ZW-C2 Care and Use

Notes on using, sharpening, and maintaining your Zen-Wu ZW-C2 tools.

Steel

ZW-C2 is Zen-Wu White-Paper Steel: a high-purity monosteel hardened to 64 (±0.5) HRC through a multi-stage heat treatment with cryogenic processing. Hard enough to hold a fine edge, tough enough to take working stress.

Use (chisels)

ZW-C2 chisels ship with a flat bevel ground at 30°, ready to use out of the box.

You're welcome to modify the bevel angle to suit your work. We don't recommend going below 25° (fragile edge) or above 32° (harder to push through wood). Some other carbon steels need a steeper angle (35°+) to keep edge integrity. ZW-C2 does not.

Sharpening

The bevel is ground flat. Sharpen as soon as you notice the edge dulling. Don't wait.

We recommend flat sharpening by hand, Japanese-style: lay the bevel flat on your stone, maintain even pressure and full contact, and work the entire bevel surface uniformly. Our ZenSharp sharpening system is designed for exactly this.

If you sharpen on waterstones, they dish over time. Flatten them regularly. Our diamond flattening stone is designed for this work.

If you have your own sharpening method, use it. The above is only guidance.

Maintenance

This is high-carbon steel and it will rust. The black oxide finish cannot fully prevent rust.

We recommend drying promptly after wet sharpening. For best results, use an air blower to dry the steel and apply oil after each sharpening. Oil also before any extended period of storage.