On Saturday, August 16, 2014 4:30:56 PM UTC-7, Bob F wrote:
Not@home wrote:

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.



I've been using a steel only on my good kitchen knife for 30 years or so, and

the steel still seems to keep it pretty sharp.

That is what regular honing will do.

Watch a clip or two of butchers at work and you will see them taking swipes at the steels fixed above their bench every few minutes.

I suppose it would be possible to 'sharpen' a dull knife using only a steel but it would take awhile is the wrong tool for the job.

Harry K