Knife handles that are made from domestic wood ( wood within U.S. such as Birdseye Maple, Oak, Basswood, Walnut and Maple, etc), usually do not have their own oils and if not stabilized, may need a little extra care to keep them from drying out. There 3 ways I know of to help wood handles of this type.

Apply a light coating of furniture wax and a good hand rubbing which will help protect it from moisture.

Apply a small amount furniture polish with a moisturizer. I use a furniture polish that has a moisturizer and lemon oil. The polish cleans and gives wood some protection from water and stains.

Linseed Oil can also be use as a preservative on wood handles. Whatever you choose to use always wipe off excess.

Leather stacked handles can be cleaned with a all color saddle soap which gives it some protection against moisture. You may also preserved them with a good quality leather treatment such as mink oil, always wipe off excess oil or soap.

Synthetic handles (man made) such as Micarta, G10 and its variants also require little care other than good cleaning. These type of Knives can be placed in a dishwasher, although extreme care should be taken to make sure knife blade does not bang against other object as this could damage cutting edge.

Sheaths

Leather sheaths over a period of time get dirty and leather can dry out get cracks and splits and need to be cleaned. This is best done with a saddle soap (for all colors) or any good leather soap or mink oil. I find that using Kiwi Outdoor Saddle Soap periodically works real well. It cleans leather, keeps it supple and helps protect it from moisture. Periodical cleaning of sheath will ensure that it does not dry out and split. However, do not overdue leather oil products as this will cause your sheath to lose its molded form. If that happens, your sheath will not securely hold knife.

Sharpening

Every knife blade with prolong use will need sharpening. More people are hurt from using a dull knife; more pressure on knife is needed to cut and this extra pressure at times cause knife to slip. Keep you blade well honed. Probably most difficult part of honing your blade is maintaining correct angle. There are many good sharpening systems out there that will help you and make it easy for you to get correct angel. Lansky sharpening system is easy to use and helps get correct honing angle. It also does a wonderful job of sharpening. Marvin Poole uses this system to sharpen dull knives.

Storing

Always make sure your knife is clean then store it at room temperature. Do not store your knife in a leather sheath, remember chemicals used in tanning sheath can cause stains and rust on your blade. It’s easier if you store your knife in same location as sheath, that way when you are ready to use it everything is right there and ready to go.

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Rhonda Erline is the exclusive internet seller for the knife maker Marvin Poole. You can view Mavin Poole custom made knives at Sage Creek (http://www.sagecreek1.com)

3) next few paragraphs are where you state background of problem. Here you state most pertinent FACTS of what problem is, nature of problem, why and how it's a problem for you. Keep it short (3-5 short paragraphs).

4) next comes ending paragraph where you tell them what you want. I use "I would appreciate it if someone of appropriate authority would look into problem and take necessary and immediate action to remedy situation. Thank you very much."

5) put your name, phone number, order number, customer service case number etc, (if applicable) at bottom of email.

6) next, we will get email address of organization's CEO or president or director or whoever is ultimately running organization ... #1 big boss. Why? Because apparently no one else in his organization seems to be able, or willing, to resolve your problem ... so now we are going to bring it to attention of top dog! Yes, this does work and yes, if you are a customer you deserve to get your problem resolved. I don't care how big organization is, somebody is running it and is ultimately responsible. That's whose email address you want. With a little hunting this can often be found on their website, under About Organization or Executives, etc. If you cannot find email address of head honcho then CALL main number of organization (unless it's out of country; then phone call may be too costly). Ask for Office of President. They should connect you. If asked why simply state that you "have to email him some important documents". Do NOT go into a whole story, do NOT get sidetracked, just get head person's email address and get off phone.

7) address email to CEO, president, or whomever runs organization.

8) send email.

After you have sent your email, standby for action! It is not unusual for a legitimate organization to respond reasonably quickly so be prepared. And don't be surprised if you get an immediate resolution of your problem. I have used this technique for many years and have had remarkable success, resolving many different and difficult types of consumer problems, both common and rare, with organizations ranging from small local businesses to giant multi-national Fortune 500 companies.

If you are in midst of a customer service battle, and want to win it, try this technique. Can you win every single customer service battle? You probably can not win every single customer service battle but, with this technique, you can win enough of them to regain, and keep, your power as a consumer ... and a person!