A sharpening steel is a tool used to realign or sharpen the edge of a knife or scissors blade for a more precise and faster cut. It is not used to sharpen the blade, which is done on a whetstone or grindstone. The process is simple and can be done quickly and easily. After honing, the blade should be rinsed and dried thoroughly. Sharpening on a whetstone is typically done by professionals once a year.
A sharp steel is a piece of culinary equipment that is used to sharpen or align the edge of a knife or scissors blade, for a more precise and faster cut. Often found in professional and home kitchens, it allows the user of a knife to hold the knife for greater precision and safer handling. The tool looks like a long metal stick, with both longitudinal and perpendicular grooves on the shaft. A sharpening steel can be used as often as a knife and takes only a minute to properly hone an edge.
Despite the name of the tool, sharp steel does not sharpen a knife blade. Sharpening a knife is done on a whetstone or grindstone and actually reshapes the blade, removing the dull edge and providing a new sharp edge. A sharpened steel only works to realign or sharpen the edge, removing excess metal bits and shifting parts of the edge that have become misaligned. The process is quite simple and can be done quite quickly and easily.
A steel grip should be held by the handle, with the tip pressed down on a wooden cutting board or similarly stable surface. There is typically a hand guard to protect the user’s hand, but the knife must be held with the edge facing away from the handle and the user. The knife should be carried with the edge to be honed lightly against the steel at a 90° angle or perpendicular to the shaft of the steel to be honed. This should be reduced by half from the handle to become a 45° angle, then by half again for a final angle of approximately 22.5° for optimum sanding.
Once the knife is at the correct angle to the sharpened steel, it should be pulled back towards the handle, sliding it along the blade. People new to knife sharpening steel may need to practice a few times for the movement to feel natural, but it’s not hard to feel it quickly. This should be done about ten times on one side of the blade, then switched to the other side and repeated ten more times for a finely honed edge.
Sharpening a knife can be done before or after use and can be done anytime a knife is used. After honing, the blade should be rinsed with water and dried thoroughly, to ensure any stray metal shavings are washed away before use. The actual sharpening, using a whetstone, is typically done by professionals and can be done once a year to keep a blade sharp and reliable.
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