Materials.
Lubel knives are made from only the higest quality materials. Depending on its intended use your knife has been built with either carbon steel, stainless steel, or a combination of both.
Carbon Steel
This type of steel makes for an exceptional kitchen knife, which is why it is used as the edge material in all my knives. It is easy to sharpen, strong, and takes an incredibly sharp edge. Unlike stainless steel, carbon steel is reactive, meaning it will mark and stain as it reacts to the acids in the food you are preparing.
Called a patina, these dark markings are a natural and important part of protecting your knife, and will start forming from the very first use - do not be alarmed. It may look aggressive at first, however given time these initial markings will blend together to form a beautiful ‘personal history’ of your knife’s life and character.
It is especially important with your purely carbon steel knife to keep it clean and dry, both whilst in use and in storage.
Stainless Clad
A carbon steel core laminated in a jacket of stainless steel, this type of blade combines the stain resistance of stainless steel for the main body of the blade, with the feedback and sharpness of carbon steel for the cutting edge. What it gives up in ultimate toughness over a purely carbon steel knife, it gains in ease of maintainance for day-to-day use.
Because the exposed cutting edge of your knife is carbon steel, the edge is still susceptible to staining and rusting if left with food or water on it for prolonged periods of time. It has been treated with a ‘coffee etch’ to protect it as much as possible against these reactions - this is how it gets its black colour. However do take care to wipe down and dry your knife after use.
Damascus
Much like a stainless clad blade, this type of construction combines different steels and their properties into one blade. Unlike with claded blades which are laminated in a ‘sandwhich’ of different steels, damascus steel is folded multiple times, giving a swirling, patterned aesthetic to the blade.