maintain Your Edge
Even the sharpest of knives need a touchup once in a while.

Sharpening: Cutting a new, sharp edge.
When you sharpen a knife, you’re removing a bit of steel to cut an entirely new edge onto your blade.

A quality sharpening stone is our recommended tool for sharpening your knives. How frequently to sharpen will depend on your use, but we suggest at least twice a year.

Check out our step-by-step sharpening instruction video.

Honing: Re-straightening a blade edge.
Honing re-straightens a knife’s edge, and is also an important way to maintain your knives. Every knife edge is made up of super tiny serrations (even if the knife isn’t serrated!).

After a few uses, these bend out of shape and make the blade feel duller. Honing will straighten these little “teeth” out and keep your knife cutting well between sharpenings.

We recommend honing your knife after every few uses. Watch our handy video to learn how to hone (it’s very easy!).

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I sharpen my knife?

That really depends on how often your knives are used and how they’re cared for but, at a minimum, we suggest sharpening your knives 2 - 3 times a year. In addition, you should hone your knives after every 2 - 4 uses.
How do I sharpen my knives?

We recommend using Japanese water stones to sharpen your knives. They can have a bit of a learning curve, but in our experience, there is no better way to get a sharp knife without removing too much steel. Check out our step-by-step sharpening instruction video.

Alternatively, we offer Mail-In Knife Sharpening starting at $11/Knife.
What type of cutting board should I use?

We strongly recommend using either wood or plastic for a cutting board as using harder materials such as bamboo, glass, or marble can dull and damage knives more quickly.