Steeling a knife

Steeling does put off sharpening, and if done properly and frequently with a good steel and with proper technique, (before the edge gets too far gone) it will restore the edge and extend the life of the knife, because steeling does not really remove steel.

Steeling only goes so far to keep an edge maintained, and then its time for the shapening stone to remove the worn and damaged edge to create a new cutting edge.
 
I got away with steeling on my umnumzaan a longg time before I needed to sharpen it. The steel improved it's sharpness to shaving again, every time I used it when the edge wouldn't shave anymore.

In the end, I had to sharpen it again, and now I'm back to the steeling cycle :D
 
Get out your loupe, a Sharpie, a knife in fairly good condition with no burrs, and a steel, smooth or grooved. Have a go with the steel, checking every pass or two and see what happens. My personal opinion is that a steel indeed does remove metal. They work very well for rapid edge cleanup on softer kitchen-knife steels. They can and will raise a burr and do remove metal. As my father in law, who spent about 20 years designing knives and shears for industrial applications, once commented while carving a Thanksgiving turkey "a steel is nothing more than a file, very easy to ruin an edge with one".
 
David Martin said:
I'm with Stitchawl . "They have their place" . I've noticed benefits in steeling a knife of 440C and in using the ceramic stone . In steeling if you don't notice an improvement in the edge afterward then its time to sharpen (a lite touch) . Steeling merely puts off sharpening . Whereas, using the ceramic stone is sharpening (removing metal) . DM
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One more time, just for new comers. I tried steeling in earnest a few years ago on a kitchen knife. It worked surprisingly well. I don't have a steel, so instead I used the flat side of my Faberware chef's knife. It kept my wife's favorite 5" blade kitchen knife working surprisingly well. I just cut cardboard until the edge started to drag a little, then went to the "steel". I was able to do this about 5 times before breaking out the stones.
 
This is a great thread. It is new to me as I had no clue to its usefulness.
I guess for light users steeling isn't necessary as the edge might deteriorate from slight oxidation before needing to get straightened out. Then would stropping to get rid of the corrosion be more appropriate?
For heavy users, butchers or chefs, who might be using their blades all day, does steeling maintain a working edge while increasing the life of the blade several fold?
 
Bo T said:
This is a great thread. It is new to me as I had no clue to its usefulness.
I guess for light users steeling isn't necessary as the edge might deteriorate from slight oxidation before needing to get straightened out. Then would stropping to get rid of the corrosion be more appropriate?
For heavy users, butchers or chefs, who might be using their blades all day, does steeling maintain a working edge while increasing the life of the blade several fold?
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This is what I've found to work best. Steeling on garden-variety kitchen knives is a great way to keep them cutting well with little time/effort. With these softer metals I've successfully maintained several kitchen knives for years using just a coarse and fine steel. This approach also requires one to ignore the odd burr/wire edge, and not be too fussy about edge angles - quick and dirty. Since they're really just files (run one along the sharp corner of the spine on one of your kitchen knives and see if it doesn't knock that corner down w/ just a few passes) they don't remove as much metal as a stone, but more than most strops. This certainly saves some metal from your knife. At some point, the fine steel cannot continue to restore the edge, just like with a strop, and you'll have to go after it with a coarse steel or a stone. In a kitchen environment, the blade will quickly be used to a point where a strop cannot bring it back. A steel is a much more abrasive and hygienic option. When working with harder/tougher steels commonly found on pocket and belt knives, the steel can still have a place, but anything over a few passes per side will raise a burr that the steel won't be able to remove without increasing the edge angle. Only very steep edge angles (from about 23 degrees and down) will have edges capable of being realigned, broader edges are simply too strong to roll over in a way that will be helped by a steel unless they're cutting with a wire edge or burr. IMHO.
 
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