Yet,,,,Another Question on Steeling

[Gypsy]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my "what angle to use" post last week. I have located a place to purchase a smooth F. Dick Steel but have yet another question.

If a smooth steel is best, why do butchers (who make a living using their knives) usually use a steel with a regular cut rather than a smooth one?

Also, if a person puts a secondary edge of 30 degrees followed by a primary angle of 40 degrees (like the Sharpmaker) should steeling be done at 40 degrees? Pardon me if this sounds like an "overkill" question, but I'm just trying to figure out the whole proccess of steeling.

Thanks everyone!!!!!

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Many kitchen knives are soft enough so that a grooved steel can function as a file. This is not an edge maintenance technique, but an actual sharpening and it removes metal quite quickly from the edge of the knife.

A similar technique will mangle the edge on most high end cutlery because the grooved steel cannot cut into the blade, however the pressure generated is easily enough to distort the edge on the knife and thus break it apart.

In regards to multiple bevel edge angles, all that matters for steeling (or any other type of edge maintenance) is whatever angle forms the actual edge, 20 for the dual Sharpmaker edge described in the above.

-Cliff

 

[Andrew McLurkin]

Gypsy, I understand your questions about the angle for steeling a knife blade, but I'm going to respond with my experience instead. What I do is listen to the sound that the knife makes on the steel. At first you won't know what it is saying but as you practice and check your results you will eventually find what to listening for.

 

[Crayola]

Andrew has a great idea there. You can't hurt a blade too much with a steel, so go ahead and try different angles and see what works best.

By the way, I worked in a Hog plant where we made our living processing hogs, and we used smooth f.Dick steels. They are great.

oh, there is also a lot of "not sure why's" when it comes to industrial use of sharpening gear. A few of the guys I worked with had oval steels and I asked one what the difference was between a round and an oval one. He steeled a couple knives and tried them out, and shrugged his shoulders. Perhaps a lot of butchers use grooved ones because they always have, or that is what their bosses, who have always used them, bought for them.