How to Sharpen Knives by a Sharpening Steel
A sharpening steel, also known as a kitchen steel or butcher's steel, is not used to sharpen knives, but rather to maintain a knife's already-sharp edge longer. Properly used, a steel keeps a knife edge nice and straight rather than rolling over and breaking off with use. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Clean your steel
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1
Wipe down the sharpening steel with a dish towel.
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2
Feel the edge of the knife to get an idea of how much work will be needed. Do this by wiping your finger from spine to edge and down off the edge on each side. If you have a dull knife you'll feel something like a burr on one side where the edge has rolled over to one side or another. If you feel this your knife is experiencing edge roll, and this is what the steel is designed to repair.
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3
Place the knife edge against the steel near the base. Keep the base of the knife and base of the steel together with your hands close together. Hold the spine of the knife at about a 30-degree angle from the face of the steel, and keep the knife and steel perpendicular at a 90-degree angle through the entire process. Pull the knife down the steel spine-first toward the end, dragging the edge along the steel. As you do, also pull the knife handle toward yourself so that, at the end of the stroke, the tips of both the knife and the steel nearly meet before the knife slides off the end of the steel.
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4
Place the knife on the other side of the steel and repeat. Perform this five times.
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5
Repeat step one to get a good "after" state of the knife edge. You will be able to feel that the edge is no longer rolled by the absence of a burr.
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1
Tips & Warnings
When purchasing a steel you will see that many are offered with grooves that run down them lengthwise. These provide crevices for dirt and debris to accumulate and will become rough over time and will, therefore, damage your edge. The best steels are perfectly smooth.
Knife sharpening by quickly moving the blade back and forth in the direction of the edge down both sides of the steel is less effective and more dangerous than sharpening with slow, smooth strokes while pulling the edge away from you.
Be aware of other people working around you so you don't injure anyone.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit steel butcher kitchen knife, stainless image by alma_sacra from Fotolia.com
