Care-Repair

How to care for your UBUKEYA Products

Knives that rust easily

・Each time after finishing cutting, wipe the blade with a cloth to remove moisture and anything stuck to the blade before moving on to the next activity.
・After using, wash well with a mild detergent to remove any stains or anything stuck to the blade.
・Pour hot water over the blade so that moisture easily evaporates. ・Use a dry cloth to wipe off any moisture.
・If not using for an extended period of time, add drops of oil on the blade and wipe off with a cloth applying a thin layer throughout the blade.
・Make sure never to use vegetable oil and other oils that easily oxidize.

Knives that do not rust easily

・After using, wash well with a mild detergent to remove any stains or anything stuck to the blade.
・ Pour hot water over the blade so that moisture easily evaporates (if possible).
・Use a dry cloth to wipe off any moisture.
Cutting Scissors, Japanese Scissors, Paper Scissors
・After using, wipe the blade with a cloth to remove moisture and anything stuck to the blade.
・ In the case that scissors will not be used for extended periods, add several drops of either machine or blade oil under the screw and move the blades several times. Use a cloth to spread thinly and wipe any oil and pieces of string that across the blade. (Cutting scissors)
・ In the case that scissors will not be used for extended periods, drop some oil on the blade and use a cloth to spread the oil thinly and wipe the oil across the blade. (Japanese scissors, paper scissors)
・ Make sure not to use oils that oxidize easily such as food oils Scissors that rust easily. (FLORIST’S scissors, etc.)
・ Thoroughly remove dirt such as resin using a mild detergent.
・ Pour hot water over the blade so that moisture easily evaporates.
・ Use a dry cloth to wipe off any moisture.
・ If not using for an extended period of time, add drops of oil on the blade and wipe off with a cloth applying a thin layer throughout the blade.
・ Make sure never to use vegetable oil and other oils that easily oxidize. Scissors that do not rust easily
・ Wash well with a mild detergent.
・ Use a dry cloth to wipe off any moisture.

Tweezers

・ Use a soft cloth without fibers, such as a glasses cloth to gently wipe any dirt off the tweezers
・ Do not use tissue, towels, Japanese paper, or other papers with fibers.
・ Do not shift the tips of the tweezers by putting your fingers inside when cleaning the edges, spreading it unnaturally, or hooking it against an object.

Bringing your knives in for sharpening

・Bring them in on Thursday at the latest to have them returned to you by Wednesday the following week. (We can return them to you any day during regular business hours after Monday.)
・If you bring them in on Friday or Saturday, we will have entered into the next sharpening cycle, so they will be returned to you on the Monday after the following Monday.
・The price for the sharpening differs depending on the type of knife, the condition, and the size. (We will give you an estimate when you bring it in.)

How we fix the knives

Striking bent areas

If the knife has been used for many years, the blade and the spine will start to bend. We strike these areas to make the blade straight again.
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Using a round whetstone

Using a large, round whetstone, we sharpen the knife while rotating it under flowing water.
We smooth the shape (removing any chips or unevenness), and get rid of any roughness (excess curled parts resulting from the sharpening process).
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Using an angled whetstone

Using a square whetstone we give it the final touches.
We remove any remaining roughness, make the texture clean, and make it so that it is sufficiently sharp.

Sharpening

○ Choosing a whetstone

Varieties: There are natural and synthetic varieties. Synthetic whetstones come in three grades: rough stone, medium stone, and finishing stone.

Natural whetstones

Natural whetstones are very inconsistent, as they vary in properties depending on what mountain they were made from, and even whetstones made from the same mountain can differ in efficiency depending on the exact location. Furthermore the prices of natural whetstones have skyrocketed in recent years due to fewer and fewer contractors being willing to help dig for the necessary materials. However, natural whetstones have properties that are absent in synthetic ones, making many of them essential for artisans.

Synthetic whetstones

Synthetic whetstones tend to be consistent, and in recent years there are many high quality ones that exist.
Choosing a whetstone: When choosing a whetstone, be sure what it is you exactly want, and choose a whetstone that suits that purpose.

Rough stone

・Adjust the shape.
・Get rid of small fragments.
・Produce an edge.
・Start here for knives that have become dull.

Medium stone

・Minimize the uneven texture produced by the rough stone.
・Clean up the appearance of the blade.

Finishing stone

・Make the texture even cleaner.
・Give it the finishing touches to draw out the knife’s original durability.

Furthermore, it is necessary to start in order from the rougher stone before going more granular when using a whetstone. When starting with the rough stone, follow up with the medium stone, and then the finishing stone. When starting with the medium stone, follow up with the finishing stone.
In other words, it is undesirable to use the finishing stone immediately after the rough stone.

○Types of sharpening

Sharpening techniques can be largely put into two categories called horizontal sharpening and vertical sharpening.

Merits of horizontal sharpening

It is easy to get rid of any uneven bumps.
You can make small adjustments.

Demerits of horizontal sharpening

Because you need to sharpen using your non-dominant hand, it can be difficult if you aren’t used to it.

Merits of vertical sharpening

It is relatively straightforward.

Demerits of horizontal sharpening

You end up focusing all your sharpening on the blade, inviting unevenness. You can’t make small adjustments.
It is difficult to give the blade a clean line.
When you sharpen your knife, you should sharpen the entire knife rather than just the dull part in order to maintain the overall line of the blade, keeping in mind the height of the dull parts similar to when you are sharpening a dull knife.
The angle you should sharpen from depends on the condition of the knife and what kind of blade you want to give it.
The thinner the knife gets, the easier it is for it to get uneven. For this reason, in order to maintain a reasonable thickness, it is best to let the knife rest on its side when sharpening it.

When you want to sharpen it thickly

Sharpen it from an steep angle.
Merits: It becomes difficult to get dull. (It is efficiently at cutting foods that are sufficiently hard.)
Demerits: It becomes difficult to cut into most foods and generally becomes less good at cutting. (Not recommended for regular use.)

When you want to sharpen it thinly

Sharpen it while letting the knife rest on its side.
Merits: It becomes easier to cut into foods.
Demerits: It becomes easier to dull and it becomes more difficult to cut things up all the way.

○ Overview of the different kinds of knives you can sharpen.

There are generally four types, and the way you sharpen each type is different.
・Composite double edged.
・Pure double edged.
・Composite single edged.
・Pure single edged.

○ How to sharpen

Double edged

Before sharpening, submerge the whetstone in water.
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Using the rough stone, alternate sharpening both sides under running water until a curl starts to appear throughout the entire knife.
Because it is double edged, sharpen both sides at the same angle the same number of times.
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Alternate sharpening both sides under running water using the medium stone and minimize the curl.
Because it is double edged, sharpen both sides at the same angle the same number of times.
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Alternate sharpening both sides under running water using the finishing stone and get rid of the curl.
Because it is double edged, sharpen both sides at the same angle the same number of times.

Single edged
Before sharpening, submerge the whetstone in water.
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Starting with the part with the ridges, sharpen under running water with the rough stone until a curl starts to appear throughout the entire knife.
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Using the rough stone, gently sharpen the flat surface of the blade after placing it exactly on the whetstone completely flat under running water imagining that you are removing the curl.
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Using the medium stone, sharpen the part with the ridges under running water and minimize the curl.
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Using the medium stone, gently sharpen the flat surface of the blade after placing it exactly on the whetstone completely flat under running water imagining that you are removing the curl.
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Using the finishing stone, sharpen the part with the ridges under running water and get rid of the curl.
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Using the finishing stone, gently sharpen the flat surface of the blade after placing it exactly on the whetstone completely flat under running water imagining that you are joining them together.