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[Cliff Stamp]

what is my relief angle?

The angle that the edge is shaped, I think J.J. was the first to use that term. Have you tried lower angles?

I would like to know how to measure this accurately...

Measure the thickness and width of the edge, you can get the angle by basic trig.

I dragged out the Razor Edge steel today and had a bit More of a play with it, still not up to scratch.

Interesting, mine is very smooth, you should definately drop him an email as they are actually supposed to be designed for that work. However he prefers a more coarse finish than what you describe but still I don't think the steel should work as you noted, I have used mine on highly polished edges and it restores them, doesn't blunt them.

I think there would be a problem with knives in the meat works with super hard knife steels around 65HRC, as I know some custom made sharpening steels are hardened to around 63HRC. So I think the knife would bite into the steel, maybe this is where the ceramic rods come into their own.

You can still steel them, I have done so, you can run the edges trailing if the knives will cut into the steel.

Would like to here of some of your sharpening tips if you can see a problem with the way I do things as although my knives are quite sharp maybe they aren't as sharp as they can be.

Doubtful, your standards for sharpness probably exceed most people on the forums with exceptions of guys like Jeff Clark. It would be informative if manufacturers made knives available to guys like you for some feedback, it would be very useful information to know how often you could go between steeling, and sharpening for various steels as well as responce to general cutting, and honing.

-Cliff