• Always use the knife as a knife. The knife is made to cut, not to split wood, to unscrew or to remove nails. There are other tools for this.
• Always clean the knife. There is no such thing as stainless steel, just a steel, that rust really slow. This is why you should clean the knife each time you use it. Just wash it clean, wipe it with a piece of paper or cloth, oil it and put it in the sheath.
• Oil regularly the high carbon steel knives. Keep them oiled when not using them, because even the moisture from the air is enough to form unpleasant rust spots. You can use gun stock or other oil (but not a silicon based one), but I personally prefer the lipstick balm. It is based on petroleum, smells nice and there is no need to clean it before cutting some food.
• Do not store the knife in the sheath. Moisture can penetrate in the sheath and start digging the blade. Plus you should not forget, that the leather is treated with chemicals to make it suitable for making sheath and other leather stuff.
• Keep the knife out of direct sunlight for long time storage. The sunlight can affect the colour of the handle wood, to dry and crack the materials.
• Do not wash your knives in the dishwasher! The abrasive particles will damage the cutting edge and will scratch the blade, and the temperature will ruin the handle.