Can a honing steel be damaged too bad for use?

L

lawnica1

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Nov 26, 2012
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I true honing one of my dads kitchen knives yesterday which ended in me resharpening the blade because the honing steel ruined it. I noticed too late that my dads steel had all kinds of Knicks and gouges from the blade sticking and being pulled across. I could barely get the blade to slide down without catching. Is this hone still usable and I just need to practice honing more or is it time for a new hone?
 
If the steel is that dinged up, I'd be inclined to set it aside. A true 'steel' is generally meant to realign a very fine, but deformed/bent/rolled edge, and all those dings will make that very difficult, if not impossible. Whether it's steel or ceramic or glass, the smoothest honing 'steels' are the ones that will work the best for realigning an edge.

Don't know how old your steel is, but if the manufacturer is still making them, it may be worth a call to them, to see if yours can be sent in for reconditioning/resurfacing. That's probably a stretch, though, if the cost of doing so is very high (or if it's even possible).


David
 
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You could try to polish them off or at least smoothen the nicks so it doesnt catch but it might not worth the hassle.
 
stalag2 said:
You could try to polish them off or at least smoothen the nicks so it doesnt catch but it might not worth the hassle.
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This thought crossed my mind too. But, depending on how the steel was originally made or surfaced, even sanding/grinding/polishing the surface might compromise any benefit it originally had. I think at least some 'steels' are either case-hardened or coated/plated or otherwise surface-finished in such a way as to render them essentially like any other steel 'rod', once the hardened character and/or abrasiveness of the surface is ground away. As it is now, it's essentially unusable, so it may be interesting to retire it and 'experiment' a little, while dedicating something better to the regular honing tasks.

If it was a reasonable quality steel initially, and presumably harder than most kitchen knife blades, it may be an arduous task to try to grind/sand/polish all the dings out of it anyway.


David
 
Steels of good quality work like a file, and are hardened to suit. It is not true whatsoever that steels are exclusively for realigning an edge. Any well-made grooved steel will provede at least a slight abrasive action, and varying degrees of coarseness are available from the better companies who produce them and care (not many still do!) Polished steels--those without grooves and given a mirror polish--are the kind that only realign an edge rather than abrading it. It sounds like the steel in question is very badly damaged to the point where the nicks and dings are catching or impacting the edge and it's damaging the edge rather than helping it. Unless it was a good quality steel to begin with (and I doubt it if it was soft enough to become nicked) then it's not worth the effort of trying to convert it to a polished steel.
 
I do know some steels work abrasively, but even then, at a very fine level. My meaning was to emphasize that the abrasiveness of them is essentially secondary to the end goal of leaving an edge that's refined and properly aligned, and fine enough that any real knicks or bumps on the steel would effectively erase any benefit produced.


David
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Steels of good quality work like a file, and are hardened to suit. It is not true whatsoever that steels are exclusively for realigning an edge. Any well-made grooved steel will provede at least a slight abrasive action, and varying degrees of coarseness are available from the better companies who produce them and care (not many still do!) Polished steels--those without grooves and given a mirror polish--are the kind that only realign an edge rather than abrading it. It sounds like the steel in question is very badly damaged to the point where the nicks and dings are catching or impacting the edge and it's damaging the edge rather than helping it. Unless it was a good quality steel to begin with (and I doubt it if it was soft enough to become nicked) then it's not worth the effort of trying to convert it to a polished steel.
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this is my opinion, get rid of it.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
I do know some steels work abrasively, but even then, at a very fine level. My meaning was to emphasize that the abrasiveness of them is essentially secondary to the end goal of leaving an edge that's refined and properly aligned, and fine enough that any real knicks or bumps on the steel would effectively erase any benefit produced.


David
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Oh yes--I realized your meaning! My comment wasn't intended as a direct reference to your post, but rather at the overall misconception of a steel being only for the truing of an edge and not as a honing instrument. Some steels, like the F. Dick Multicut, are capable of abrading fairly heavily if need be. Other steels are square and have opposing sets of grooved and polished faces. I just wanted to clarify the purpose of a steel and the qualities that would be found in a good one. :)
 
Thanks for the replies fellas, if it helps here is the honing steel in question... looks like a steel coating because the metal underneath is brass colored so sanding down will probably just make it worse. I know nothing about the brand or manufacturer because it is unmarked and my dad bought it.

honing_steel1_zps7f9bf720.jpg


honing_steel2_zps6ccaa204.jpg


honing_steel3_zps9bad760a.jpg
 
I'm wondering if that 'brass' coloration might just be a little rusting of the underlying steel (under nickel/chrome plating; I'm betting it's chrome), or perhaps rusting of metal swarf embedded into it. I'd be surprised (shocked even), if even a 'cheap' steel was actually brass underneath. If it is rust, some Bar Keepers Friend cleanser would clean that up. Obviously wouldn't fix the dings, though.

That steel looks a lot like a couple I've seen included in basic, inexpensive kitchen sets, like the older knife block sets from Chicago Cutlery or similar brands. I'm pretty sure I've got one like it, and my parents also have one similar in an old Chicago Cutlery set (1970s/80s vintage).


David
 
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The "brass" color is from the nickel/chrome plating. Copper is commonly used as a flash under-plate for tin, nickel, chrome, etc. If you were to sand it you would first uncover the copper under-plate, with steel beneath that. :)

It looks like a pretty cheap steel, though. I imagine that it's barely hardened, if at all, and they were hoping that hard-chroming it would make it seem hard enough to work for a while. If there is any hardening it's probably a very shallow case hardening.
 
Would make a good "poker" for your charcoal grill to stir or adjust your briquets.:D

Omar
:rolleyes:
 
I think OHALLUM has come up with the highest and best use for that steel. A polished steel is an excellent alignment tool, but I don't think that one is worth converting. I picked up a vintage stag handled German steel with silver bolster at a garage sale that had some issues. I smoothed it out and patina'd it to preserve that vintage look and although the result was well worth the effort it would have to be something special like that for me to do it again.
 
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