Bewett Miller wrote:
Sorry, an old post I know, but my Steel does sharpen my knives.
My steel is not just a piece of steel like a large nail, it is like a
file with the ridges parallel to the handle. And a dull knife does
get sharp.
Normally steels just straighten the edge.
Thanks


And the "sharpening steel" technically doesn't sharpen a knife, it just
"puts a edge on it" whatever the hell that means I don't exactly know.

It "unrolls" the curl at the edge.

A sharp knife has a microscopically thin edge, and that edge gets bent,
or curled, with use.

The steel straightens that bend, but with enough use, the edge will
break off. Once it is broken, the steel will do nothing but make noise,
and the knife has to be sharpened.

So someone who needs a very sharp knife, like a chef, a butcher, or a
cook, will have a set of knives that are kept in a protective sheathe or
case, and the first thing they do when they start work is to steel the
knife. But, depending on the metal used in making the knife, periodic
sharpening needs to be done not infrequently.

We shop at a market that has many stalls for butchers. A truck comes
around, I believe weekly, and sharpens their knives. But the butcher
himself has only a steel, no sharpening equipment.