Wusthof 10-Inch Sharpening Steel

Not all steels are the same!
A lot of people assume that all sharpening steels are the same. That is not true.

I've owned this sharpening steel for about 6 years. It replaced a steel I had been using for about 20 years. I usually hone my knives between every use. With my previous steel, it typically took 4-10 swipes to restore a razor edge, with occasional resharpening using an alumina (corundum) stone; with this steel, I can get the same razor edge in 1-2 swipes, and never need to use the stone.

This is consistent with some hardness measurements I've seen on the web, which indicated that Wusthof sharpening steels were significantly harder than those from other major manufacturers, including their closest competitor, Henckels.

There is one downside to this steel: the steel itself only extends about half an inch into the plastic handle. If you just plop it into its slot in the knife block after each use, the steel will eventually fall out of the handle. It's not terribly...

My Knives Are Calling To Me to Cut Something!!
Wow - I read an article in Family Handyman about sharpening your own knives. They recommended starting out with the Wüsthof 2-Stage Knife Sharpener, then finishing with a sharpening steel.

So... We've had knives that I've tried to sharpen before but didn't know how. Was a pain in the butt. So we kept getting new knives. Now we have a drawer full of them.

I bought this steel and the 2-stage sharpener, pulled a dull knife out of the drawer, and about 5 minutes later the thing was SHARP! So I kept going, and now we have a drawer full of super sharp knives that are a PLEASURE to use.

The secret here is to use the carbide part of the 2-stage sharpener for really dull knives. Run it through enough times 'till it "catches" on your fingernail when you slide it down (perpendicular, not parallel...). Then go to the ceramic part and slide the knife 10 or so times. Both are set up so the knife is held at the correct angle.

Finally, pull out...

This steel changed my life.
Initially I didn't understand the steel - and what honing was. Even after I figured it out I didn't see the point until I ran into this incredible steel. Unlike the cheap little ones included with sets, this steel has a big enough diameter, long enough length, and incredible machining on the grooves to really effectively hone every time out. It also has an awesome molded handle and big chunky hanging ring (which you might need because a 12" steel will stick out of most blocks).

Why use a steel to hone? Stainless steel is ductile and the edge of a knife is a place where the steel is very very thin. In use the very edge will bend or fold over microscopically. Then, then next cut you make will be on what will be on the fold - rather than on the sharp edge. These micro folds can be straightened out by the use of a Steel - a process called "honing". Honing involves wiping the blade across a hard steel rod which has a large number of tiny parallel grooves cut in it. When the...

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