How to Use a Knife Steel

A sharp knife not only cuts better but is safer to handle than a dull one. Often, a knife dulls when its edge becomes misshapen. Using a sharpening steel can help restore its shape and keep your knife on the cutting edge.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Choose knives with blades that will take reshaping with a steel. Look for high-carbon steel alloys of molybdenum or vanadium.

2. Know the properties of the knife steel you plan to use. Diamond-coated steels are intended to sharpen very dull blades by giving them a new edge, not to keep the one you already have.

3. Place the heel of the knife blade against the tip of the steel, blade toward you, at an approximate 20-degree angle. The blunt edge of the knife should be raised about a quarter-inch above the cutting edge.

4. Pull the edge of the blade across the steel in a sweeping motion such that the tip of the blade ends up touching the handle of the steel. Maintain the 20-degree angle.

5. Put the steel on top of the knife, with the blunt edge angled 20 degrees away from the steel.

6. Draw the knife across the steel again. This time you are reshaping the other edge.

7. Repeat Steps 3 through 6 from 5 to 10 times, always alternating sides and always maintaining the 20-degree angle while making sure you pull across the entire length of the blade.

Tips & Warnings

• Despite how fast you see chefs and butchers use steels on their knives, speed has little to do with maintaining an edge. Control and consistency are more important than speed.
• If, after using a steel, your knife cuts no better, it is probably dull enough to require sharpening with a whetstone or electric sharpener to give the blade a new edge.
• Use your knife to cut only what it was intended to cut. Knives used in food preparation should never be used to cut materials such as paper or cardboard because this will make the blades dull faster.
• Wash cutlery in hot, soapy water and dry immediately. Soaking them excessively or putting them in the dishwasher allows water and heat to change the temper of the steel or loosen the handle from the blade. When dry, store knives such that knife blades do not rub against each other and dull that way.

Resources

• Get a knife steel and instructional video from Ask the Meatman.

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