Harry K wrote:
Your description of your steel is exactly what a steel is. As for
using one to sharpen a knife? Faster to use a stone and do it right
then 'steel' it.

Really? I've found that 30 seconds with a steel does wonders. I watched a
butcher once use a steel on the hosts knife at a party, then use it to slice the
hairs off the back of his hand. I haven't figured out the trick for that.