Sharpening steels

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
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Occasionally, I come across some knives which simply refuse to be sharpened. So as a last resort, I will take out my sharpening steel. Butchers normally use this device for their cleavers.

Well, I normally when all else fails, the sharpening steel does the trick. I really don't know why, it just works.

Maybe someone can give me an explanation.
 
Ribbed or smooth steel ?

Personally I wouldn't put a ribbed steel anywhere near my knives, too inpersice (for me).
 
Actually I found the ribbed steel pretty useful. Use it sparingly and gently, of course.
 
I find that ribbed,(for her pleasure), oops wrong forum:o I find on the harder steels,(ATS34, CMP 440, VG 10) stropping to be more effective, and on the softer less brittle steels, a butchers steel will realign the edge a few times before you have to touch up the blade.
 
A steel us usually used to re-align an edge that has deformed. It also burnishes and edge, and if the steel you have is quite soft, a sharpening steel can actually help establish an edge (using a ribbed one).

If after using other materials to no avail a steel is used with success, I would suspect that a wire edge exists. Other sharpening tools are probably bending the wire back and forth, while the steel is aligning it straight. Also, I think that peopel tend to steel at more botuse angles than sahrpening, and this may be in play here. If you have a wire edge formed using normal sharpenign medium, going to an obtuse angle (50 degrees inclusive) for only a stroke or 2 on each end may produce the same effect as steeling, as this should remove the wire edge.

I find I get improvements out of even high quality steel using a nice smooth f.Dick steel. I only use ribbed steels on soft kitchen blades where a few strokes from a smooth steel doesn't improve the edge much. As I understand it, the ribs provide high pressure zones that will force an edge into alignment more, and the ribs act kind-of like a file on the soft steel too.
 
I was in my local butcher yesterday and they all use long ribbed steels.

Watching them , I firmly believe that they are trying to maintain a
'toothy' edge and they like the way this slightly roughened edge cuts.

The fact that this type of edge is easily blunted does not mater as they re steel on an almost continual basis through out the day.

Now the only steel I would ever use would be 'dead smooth steel'
and I don't. Leather strop charged with chromium dioxide
removes the bur and keeps the edge in alignment for me.
 
Funney enough I was talking to a guy from the local meat processing plant the other day. And eventually the conversation came around to knife sharpening (as it does), and what they do is sharpen on an industrial revolving disk grinder each morning and for the rest of the day each of the butchers top up their knives as needed with a smooth steel.

I use a smooth steel to realign the edge as needed, I've used a ceramic "steel" very occasionally for a quick touch up if I'm in a hurry, but have never used a ribbed steel. My main worry over a ribbed steel is that it is very agressive but doesn't lend itself to keeping a constant angle when sharpening.
 
I've read all the pros of using a smooth steel but it was on sale. I find it works pretty well but I take care to use gentle strokes. YMMV.

Frank
 
A ribbed steel with soft steel kitchen knives (55-56) will actually sharpen a blade to some extent - whereas a smooth steel will only re-align the edge. Many butchers I know are now turning to dual purpose steels ie is steels with different cuts.

The old butchers will tell you they would rust their ribbed steels and then rub them smooth with wet and dry. Others would take a smooth steel and rust it so it was then pitted and use it to 'sharpen' their blades.
 
Sharpening steels apply very high pressures to edges and thus can easily make them deform or smear out which will sharpen them. This can sharpen edges which stones don't work well on only if the stones are not hitting the edges due to being too thick and just the shoulder is getting honed.

-Clif
 
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