Buying a Steel...

Most of the advice from the pros suggests a polished smooth steel, like the 10" Forschner. You use it *lightly* just to align the edge, not to sharpen. I got mine from Cutlery and More, but they are certainly widely available elsewhere.

Anymore, I use a power strop on a belt sander, and the Forschner sits in a box.
 
At my high school the cooking teacher insisted that a steel was for sharpening, I said, "no wonder the knives are so dull, 'If you insist that a sharp knife is a safe knife', then get these sharpened!" maybe ill bring in a stone.

And i think that a steel is a great kitchen tool, a lot of chefs use the steel every time they cook.
 
Thanks guys. I know smooth steels are recommended and why, but I was a little confused because I haven't seen one in a store and I didn't know where to start looking for one. Now that I have a brand name and see that what I thought I wanted is in fact what I want, that should go a lot better.
 
Pick up a used truck or auto engine valve from a machine shop or engine rebuild shop... makes a perfect steel. If you ask nice they'll probably cut the valve off for you.
 
If you look under butcher and packing supplies you could probably have one delivered(by the sales guy) or they will let you wander around their warehouse and find one. Canada is good for stuff like that.
 
Khalnath said:
I know smooth steels are recommended and why, but I was a little confused because I haven't seen one in a store and I didn't know where to start looking for one.
Click to expand...

Anyone got any links? I'm thinking about asking Santa for a proper steel.
 
Just to be ornery--What do you want to do with a steel? Do you like polished edges or 'toothy'?
And just to informative--Look up Verhoeven's "Experiments in Sharpening" for some interesting micro-photographs of what various sharpeners do to edges.
Greg
 
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