Materials & Care

Leather

Leather is skin. It wants a little oil and it does not want to be soaked or baked.

Day to day, do nothing. Handling is the best conditioning there is; the oils from your hands are why a well-used piece looks better than a new one.

When it looks dry — matte, slightly grey, stiff at the folds — use a small amount of a neutral leather conditioner. Less than you think. Work it in with your fingers, leave it overnight, buff off what has not absorbed.

If it gets wet, let it dry slowly at room temperature, away from radiators and direct sun. Heat is what actually destroys leather: it drives the oils out and the fibres set hard. A wet bag dried gently will be fine. The same bag dried on a radiator will never recover.

Do not use saddle soap as a routine cleaner, silicone or petroleum products, or anything marketed for car interiors. They all sit on the surface or strip it.

Expect it to darken. Veg-tan leather deepens for the first year or two and then settles. Sunlight speeds it up, and unevenly — so if you want an even tone, avoid leaving a piece half in the sun.

Carbon steel

Carbon steel takes a better edge than stainless and pays for it by rusting if you let it.

After every use, wipe dry. That is the whole discipline. For a kitchen knife: wash by hand, dry immediately, never leave it in a sink and never put it in a dishwasher.

Patina is not rust. A grey-blue mottling develops with use and is a protective layer — leave it. Rust is orange, rough, and should be taken off with a mildly abrasive pad and a drop of oil.

For storage, a thin film of food-safe mineral oil — or beeswax for non-kitchen pieces — and somewhere that is not humid. Not a leather sheath: leather holds moisture against the steel, which is why sheaths are for carrying rather than for long-term storage.

Sharpening: a whetstone, a shallow angle, and patience. Bring it back to me if you would rather not.

Forged ironwork

Indoor pieces are finished with beeswax and need almost nothing — dust them, and re-wax every year or two if they start to look dry. Do not use household cleaners; they strip the wax and the piece will start to rust where it is handled.