As with any lifetime investment, it is important to take the best care possible in order to prolong the life of your Shun knife. Shun recommends that you protect your investment by handwashing your blades with gentle dish soap. Do not use soaps with citrus extracts; they can promote rust. Do not use scouring pads, steel, or gritty cleanser when cleaning the blades. Rinse and towel dry immediately. Let the knives air dry for a few minutes before returning them to storage.
Never leave your knife sitting in a sink full of soapy water, metal does not respond well to being submerged in water for prolonged periods of time.
Micro-corrosion, which can result in tiny chips or missing pieces in your knife’s cutting edge, can occur because moisture is left on the cutting edge. Moisture weakens the stainless steel and promotes micro-corrosion. If moisture is left on the cutting edge repeatedly, even normal use in the kitchen can result in small chips in the weakened sections of the edge. To guard against this, wash your knife immediately after use and dry it very thoroughly with an absorbent cloth or towel. Please take extra care to safely dry the sharp cutting edge of your Shun, keeping your fingers away from the edge.
After you have washed and dried your knives, store them in a block, knife case, in-drawer tray, sheath or wooden magnetic knife holder. We do not recommend storing the knives unsheathed in a drawer, as this can be a potential hazard to the blades as well as your fingers.Note: Handwashing is also the best way to care for the wood handles of your Shun knives. Although the wood has been stabilized, it is natural wood and, like all wood, will tend to shrink in very arid environments and swell in very humid environments. The handle color may change slightly over time due to oils in the hand as well as the natural color change of wood from oxidation and/or exposure to light. This is not a defect, but a natural part of the process.