Product Use and Care

Follow these Use and Care guidelines when cleaning, storing, or sharperning your ZHEN knives to get the best value out of them.
Use
  • Cut on top of soft surfaces such as wood, bamboo, or plastic cutting boards. DO NOT cut on top of hard surfaces such as glass, tile, granite, marble, stone, ceramic, or acrylic as these will chip the edge of the blade.
  • DO NOT use to cut frozen food. If the blade gets stuck, carefully remove the knife by slicing back and forth. DO NOT twist the knife sideways, as this will bend the blade and can chip off pieces of the knife that will be left in the food.
  • Cut appropriate items only (as indicated by product descriptions), not for stabbing or piercing. Chopping soft bones (poultry, fish) or hard vegetables requires appropriate cleaver models as written in product descriptions. Cleavers are not intended for chopping hard bones (beef, lamb, etc...) which require the use of an electric table saw found in butcher shops or most Asian supermarkets.
  • Do not hit the end of the knife handle or any other part of the knife with hard objects to keep them lasting as long as possible
Clean and Store
  • After each use immediately wash by hand with water and mild dish soap, rinse, and dry with a dishcloth. DO NOT scrub harsh materials against the knife. Water or food residue left on the blade for an extended amount of time will result in damage.
  • Do not soak knives in a sink full of water with soap. The water and chemicals are harsh on the knife metal when exposed over prolonged periods of time, and it creates a safety hazard when reaching in.
  • DO NOT use a dishwasher to clean the knives as the blade may get dulled or chipped bouncing around and coming into contact with other hard surfaces. In addition, the water, heat, and chemicals can warp the shape of the steel or cause spotting on it, as well as damage the wood handle.
  • After washing and drying, store in a knife block, knife case/holder, magnetic kitchen strip, cutlery tray, sheath, or in the original box. DO NOT place knives in a kitchen drawer with exposed blades as they can get chipped when hitting against the drawer panels or other objects.
Maintain
  • We recommend honing your knife regularly. Honing removes the microscopic burr on the knife edge created during general use — metal is not removed, only the burr is removed and the metal is realigned along the edge.
  • Sharpen blades at a 15 degree angle with a Japanese whetstone (1000/6000 grit) to remove metal from a rounded edge and restore sharpness. You can also send your knives to a local sharpener if you are not as confident using a whetstone.