Steeling a knife

U

UnknownVT

Joined
Feb 15, 2003
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I have heard for years that using a plain smooth steel "burnishes" the edge - and makes it more durable and longer lasting than stropping

I actually own a Forschner smooth (satin finished) steel - but haven't used it for years.

Most of the time I touch up on a piece of cardboard - which I think is closer to stropping since cardboard is somewhat abrasive.

Actually to be honest - by the time I think or know my knives need touching up - they need more than steeling or even stropping - often I have resort to crock-sticks - then finish with strop and cardboard..... perhaps I'll make steeling the very last step to see if there's any difference.

Comments please?

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An interesting aside -
for years I just assumed that this Forschner steel was made by Victorinox since almost all the Forschner kitchen knives are Victorinox, and often are etched with both Forschner and Victorinox -
40583.jpg


However on examining the steel more closely I saw the steel itself is stamped with Sheffield England - which means at least this steel is made for Forschner, and not by Victorinox.

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVincent.cjb.Net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.Net
 
I have considerably less experience than many on this board, but I have had success sharpening probably 2 dozen or so kitchen knives, folders, etc. to shaving sharp.

Typically, I don't have time to do a quick touch-up on the Sharpmaker, because the time to slice is NOW (or, in 10 secs or so while I'm still in the kitchen). I've steeled most of my blades, and I do perceive a definate difference. As to how measurable, who knows. I've read more than once that many food establishments do *only* steeling as maintenance, so it must be worthwhile...
 
yes, i perceive a difference as well.
steeling actually doesn't sharpen, or "buff," but it straightens the edge by removing any bit of burr or microscopic curl. basically, gives you a true edge.
peace.
 
edb said:
I've steeled most of my blades, and I do perceive a definate difference. As to how measurable, who knows. I've read more than once that many food establishments do *only* steeling as maintenance, so it must be worthwhile...
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OK, can you please help clarify -

are these steels smooth finished
or
are they the more normal "cut" steels -
ie: those that have grooves or roughened surfaces?


Thanks

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net
 
I only know that the one we own has grooves. I seem recall in a FAQ somewhere that grooved or smooth, the idea was to straighten the edge (i.e. you're not removing any material). So, grooved or smooth was irrelevant in the writer's opinion - either was equally effective.
 
Grooved steels may damage the edge. Diamond coated steels may no longer be called steels since they remove material (sharpen)
The smooth steels are HARD and burnishes the edge and does nothing else. this is the preferred type
 
From my experience working as a butcher for about 3 years, the reason to use a steel is to extend the time between sharpenings which extends the life of the knife. It won't make a sharp knife sharper but it will bring a used edge back to being very sharp.

Sharpening, no matter how fine, removes metal and uses up the blade. Steeling does not, but it does improve the edge. A lot of the time when a knife seems to be getting a little dull and not cutting as easily, all it needs is some steeling.

If you want your blades to last longer and hold a keen edge longer between sharpenings, use a steel.

Chris
 
How about steeling using a smooth glass bottle? Is this bad. I do this sometimes if I can see shiny spots on the edge when I hold the edge vertically under the light. I have a tall bottle of olive oil next to my stove that has sort of a squared off shape. I'll steel the edge against the rounded corner of the bottle. It seems to work fine - the shiny spots disappear, so it's fixing the rolled edge. But I wonder . .

Question: is this bad to do? Will I dull the edge using a glass "steel"?
 
A grooved steel is just another type of sharpener, they do remove steel.

My understanding of smooth steel is what others have said, it's just to straighten the edge and prolong the need to sharpen.


brewthunda said:
How about steeling using a smooth glass bottle? Is this bad. I do this sometimes if I can see shiny spots on the edge when I hold the edge vertically under the light. I have a tall bottle of olive oil next to my stove that has sort of a squared off shape. I'll steel the edge against the rounded corner of the bottle. It seems to work fine - the shiny spots disappear, so it's fixing the rolled edge. But I wonder . .

Question: is this bad to do? Will I dull the edge using a glass "steel"?
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I don't see how steeling the edge with glass would be a problem, but if you're seeing flat spots that can be corrected by steeling you are just chasing a burr around and should deburr the edge by stropping it on something or drawing it across the edge of a cutting board a few times.
 
CMD has the right idea, trust us meat cutters to know. If you watch a meat cutter in a packing house, he or she makes about two to ten cuts with the knife, then "his" hand automatically goes to his steel. This way, the edge is preserved much longer between sharpenings. Depending on which section of the animal you are working on, you may have to sharpen your knife more often if you are constantly removing muscle from bone, or less if you are just dividing muscle masses.

A meat cutter's (butcher's) steel is usually not groved or even satin finished. Mine is very shiny, probably chromed. The knife gets no bite at all on the smooth polished surface. There is no drag. The satin finished or grooved steels are usually kitchen steels and do not work as well. Look in your yellow pages for a supplier in your area that sells equipment to packing houses. They will have the chromed smooth steels.

Again, this kind of steel is meant to be used every few strokes, not once a day!

Bruce
 
I agree with Bruce and CMD. I feel I need to steel every single time I use a knife. In our kitchen set, I almost exclusively use the 8in chefs knife, while my wife uses all the others, but never "mine". I always steel mine, but couldn't get her to use the steel if her life depended on it (her usual answer is "but you love to sharpen knives" :rolleyes: ). Well, I need to sharpen her knives 2-3 times more often than mine...

So, to me, the steel makes a heck of a difference. However, if you neglect the steel for a while, you can't use to bring it back.

Guy
 
I can see the need for steeling that often in a thin kitchen knife, but in a thicker ground utility knife I don't think it would be necessary or in some cases even desireable.

Some toothy bite in a blade you are going to cut harder stuff with is advantageous and steeling constantly is bound to smooth that edge out.

IMO a heavily polished edge is only really good at cutting softer items like meat or veggies, a little bit of bite will go a long way on boxes or rope.
 
Global kitchen knives are pretty darn hard. They require use of a Global diamond steel that cost $125. I wasn't going to invest in one, because the steel costs as much as a knife, but I am glad I did. I use the steel for other knives too as I think it works well with S30V blades.

I think any knife can benefit from steeling as others have pointed out, as it aligns the crystals in the edge and keeps the knife sharp longer without having to resort to a sharpener. I have sharpened my Global 10 inch chef's knife probably 8 times in 2 years and I use it every day including to hack chicken bones in half :)
 
A diamond steel, is not a steel, but a sharpener...
Hay, hate to say it, but you got ripped off. You should have bought a diamond benchstone for about 50 bucks and then a good steel for about another fifty. With that, you can both steel and sharpen.
 
MelancholyMutt said:
A diamond steel, is not a steel, but a sharpener...
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I hear you. But the Global steel doesn't remove material from the knife, it simply aligns the hard "Chromova" steel. At least as far as I can tell.

Hay, hate to say it, but you got ripped off. You should have bought a diamond benchstone for about 50 bucks and then a good steel for about another fifty. With that, you can both steel and sharpen.
Click to expand...

I'm a sucker! I also bought the $35 Srinkhasen (sp?) proprietary water sharpener designed just for Global knives.

I am thrilled with the setup though.
 
Whoa, I think you got ripped off. In the world of knives, the only thing that's knife specific is a sheath.
 
Lately I've been using a Gerber steel (that I won via a contest here at BF), and my knives have never been sharper!...This is a (3/4" wide X 5" long) smooth, flat steel that pivots into a leather "sheath".
 
For steeling I use a burnishing rod from Lee Valley Tools, about $14 (Canadian) if I recall. It is oval, highly polished and smooth, about 7" long with a nice wooden handle. It's RC65 or so and works beautifully. The steelng technique I learned from the guy who has the Swiss Army and Frosts distributorship in western Canada, who ought to know, is to draw the blade lightly across the steel at a 90 degree angle -- not to whisk it up and down. This gives you better control. You only need one or two strokes on each side.
 
Alberta Ed said:
For steeling I use a burnishing rod from Lee Valley Tools, about $14 (Canadian) if I recall. It is oval, highly polished and smooth, about 7" long with a nice wooden handle. It's RC65 or so and works beautifully. The steelng technique I learned from the guy who has the Swiss Army and Frosts distributorship in western Canada, who ought to know, is to draw the blade lightly across the steel at a 90 degree angle -- not to whisk it up and down. This gives you better control. You only need one or two strokes on each side.
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90 degree angle?? Please clarify. I can't imagine why you would use the steel at 90 degrees to the blade edge?

Whisking up/down I have not heard of either. I would think a few passes at the angle the edge was sharpened at would be best. Only going _into_ the edge and the blade toward the end of the steel.

Can you paint us a picture in words?
 
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