Caring for your knife
High-carbon steel is worth ten seconds of attention after every use. Here is the whole routine.
Carbon steel can rust, and that is the trade
Damascus and D2 are high-carbon steels. Carbon is what lets a blade like this take a keen edge, and it is also why the steel reacts to moisture. Left wet, it will spot.
This is not a flaw and it is not hard to manage. Ten seconds after each use is the whole job. Rust is not covered by the warranty, so those ten seconds are worth having.
10 sec
After every use
Clean it, dry it, wipe on a thin coat of oil. That is the routine.
30°
Sharpening angle
Between 22 and 30 degrees. Match the bevel already on the blade.
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Times in the dishwasher
Heat, detergent and standing water are how a good blade is ruined.
Clean, dry, oil
Clean the blade and dry it completely. Then wipe on a thin coat of mineral oil. Castor, coconut and paraffin oil all work, and so does wax.
Your knife arrived under a coat of oil for exactly this reason. Wipe that off before you use it the first time, and put a fresh coat back on when you are done.
The sheath is for carrying, not for storing
Leather holds moisture against steel. A knife left in a damp sheath for weeks can come out spotted, and that is the single most common way one of these gets damaged.
For anything longer than a trip, keep the knife out of the sheath. If it has to stay sheathed, make sure the blade and the leather are both dry, and oil the blade first. Let both the knife and the sheath dry before either goes away, and never put a wet knife into storage.
Follow the angle that is already there
Sharpen somewhere between 22 and 30 degrees. The safest guide is the bevel the blade already carries: match it and you will not go wrong.
Our maker recommends a 1000/6000 grit water stone, which any hardware shop or online seller will have. The 1000 side sets the edge, the 6000 side finishes it.
D2 is harder going than the Damascus blades. For the Predator Hunter D2 and the Tracker D2, use a diamond sharpener or ceramic crock sticks rather than a soft stone.
Wood and leather want the same thing
Wipe the handle down when you wipe the blade. Walnut, olive wood and black wood all take an occasional coat of oil and will look better for it. Micarta needs nothing beyond cleaning.
If the sheath gets soaked, let it dry at room temperature, away from a radiator or a fire. Forced heat shrinks and cracks leather.
These knives are for cutting
Using a knife as a hammer, a chisel, a pry bar or a screwdriver is misuse, and so is splitting wood with it. So is taking it apart, altering it, or sharpening it in a way that changes the grind.
Rust, a dull or chipped edge, scratches, a bent tip and normal wear are not defects either. The 12 month warranty covers defects in workmanship and materials, which is a different thing. The full list is on the warranty page.
The rest of the answers
Steel, sizes, what is in the box, shipping and the warranty are all on the help and FAQs page.
If your knife has a problem rather than a question, email customerservice@bigcatroar.com with your order number and photographs.
