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Frequently Asked Questions

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What types of steel do you use?
15N20, 1084, 5160, 8670M, and SOME recycled steel.

What IS 15N20?!?!
15N20 is a high carbon steel with a 2% nickel content.

How do I order a knife?
Send us an email using our Contact form and change the category to "knife order". Tell us what you want and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Where can I find your prices?
Our prices are listed on our Ordering page.

How do I care for my knife?
Oil it! For the blades I recommend mineral oil, rem oil, ballistol, or WD-40. Mineral oil is food safe and yes, WD-40 DOES work. Most of my wood handles are finished with linseed and/or tung oil. periodically re-applying either is a certainly a good idea. An occasional coat of wax such as briwax or caranuba wax will keep the pores filled in well. For micarta nothing is actually necessary, but I usually finish micarta knives with linseed oil before shipping. Bone, ivory, and horn handles will last longer if you give them a periodic overnight soak in mineral oil.

How do I care for my sheath?
Sheaths are finished with mink oil and sometimes shoe polish. To keep the leather "healthy" and looking like new use mink oil or shoe polish periodically, and saddle soap if it gets really dirty. The sheaths should be mostly waterproof, but if your sheath gets completely soaked or saturated with water let it completely dry out for a few days before re-oiling. You can use a food dehydrator to speed the process but NEVER ever use an oven.

Do I have to send you my knife to get a custom sheath?
YES! I absolutely MUST have the knife in order to make a sheath for it.

What are chicago screws?
Chicago screws are screw posts that we use on our adjustable belt hangers. They can be seen on our Expedition and Explorer style sheaths.
What does your makers mark look like?
Christof's makers mark is his initials in a runic scripts, done as a brand or monogram. The kennaz rune, which looks like an angular C or a < mark, combined with the H rune. When making monograms in old Norse scripts, reversing letters is perfectly normal- even the direction in which words are written is variable within a sentence! Sierra uses a similar style mark, made of her three initials, done as the sowilo, berkano, and sowilo runes (S, B and S)

How come my Koyote knife doesn't have a makers mark?
So you have a Koyote knife that isn't marked.... Congratulations! That means you have one of the first 220 knives we've ever sold. Somewhere between the 220th knife and the 230th knife is when Christof started stamping every blade. Christof had been messing around with stamping and etching techniques before then, so a makers mark doesn't necessarily mean a higher serial number.

Do you have serial numbers for your knives?
Yes! The serial numbers don't usually get stamped into the knives, but each knife is documented and assigned a number based on the order they get finished.

My question isn't listed here. What should I do?
You can send us your questions using our Contact form. Your input is always welcome!