A Sharpening Steel.... Anybody use one?

J

jacknife

Joined
Jan 3, 2001
Messages
868
Butchers use them...carving the roast dinner you might use one...but how many of you use a sharpening steel to put that final edge on your blades. They can be a little hard on the blade so I guess your not going to use one on a custom knife, but on my work knives that I use hard every day I find nothing gives me a better working edge. I know I'm new around here so maybe I've missed you guys talking about them.
 
A few days ago I asked a similar question, being new here as well. I got directed to the FAQ section. It has a very informative article. It should answer most of your questions.

Dale.
 
Just got one myself!

Yet to try it though.

W.A.

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"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
 
Thanks wyrm/Dale.
Just looked at the FAQ's as you suggested, but I wanted to know how many people here use a steel or diamond rod, and what they thought about them, best types etc.
General.
Keep us informed as to your opinions on that new steel, I've got four or five I picked up over the years and they do seem to vary in their effectiveness.
 
I bought it and the Ultra fine Spyderco Benchstone at the same time.

I wanted a smooth steel, but this is an English 'ribbed' steel. Sounds kinda dirty
wink.gif
!!!

I will give it a go, when one of my blades has dulled a bit.

W.A.

------------------
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
 
I use them all the time on my productions and customs, fast and easy to bring the edge back.
Matt
 
I use a steel all the time, just used it today to touch up the edge on a Calypso Jr. lightweight, and to do the final edge on a few kitchen knives after using a stone on them. After sharpening on a stone a very light pass on the steel can do wonders for the edge.

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Die Entropie der Welt strebt einem Maximum zu - R.J.E. Clausius
 
Yep, I'm a steeler! I have an f.Dick steel (they use them at the pig plant I worked at for 2 summers) which is very smooth, and I have a folding one thats from Razor's Edge, which is even smoother. They work great.

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"Come What May..."
 
Ok! Just used it on my AFCK in M2! WOW!!!

The tip edge had folded slightly and a small section of tip edge area also had dulled.

The tip itself was ok just the cutting edge!

I steeled it about ten times on either side. The blade is now far better, the steel re-aligned the edge. It is my opinion that mostly with better blade steels, the edge folds rather than chips or dulls. So I think my Steel will save me cutting the steel away to get a fresh edge.

Cool! The bloody thing works!

W.A.

------------------
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
 
General.......That's been my experience also. I used to use just a stone to hone the edge on my knives, but then I tried a steel and
like you say..... WOW. I've only ever used the ribbed type of steel and I find that results do vary depending on make and style of the ribbing. The most expensive types seem to be for the catering/butchery trade and these are often oval in cross-section and smoother than those I use, can't say how well that type work.
Sets of carving knives,fork and steel, used to be a popular gift and I've obtained many of my steels from boot sales for as little as 50p.
I spend plenty of time at work just using that steel on my work knives, it's kind of soothing, trance inducing, worries my workmates a bit though.
biggrin.gif
 
Happyness is a sharp knife!

It is very relaxing. Hell after four hours of Middle English translation, I put on some Mettalica and touch up any blade that dosen't need it! VERY relaxing.

LOL!

I am not strange, just misunderstood!

W.A.

------------------
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!

[This message has been edited by The General (edited 02-04-2001).]
 
Yep, I use a large ribbed steel for my Henckels four star kitchen cutlery, and a very unusual steel for my other knives.

I bought a bunch of these one Christmas for stocking stuffers. They are miniature steels, made by an SAK company, about 3 1/2" long. They have ribs, and I was amazed at how well they actually polish a blade.

I usually use a fine diamond dust rod to touch up the edge if really dull; this leaves a coarse edge, which is fine for general purposes. If I want a fine push edge, I just use the little steel. It works as well as a strop with polishing compound. I realize that this practice is contrary to popular belief in that a steel is just supposed to straighten the wire edge, but it seems that these tiny steels also remove the rough edges of the blade as well.

Works for me.

Walt
 
Walt: I saw pics taken by John Juranich of a steeled vs. non-steeled edge and the steeled edge was smoothed considerably.

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"Come What May..."
 
Walt where did you find the mini's? Sounds like what I have been looking for, for some time now.
 
Has anyone out there heard of Ron Hock? He produces high-end accessories for woodworkers.
His plane blades are a thing of beauty! But he also makes a glass-smooth steel, Rc-65 which are 3/8" and approximately 6 1/2 long.
Guess what? They fit perfectly into the Sharpmaker 203/204!
biggrin.gif

It doesn't get much better than that. Well, if you strop your edge with a little chromium oxide on a leather strop after the steeling, you may want to consider changing careers to a surgeon.
I paid $25 for two at my local Woodworker's Store.

Barry H
 
So, are you guys talking about the smooth type of steel, or the "chefs" type of steel with the lengthwise grooves? It was my understanding that the grooves in a chefs knife act to "unpolish" the edge so that you have a more rough edge to cut food, meat and etc. Am I wrong? So what type of steel is better, smooth or grooved?

--Matt
 
I use both ribbed and smooth steels. I don't use them for blade sharpening, only maintenance. I sharpen my edges very thin. When I use a blade I expect the edge to get microscopically dinged, dented, and bent. I use the steels to bring back and smooth the edges.

Typically I use two sets of light stropping strokes on alternate sides of my ribbed steel (this is only 4 strokes, two on each side). Then I do 4 sets of moderate pressure stropping strokes on alternate sides of my smooth steel. The ribbed steel applies much more concentrated force to the edge since it contacts the blade in small contact zones. I don't want to do too much steeling on the ribs or I will start to gall and abrade the metal. I am using the ribbed steel to catch on dents and dings and pull them up towards where they should be. I'm expecting the ribs to have some "grab" to pull on the dings at this stage. The smooth steel slicks up the edge after this stage with almost no abrasion. The result is an edge that is restored to extreme sharpness with virtually no material loss.


[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 02-05-2001).]
 
The steel I use most is quite course and I'm looking for a slightly rough edge on my blades, just enough to give them some 'bite'. This does mean that metal is removed from the blade edge. With moderate use of the steel I've not found this a problem. Watch you don't scratch the sides of your blade if your using a steel on a 'best' knife. I use kitchen knives at work so I don't have to worry too much. If I had to pick I'd go for a course steel, it brings up a dull edge real quick.
 
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