Hacking Knife Maintenance and Care

29th February 2020

Hacking knife maintenance and care
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			Hacking knives do not require much maintenance and what little they do is likely to depend on what sort of handle they have.

			Plastic hacking knife handles require no maintenance. As this type of handle can not be repaired, if it becomes damaged the whole knife should be replaced.

			Wooden handles may occasionally need sanding down with a fine grit sandpaper to remove splinters or to give a more comfortable shape to the handle. They should also be treated with boiled linseed oil from time to time to prevent the wood becoming dry and splitting and prevent moisture exposure, which could cause the wood to rot.

			Leather handles require occasional treatment with a leather cleaner to prevent them drying out and ‘red rot’ setting in.

			All hacking knives should be stored in a cool, dry place. This will help prevent the blade from rusting as well as reducing the chance of rot affecting wooden and leather handles.

			Can you sharpen a hacking knife blade?
			Hacking knife blades can be sharpened once they become too blunt and dull to be effective.

			To sharpen your hacking knife, you should use an oil or water stone. Avoid the temptation to use a grinding wheel or other power tool as they can generate a lot of heat in the blade, which may make it brittle and affect the blade’s hardness.

			How do you sharpen a hacking knife?
			To sharpen a hacking knife you will need an oil or water stone and an appropriate cutting fluid (oil for an oil stone or water for a water stone).

			Step 1 – Prepare stone Prepare the surface of your sharpening stone by placing several drops of oil on it if you are using an oil stone, or soaking it in a small bath of warm water for about 15 minutes if it’s a water stone.

			Step 2 – Sharpen knife Place the blade of the hacking knife on the coarse side of your sharpening stone, tilting the blade slightly so that the bevelled cutting edge rests flat on the sharpening stone’s surface.

			Using a back and forth motion, rub the cutting edge of the knife lengthways across the sharpening stone. Make sure the surface of the stone stays moist whilst doing this. Moisten the stone with more oil or water if necessary.

			After 10-20 passes over the sharpening stone, flip the hacking knife over and repeat the sharpening action on the other side of the blade.



			Step 3 – Repeat on fine grit side Turn the sharpening stone over so that the fine grit side is now facing up. Then repeat steps 1 and 2 on this side of the stone until you achieve the desired sharpness on your knife.

			If you find you have over-sharpened the blade of your hacking knife, you can dull it’s edge slightly on the fine grit side of the sharpening stone.